THE PLIGHT OF THE ISRAELIS AND THE PALESTINIANS IS THE BLIGHT THAT OTHERS BEQUEATHED AND BURDENED THEM WITH IN THE FIRST PLACE
THE PLIGHT OF THE ISRAELIS AND THE PALESTINIANS IS THE BLIGHT THAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, AND LATER THE UN, AND THE ARAB LEAGUE, BEQUEATHED AND BURDENED THEM WITH IN THE FIRST PLACE – Albeit in good faith and with good intensions, since they all thought they were doing the right things, and not doing the wrong things, for both peoples at the time
Dear readers and fellow-Apes; kindly read, and read well; and know, know well, the facts of the whole matter before you side with either the Israelis or the Palestinians, since both these POOR, PETRIFIED, and PLAGUED PEOPLES were tossed around and about, and later thrown together, and soon afterwards forced into a dreadful situation in which neither people now know HOW or WHY or WHERE or WHEN or WHICH WAY; or WHAT is WHAT, WHICH is WHICH, or WHO is WHOM! So they both hold on to for dear life, and won’t let go of………THE HORSE-SHIT!
Unlucky for them the Arab League of Notions had been formed by then, since it was formed in Cairo on 22nd March, 1945; and that is why it has been much worse
Ottoman Rule over the eastern Mediterranean lasted until after World War I. The Ottomans had sided with Germany and the Central Powers. During World War I, the Ottomans were driven from much of the region by the United Kingdom which resulted in the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.
Under the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, it was envisioned that most of Palestine, when freed from Ottoman control, would become an international zone not under direct French or British colonial control. Shortly thereafter, British foreign minister Arthur Balfour issued the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which laid plans for a Jewish homeland to be established in Palestine eventually.
The Sykes-Picot(-Sazonov) Agreement of 1916 was a secret agreement between the governments of Britain and France, with the assent of Russia, defining their respective spheres of influence and control in west Asia after the expected downfall of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The agreement was concluded on 16th May 1916 by the French diplomat François Georges-Picot and Briton Mark Sykes, with Sazonov nodding his head in agreement in the back-ground.
The Balfour Declaration of 1917 (2nd November) was a classified formal statement of policy by the British government stating that the British government view with favour the establishment of a national homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine on the conditions that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.
In April 1920 the Allied Supreme Council (the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan) met in San Remo in Northern Italy and formal decisions were taken on the allocation of mandate territories. The United Kingdom accepted the mandate for Palestine, but the boundaries of the mandate and the conditions under which it was to be held were not decided.
The British Mandate enacted English, Hebrew and Arabic as its three official languages. The land designated by the mandate was called Palestine in English, Falastin (فلسطين) in Arabic, and in Hebrew Eretz Yisrael.
On 24 July, 1922 the League of Nations approved the terms of the British Mandate over Palestine and Trans-Jordan. On 16 September the League formally approved a memorandum from Lord Balfour confirming the exemption of Trans-Jordan from the clauses of the mandate concerning the creation of a Jewish national home and from the mandate's responsibility to facilitate Jewish immigration and land settlements. With Trans-Jordan under the administration of the British Mandate, the mandate's collective territory became constituted of 23% Palestine and 77% Trans-Jordan. Trans-Jordan was a very sparsely populated region at the time, especially in comparison with Palestine proper, due to its relatively limited resources and largely desert environment.
The award of the mandates was delayed as a result of the United States' suspicions regarding Britain's colonial ambitions, with similar reservations held by Italy over France's intentions.
On 29th November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly, with a two-thirds majority international vote, passed the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181), a plan to resolve the Arab-Jewish conflict by partitioning the territory into separate Jewish and Arab states, with the Greater Jerusalem area, encompassing Bethlehem, under international control.
The British mandate ended on 15th May, 1948, the establishment of the State of Israel having been proclaimed the day before on 14th May 1948. The Arab States and their armies immediately attacked Israel following its declaration of independence, and the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 ensued – right under the very nose of the United Nations and the Arab League. Consequently, the partition plan was never implemented.
VERY IMPORTANT FACTS:
The 1948 Palestinian Exodus (Arabic: الهجرة الفلسطينية Al-Hijra al-Filasteeniya) refers to the refugee flight of Palestinian Arabs during the last 6 months of the British Mandate and the First Arab-Israeli War. It is referred to by most Palestinians and Arabs as Al- Nakba (Arabic: النكبة), meaning the disaster, catastrophe, or cataclysm.
