How Will Big Media Refer to the Palestinian “State”?
December 2, 2012 14:45 by Pesach Benson
Now that the UN boosted the Palestinian status to “non-member observer state,” what does this mean for Big Media descriptions of the new-and-improved Palestinian entity?
The Daily Telegraph‘s Alex Spillius lists the possible references, but finds shortcomings in them all.
Palestine: “There has in fact never been a nation state called Palestine. The Holy Land has rather been a region or province under Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and British rule, to name but a few.”
The Palestinian Territories: Frequently used now, but doesn’t reflect new status.
Occupied Palestinian Territories: “arguably inaccurate, since Gaza has not been occupied by Israel since 2005.”
The Palestinian Authority: Only controls the West Bank.
The Palestinians: Used excessively.
Palestine (again): In 1974, permanent observer status was actually granted to the PLO, not Palestine. And besides, with Hamas and the PA bitterly divided and entrenched in their Gaza/West Bank fiefdoms, Spillius has to ask:
If those two groups cannot reconcile in the interests of peace, do they merit being commonly described as a single entity?
(Image via YouTube/km1253)
Ruedi
8:57 pm
Dec 02, 2012
I am very uncertain of how to see this “new” situation. When Israel invaded the West Bank in 1967 it invaded Jordan. If negotiations need to take place it is therefore between Jordan and Israel. Have the Palestinians who also live on the East Bank ever negotiated their independence with Jordania ?
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
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Shirl in Oz
12:46 am
Dec 07, 2012
Ruedi
That’s an excellent point you make. I wonder how many people have thought of that.?
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L J Golfstein
2:40 am
Dec 03, 2012
Why waste time effort or treasue on what to call these guys? What s in a name? A skunk by another name is still a skunk. Clearly all of the folks in the PA are called Paestineans and the land will be called Palestine by most and Gaza us Gaza although it may well become known or be Palestine.
Call them them people the people the enire Arab world want no part of and are happy to keep unhappy and keep poking at Israel. Since many are still in refugee camps. I urge you to keep asking why and start asking where are the Jewish refugee Camps? Point out there are one because Israel took them all in and made them citizens.
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
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L J Golfstein
2:47 am
Dec 03, 2012
L J Golfstein
3 mins ago
Why waste time effort or treasure on what to call these guys? What’s in a name? A skunk by another name is still a skunk. Clearly all of the folks in the PA are called Palestinians and the land will be called Palestine by most and Gaza is Gaza although it may well become known or be Palestine.
Call them them people the people the enire Arab world want no part of and are happy to keep unhappy and keep poking at Israel. Since many are still in refugee camps. I urge you to keep asking why and start asking where are the Jewish refugee Camps? Point out there are one because Israel took them all in and made them citizens.
Agree or Disagree:
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L J Golfstein
2:52 am
Dec 03, 2012
L J Golfstein
3 mins ago
Why waste time effort or treasure on what to call these guys? What’s in a name? A skunk by another name is still a skunk. Clearly all of the folks in the PA are called Palestinians and the land will be called Palestine by most and Gaza is Gaza although it may well become known or be Palestine.
Call them them people. The people the enire Arab world want no part of and are happy to keep unhappy and keep poking at Israel. Since many are still in refugee camps I urge you to keep asking why and start asking where are the Jewish
refugee camps. Point out there are none because Israel took them all in and made them citizens.
Agree or Disagree:
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Ed
1:14 pm
Dec 04, 2012
Its actually a good question. What does one call a people that are not a people (most of the so-called Palestinians see themselves first and foremost as Arabs and/or Muslims) of a state that is not a state? What can one call a state that is not a state but which have demands for lands currently controlled by another state. I think the general term in the context of most places in the world is “separatists”. I would suggest then “Arab-Palestine Separatists”. Spain should agree to vote for the non-state states of Euskadi (“Basque people”), Catalonia while Italy should vote for free South Tirol, and, of course, Turkey for Kurdistan….
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