Pro-Palestinian activists often reference the pride that Palestinians have in their rich culture, using the argument that the appropriation by Israelis of everything from food to historical narratives offends what they call 'Palestinian Nationalism.' However, due to the absolute fact that 'Palestinian Nationalism' is a new form of nationalism, having only sprouted up in the last five decades, many Arab scholars have attempted to define the criteria necessary for a united national identity based on the foods that are consumed and the cultural traditions practiced by the Palestinians as a whole.
The issue with this method of assigning these things to boost the claim of a rich, long Palestinian history is that much of what they claim to be of Palestinian origin is not exclusive to Palestine. The reality is the foods and traditions Palestinians claim to be theirs are actually those of the neighboring Arab cultures that make up the Levant. Some are even native to Eastern Mediterranean nations that are not Arabic, like stuffed grape leaves or Shawarma which is known as Gyro in Greece and Donner in Turkey. To fully understand the depth, or in this case, the shallowness, of Palestinian nationalism, we must examine the earliest recorded demonstration of it.
The distinctions are small. Greek joints that served Gyro might have slightly different sauces than middle eastern joints that serve Shawarma or Turkish joints that serve Doner Kebab. At this point I think it's mostly different languages naming the same thing
— Mehdi Oulmakki (@MehdiOulmakki) December 4, 2020
In 1831 Muhammad Ali, the Ottoman-appointed governor of Egypt and Sudan thought he deserved a reward for helping the Caliphate during the Greek revolt decided to take it himself. Ali declared war against the Ottomans and brought Egyptian and Sudanese soldiers north in order to conquer the entire southern Levant which incidentally was called 'Greater Syria.' Ali, along with his son, Ibrahim Pasha, did their very best to convince the local Greater-Syrian ("Palestinian" for argument's sake) Arab clans of joining their cause and fighting against the non-Arab multi-national Ottoman empire.
The conquest of Greater Syria in 1831 by Muhammad Ali of Egypt https://t.co/JHuno3aFTt
— Strength and Honor (@Avitusparta) December 12, 2015
Unfortunately for the Albanian-born Ali, his high taxes assumed loyalty to King Louise Phillip of France, and demands for mandatory military recruitment were too much for the local population to digest. Subsequently, all Arab clans with the exception of one took up arms against him. This uprising against Muhammad Ali’s forces later became known as the “Syrian Peasants Revolt."
Egypt once controlled parts of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Turkey and Sudan.
— Africa story Live (@AfricaStoryLive) July 20, 2020
The First Egyptian–Ottoman War (1831–1833) was caused by Egypt's Sultan Muhammad Ali Pasha's demand for control of Greater Syria for aiding the Sultan during the Greek War of Independence pic.twitter.com/Y5igw7ShbK
The revolt against Ali is considered by many to be the first time clans residing in the ancient holy land united for a specific cause of revolting against a foreign entity. Prior to this event, there is no record of the scattered Arab communities in the land unifying, on the contrary, they were usually fighting with each other in what can be described as tribalism. The revolt against Ali was not organized and was not seen as a nationalistic event by the Ottomans. In fact, revolts against the ruling power during Ottoman rule seemed to only take place when the locals were not satisfied with bureaucracy, proceeding to act with violence rather than civility or diplomacy.
Incidentally, years later in response to the Ottomans welcoming Jewish settlement in the land, Ali's son Ibrahim Pasha moved 6,000 settlers from Egypt in order to ensure an Arab majority in the land in hopes he would continue the effort his father began.
Ibrahim Pasha, the 1831 Egyptian conquerer of Palestine"left permanent colonies of Egyptians at Besian, Nablus, Irbid, Acre, and Jaffa. In Jaffa alone, "... 2,000 people have been imported." -Ernst Frankenstein, Justice For My People, London, Nicholson and Watson, 1943, p. 127.
— AlanaRonald (@AlanaRonald) October 22, 2022
The second incident of what can be defined as unity within the Palestinian world began slowly with the rise of Zionist activism and the waves of Jewish migration. Local Arab-written newspapers coined the term “Palestinians” early on in the 20th century in an attempt to fight against what they saw as the de-Arabification and de-Islamification of the region. These papers often called for violence against the Jews who were coming with the permission of the Ottomans in the name of Allah and all Arabhood. The call to violence succeeded as countless cases of violence against Jewish immigrants and the destruction of their agriculture was recorded by the Ottomans and later by the British. In those days, it is inarguable that local nationalism was not a factor for the young Palestinian cause, but pan-Arabism and religion were.
