re: #230 imp_62

You are not entirely accurate. Where there was no such thing as a “Palestinian” prior to Israeli statehood, the creation of a nominal “Arab State” at the end of te British Mandate created a de facto nationality for anyone living in those areas. Arguably, the rejection of that state by the Arab nations, and the subsequent invasion of Israel, abrogated its existence and claims, but it nonetheless existed, on paper, at the time Israel was established.

I agree that there is a Palestinian nationality, in some potential sense, although the fact that the state existed on paper for a really ephemeral period of time pretty much ranks it up there with the Lone Star Republic.

I deal all the time, however, with people who believe that there was a longstanding nation, national identity, culture, and peoplehood of Palestinians. It’s there now, but it sure as shootin’ wasn’t at the turn of the twentieth century.

I spend a lot of time dealing with people who have idyllic pastoral fantasies about what Old Palestine was like. Did I mention I have a thing against Alice Walker?