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Israel is a nation. Israel is a people. Israel is a homeland. But first, Israel was a man. Much confusion exists over the terminology. Precisely, what is Israel? What is Palestine? What is a Jew? Permit me to answer these questions and present an ancient Jewish legend shedding light on the character of the God of Israel.

Scripture introduces Abraham and his son Isaac. As a young man, Isaac had a brush with death and almost met God sooner than expected. Instead, a ram caught in a thicket took Isaac’s place on the altar and Isaac lived on to raise a son named Jacob.

Like his father and grandfather, Jacob also met God. On his journey of faith, Jacob came “face to face” with God and wrestled with Him at a place called Peniel. Jacob’s intensity was revealed and God changed his name saying, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God” (Genesis 32:28).

Some of my readers may be familiar with the cult rock star formerly known as Prince. Well, I want to introduce you to the Jew formerly known as Jacob. His name became Israel, meaning “prince with God.”

Israel had twelve sons. Each raised a family of his own. They became the twelve tribes of Israel. Hence, Jewish people are known as the children of Israel. Our lineage goes back to the man named Israel.

Later in Jewish history, areas where the Children of Israel lived carried the same name. Israel was a man. Israel is a nation. And yes, Israel is a people. Yet some would call Israel by another name--Palestine. Some have attempted to again saddle Israel with that derogatory name.

The Romans originally developed the name. It was an insult to first century Jews banned from Israel after the failed Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire. Palestine was the English version of the name given by Rome derived from the name of Israel’s archenemies--the Philistines. Rome changed Israel’s name to reflect a presumed final victory by the enemies of the people of God. Rome was wrong! God was not done with Israel or the Jewish people.

And what about the people known as Palestinians? The world press seems inclined to forget that no such distinct people known as Palestinians existed until created by public relations experts. It is a fiction to presume that Palestinians exist distinct from other Middle Eastern Arabs. It is only an Arab political convenience.

When Israel was a British protectorate, both Jews and Arabs were known as Palestinians! To Yasser Arafat’s dismay, his relative, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem publicly rejected the formation of a Palestinian state! In 1947, the Mufti refused England’s proposal to give his Arab citizens a portion of Israel. Were it not for the distorted views of Arafat and his uncle, the Arabs would have had a state within Israel more than fifty years ago. Instead of settling for a piece of the country, they were greedy, hate-filled, and wanted it all. Like Rome, they wanted to wipe out the memory of God’s people from Israel.

In 1948 the Mufti declared war on Israel. The Arabs attacked. The Arabs lost! Many Arabs remained in Israel. Many thrived becoming productive members of Israeli society. Some have taken their rightful place in Israeli politics serving in the government, representing the interests of other Israeli Arabs living in the only Middle Eastern democracy. Many Arabs remained in Israel after the war realizing that life in Israel is better than among backwards, repressive neighboring Arab nations. But that is not the only reason.

I want my readers to know the ugliest Arab secret. The primary reason Arabs remained in Israel is because their Arab brothers refused to allow them entry after the war! The so-called Palestinian refugees are only refugees because Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and the other Arab nations rejected them.

They serve the Arab world better as impoverished examples of human suffering for slanted news stories, contrived photo opportunities, and anti-Israel press releases. Palestinian refugees remain political pawns and servants of Arab power brokers who cannot accept the simple fact that Israel won the war.

Amazingly, Arab terrorists are permitted to conduct a war from within Israel’s borders without world outrage because they have mysteriously morphed into Palestinians. Unsuccessful in their military campaign, the Arabs have mounted a public relations campaign to do what their armies could not.

Yassar Arafat, the head of the PLO is not a Palestinian! He is an aging Arab terrorist transitioning into an elder statesmen for a people invented as a political fiction. His uncle, the Mufti, failed, and he will too. Instead of raising his people’s living standards, he recruits their children for suicide missions. Instead of feeding the hungry, he skims their humanitarian aid. Reports reveal that the PLO now has worldwide holdings of $50 billion dollars. Still, the U.S. gives $75 million dollars annually for Arafat to feed his cronies and their war machine!

Palestine is a contrivance—it does not exist. It was an ancient Roman insult. Yet not all of Rome’s memories about Israel are so distasteful. A poignant story exists about a nephew of Caesar from the Roman era. Permit me to paraphrase the legend of Onkelos, a first century Jewish convert.

Onkelos* moved to Palestine from Rome. This troubled his uncle Titus. As only Caesar might do, Titus sent messengers to retrieve his nephew. Upon the arrival of Caesar’s entourage, Onkelos taught the soldiers about the Torah. The beauty of Scripture reportedly caused the Roman soldiers to convert to Judaism and they remained in Palestine.

Titus sent a second group with instructions not to speak with Onkelos for fear they too, might be converted. Upon their arrival, Onkelos simply asked the group one question. “In the darkest night, when the master of a house walks in the street, who carries the light?” They promptly responded that it would be the job of a slave. Onkelos informed the soldiers that this was not the case with the God of Israel. When we left Egypt as slaves to wander in the desert, God lit the way Himself by sending a pillar of fire each night. When the soldiers heard this, they too, embraced Judaism.

Caesar was incensed at the loss of another delegation to the faith of his nephew in what was supposed to be the God-forsaken land of Palestine. He therefore sent one more group. As Onekelos was leaving with them, he raised his hand and kissed the mezuzah (a Jewish symbol encasing verses from Deuteronomy), which was attached to the humble door of his home. A soldier made the mistake of asking Onkelos about the symbol? Onkelos responded by asking, “Who guards the door when a king enters a house?” The soldier answered, “One of the king’s guards protects the premises.” Onkelos said, “With God, it is otherwise. The King of Kings protects our homes while we remain safely inside His loving care!” As you might guess, these soldiers also embraced the God of Israel. Hearing this, Caesar left his nephew in Palestine and sent no more soldiers.

The Philistines are dead; the Roman Empire is gone. Yet Israel lives to the glory of God! Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. God gave us His Word about this matter. Onkelos was right! God does light our way. He is our protection. And I pray that each reader will draw near to the Lord. His love reaches Jews and Arabs and my prayer is that it will reach you too. Then you will point the way for God’s children to meet the one true Messiah of Israel. His name is Jesus!

Copyright Randy Weiss, Ph.D