On My Terminology

So, after 8 years, since the Second Intifada, I am returning to the land of my forefathers, the land with which I bleed and with which my heart beats. But, for the sake of this neutral blog, what should I call this land? It is evident that I usually chose to call this land Palestine. However, some readers may be troubled by the apparent bias in my terminology. Do not be troubled, for within my "bias" lies nothing but simple everyday logic.

The term Israel has no ancestral significance to me. Apart from what is mentioned in the Holy Texts (the Bible and the Qur'an), I have no ties to that name or the identity that surrounds it. My family has hundreds of years of history in the Holy Land. And for that time, the land was considered not an independent state, but a prized province in an immense monotheistic civilization, where Jew, Christian, and Muslim lived in peace for hundreds of years.

To me, Palestine is part of something greater than a strip of land between the Jordan and Mediterranean. It is part of the Middle East, and in no way apart from it. It is part of the region on Earth that has been visited numerous times by revelations from God, which culminated in the creation of the three main monotheistic religions today: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

I submit to God above all things, and I attempt to be the most inclusive for all peoples of all races, and of all faiths. I hope to see the Middle East become inclusive and united one day. Then I believe progress will ensue. The term Palestine used for the land of my ancestors seems to me more inclusive than the term Israel, which denotes a solely Jewish state based both on race and religion. I am not a Jew, and I am not Jewish, so where do I fit in here? What do I acquire from submitting to the label of Israel?

Hence, attempting to use objective reasoning, I have come to terms with the fact that even if I weren't Palestine, and had no ties to the Palestinian people at that, and despite the global consensus on this issue, I would, out of the attempted progressiveness of my heart, chose to call the land Palestine because that term satisfies the unbiased, non-racist, inclusively humanist nature within me.

I hope you all are convinced and non-offended by my choice of labels.