The Battle of TerminologyThe Battle of Terminology

PalestinianDamaging Terminology: Palestinian

Palestinian

Palestinian

The Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra was founded by violinist Bronisław Huberman in 1936, at a time when many Jewish musicians were being fired from European orchestras. Its inaugural concert took place in Tel Aviv on December 26, 1936, and was conducted by

Arturo Toscanini.

Palestinian

More than 30,000 Palestinian Jews who enlisted in the British army in the course of World War II. In the last stages of the war, the Jewish Brigade Group was established and saw action against the Nazis in northern Italy.

Palestinian

PalestinianRecommended Terminology:

Palestinian Arab or Arabs living in the Palestine region

Rationale: Establishing that a Palestinian Arab identity is a modern construct undermines the very foundation of the Arab narrative.

Palestinian Land

Palestinian Land

Palestinian Land

Palestinian LandRecommended Terminology:

Disputed landIsraeli territorriesFormer Ottoman Land

Rationale: Even though official Israeli spokesmen may use the phrases “Occupied Palestinian land” or “Palestinian territory,” we should minimize their use as they are not accurate and support the false Arab narrative. Even the more accurate term, “disputed territory”, has fallen into disuse.

Relative Sizes

Occupation

The occupied communities of1948

Occupation

The invasion of 1967

OccupationRecommended Terminology:

Disputed landIsraeli territorriesFormer Ottoman Land

Rationale: Even though official Israeli spokesmen may use the phrases “Occupied Palestinian land” or “Palestinian territory,” we should minimize their use as they are not accurate and support the false Arab narrative. Even the more accurate term, “disputed territory”, has fallen into disuse.

Settlements

Kfar Etzion

Settlements

Hebron

Settlements

Jerusalem

Settlements

Tel Aviv

SettlementsRecommended Terminology:

Jewish Communities, towns, villages

Rationale: In modern times, cities with populations of tens of thousands aren’t called settlements anywhere except when Israel is involved.

Anywhere else in the world most of what are called “settlements” would be referred to as Jewish communities.

Arab communities, regardless of age, size, of legality, are rarely called “settlements”.

Insist that there shouldn’t be special definitions just for Israel or Jews as that could be an indication of anti-Semitism.

East Jerusalem

East Jerusalem

East Jerusalem

East Jerusalem

East JerusalemRecommended Terminology:

Neighborhoods on the east side of Israel’s capital

Rationale: Eastern Jerusalem has never been referred to as a distinct municipal entity until the illegal Jordanian Arab invasion and partition.

The Old City of Jerusalem was “ethnic cleansed” of the Jewish population in 1948.

Always refer to Jerusalem as “Israel’s Capital” or “Jerusalem, Israel’s Capital”.

Green Line

Green Line

Green Line

Recommended Terminology:

Cease fire lines or Armistice line

Rationale: The 1967 cease fire lines should not be referred to as the “border” or “green line” because this implies that Israel violated a border during the 1967 war.

Ask: “What border was crossed?”

Also, “Why are the ’67 cease fire lines less permanent than the ’48 cease fire lines?”

MERCAZ Israel AdvocacyWritten by Michael Perloff,

PhiladelphiaPrepared by Stan Greenspan, Toronto

©2012 Stan Greenspan