Zionism took the form it did because a bunch of other ethnic movements for national self-determination were doing the same thing, & when armies mobilized by pan-Arabist sentiment in supposed concert with Palestinian nationalism tried to wipe Zionists out, they failed to do so.
— weary mourner (@silentpenitent) June 11, 2021
The third and ongoing incident showing the rise of Palestinian nationalism began in 1948 with the declaration of Israel and the subsequent Arab war against Israel that immediately broke out. Palestinian nationalism with the tremendous help of other newly founded Arab-defined nations slowly became mainstream. Acts of terror against Israeli citizens can be recorded from the very early days of statehood, gradually increasing. In the 1960s with the formation of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the aftermath of the Six-Day War, the Arab-speaking Palestinians became far more united under the armed resistance to Israel.
I've always found it suspicious that people think Palestinian nationalism is somehow more pluralistic and democratic than is Zionism, despite the whole tradition of Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, and Fatah's own founding documents, belying that illusion. https://t.co/LeQBincstL
— Thrasymachos itan apateonas (@SethimusTwitius) September 18, 2019
During the 1990s in the shadow of the first Intifada, Palestinian nationalism reached new peaks and unity under their eternal leader, Egyptian-born, Yassir Arafat. Arafat thrived on preaching nationalism to the people he claimed to represent and often called for armed resistance against what they worked for over a decade to brand the “Zionist Occupation." It is widely known and recorded that even while Arafat was negotiating the Oslo Accords, he was already planning the second Intifada. This alone should be proof that a state of their own was never the objective, not even driving the Jews from the entire land was the objective, but what he was planning for was 'infinite resistance.' Arafat's widow, Suha is on record saying that her husband, the leader of what was the Palestinian nation “already decided to carry out an Intifada after the signing of the Oslo Accords.”
According to his wife, Suha Arafat, in an interview, Arafat refused "to make peace with the JEWS" & planned the second intifada in advance.https://t.co/kOabMc06zG https://t.co/ExghvXbTHf
— (((A. Zionist))) (@a_zionist) October 5, 2020
There is one common theme that can tie all instances of what Palestinian activists refer to as evidence of 'Palestinian nationalism' throughout the last few centuries, violence. The issue with creating a fake nationality is that no novel ancient historical events can be used, nor can religion since they are not unique to Palestinians. Violent uprisings seem to be the singular unifying events that many point to as evidence that a longstanding Palestinian nationalism has existed amongst the Palestinian people. The only issue with violence as the unifying element of the Palestinians is that it has always been met with further violence and not actual progress toward statehood.
If you've never condemned Palestinian Islamic antisemitism and their rewards/celebration for violence against Israelis, not only do you not have the right to condemn an Israeli right wing government, but you can applaud yourself for being the cause of its rise.
— Faith Quintero (@FaithQuintero7) November 3, 2022
Perhaps, progress towards statehood is not the cause desired to be met in the case of Palestinians. As Suha Arafat admitted there was no sincere attempt to abide by the Oslo accords that gave Palestinians autonomy for the first time in history and would have led to statehood. As the historical events above prove, the Palestinian Arabs were never a nation and never unified. As the Hamas massacre of Fatah representatives in Gaza proves, there is no unity because they are not a nation. The nationalism they claim is rooted in hatred and a thirst for blood. There is no common culture; there is no common food; there is no common tradition that can be called uniquely Palestinian. Falafel was not invented by Palestinians, Al Aqsa Mosque was not built by the Palestinians, and Jaffa was not created by Palestinians. History proves this all.
The Al-Aqsa mosque is where the Byzantine church of St. Mary of Justinian was. If anything, Christians would want to take down al-Aqsa.
— Justin Feldman יצחק איש שדה 🇺🇦🪬 (@eishsadehy) July 18, 2021
The Dome of the Rock** is where the Beit HaMiqdash (Jewish Temple) was. Stop spreading inflammatory lies.
In any case, for those genuine Palestinian nationalists who dream of culture and livelihood as their people's uniter, it's never too late to and there is no shame in doing so from scratch; given the fact that history books refuse to offer any help.
