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Was there conflict in Palestine between Jews and Arabs before Zionism?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: In 1880, Palestine’s religious communities had been living in relative harmony for decades.

In Jaffa, affluent Jews and affluent Arabs built homes side-by-side in Manshiyya, a neighborhood built slightly outside the city [destroyed in 1948 by Zionist forces].

In Jerusalem, Jews, Muslims and Christians lived on the same streets, shopped at the same stores and shared one another’s residential courtyards. “Our [Jewish] children played with their [Muslim] children and when other children in the neighborhood hurt us our Muslim friends who lived in our courtyard came to defend us. We [Jews] were their allies.” So wrote Ya’akov Yehoshua, the father of the Israeli novelist A.B. Yehoshua.

The al-Wad neighborhood of Jerusalem, for instance, was home to three churches, three synagogues and seven mosques.

Christian and Muslim youth dressed up in customs for Purim, a Jewish holiday, while Christians and Muslims merged Orthodox Easter with the Muslim Nabi Musa Pilgrimage, with Jews joining the festivities as well.

Meanwhile, Muslims and Christians joined the Jewish celebrations at the shrine of Shimon Ha-tzadik in Sheikh Jarrah, where Haim the ‘oud player and Zaki the tambourine player would be jamming to Andalusian tunes. Today, Jews and Muslims still meet each other in Sheikh Jarrah, but for very different reasons 😥.

Top Palestine Map of the Week

This is one of the coolest maps of Palestine I've ever seen. It’s a hand-drawn map of Palestine from the Ottoman period, showing Nablus, Jenin & Tulkarm & more. You can download a high-resolution copy at PalestineNexus.com in the Maps tab, under “Palestine & Syria.”

Top Palestine Petition of the Week

A statement signed by 415 prominent Jewish and Israeli academics, many in Jewish & Israel studies, made the rounds this week. It calls for:

• Equality for Jews & Palestinians within the Green Line & in the OPT.

• An end to Israeli impunity.

• An overhaul of 99.9% of Jewish education.

• The US to help bring about an end to the occupation

Here’s how I interpret this statement: The Israeli right has decided that Israel should no longer consider itself a “Jewish & democratic” state. “Jewish” is sufficient.

The Israeli left has now said in response: If you’re prepared to throw away the “democratic” part, we’re prepared to throw away the “Jewish” part.

Pretty wild to see Zionists like Benny Morris, who previously said Israel should have expelled all Palestinians in 1948, not just 60% of them, now say Jews and Palestinians in the West Bank should have equal rights, which is another way of saying Israel should provide Israeli citizenship to 3.5+ million Palestinians in the West Bank.

Top Palestine Humor of the Week

I’m pretty sure you haven’t come across this comedian. His name is Fabi. He posted some epic crowd work on instagram this week. Let’s just call it, “must watch Palestine humor!”

🇵🇸 Sending so much love 🇵🇸 Be safe and take care of eachother.

-Zach