The United Nations (UN) final estimate of the number of Palestinian refugees outside Israel after the 1948 War was placed at 711,000 in 1951. A quarter of the 160,000 Arab Palestinians remaining in Israel were internal refugees. Today, Palestinian refugees and their descendants are estimated to number over 4 million Palestinians.
The initial exodus and the current situation of Palestinian refugees is a contentious topic of high importance to all parties in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Contentious indeed! Trust the Arabs to blunder and bungle something then turn around and blame others for it! They were the cause of the Palestinian Exodus in the first place! They drove the Palestinians from Palestine with their ill-thought of, ill-planned, ill-prepared for, ill-timed, ill-carried out, and ill-finished War of 1948 against Israel!
The Jewish Exodus from Arab lands refers to the 20th century mass expulsion or mass departure of Jews from Arab and Islamic countries. The migration began in the late 19th century, but accelerated after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. According to official Arab statistics, 856,000 Jews left their homes in Arab countries from 1948 until the early 1970s. Some 600,000 resettled in Israel, leaving behind properties valued today at more than $300 billion. Jewish-owned real-estates left behind in Arab lands have been estimated at 100,000 square kilometers; four times the size of the State of Israel.
First, the Arabs drove the Palestinians from Palestine with their 1948 War; second, the Arabs expelled or drove the Israelis from their lands and seized their properties; and the Israelis, having nowhere to go, went and settled in Israel, and now they want the Israelis to give Israel back to the Palestinians! Well, what about the properties the Israelis left behind which the Arabs stole or seized; what’s the difference?
At present, dear fellow-Apes, there are 12 Palestinian Refugee Camps (or cities, since they are not composed of tents, but rather concrete buildings, some of them 4 and 5 and more storeys high, including schools, mosques, restaurants, shops, clubs, and night-clubs Etc – all illegal and unlawful (without permits or licences) and all using water and electricity gratis:
3 around Tyre in the south: El Buss, Burj El Shemall, and Rashidieh
2 close to Saida, again in the south: Ein El Helwe and Mieh Mieh
4 around Beirut: Dbayieh, Shatila, Mar Elias, and Burj El Barajneh
1 to the east, close to the border with Syria: Wavel……and
2 beyond Tripoli: Nahr El Bared and Beddawi (or Berdawi)
N.B: Kindly excuse any spelling errors
TAKING “THE SHEBA FARMS” BY “FORCE OF ARMS” AND COMPARING THE LEBANESE TO THE SYRIANS AND THE IRANIANS
One could or might rape a woman, or a girl, but one would not enjoy the sex as much as when the woman or girl gives it freely – not even a fraction as much
What is taken by force of arms shall be re-taken by same
Bear in mind that “Samson in the Temple of Dagon” is “Israel among the Arabs” and Israel WILL take us all with her, IF and WHEN she goes
Also, bear in mind that the other countries – you know who they all are – WILL NOT sit or stand by and look on as the Arabs do
Also again, there are several Arab Leaders and their peoples who have suffered and striven a lot to make their countries what they are today; and they WILL NOT let MAD-RABID-RATS, JACKALS and HYENAS destroy all that they have achieved
Egypt got the whole of THE SINAI – which is Oil-Rich – from Israel without firing a shot……by making peace
Syria wants the GOLAN GEIGHTS, but WILL NOT make peace with Israel because she is trapped in – shackled and chained to – her so-called partnership with Iran, and she dare not risk everything by making war with Israel; so……
Syria urges her Lebanese Mad-Rabid-Rats, Jackals, and Hyenas to do the DIRTY and NASTY and HIGHLY DANGEROUS and RISKY – actually FUTILE and FATAL – WORK for Syria and Iran
If they succeed Syria and Iran WILL TAKE OVER; if they fail Syria and Iran WILL DISCLAIM and ABANDON THEM and say: we had nothing to do with it, just as Syria denies anything to do with all the bombings, atrocities, and assassinations
As for Aoun’s soldiers and the other innocent Lebanese citizens in Syria’s prisons; forget about them, because they are all dead – beaten, tortured, and mutilated to death by Syria a long time ago
As for Aoun; since when did he ever, or has he ever, or does he ever, CARE? He is a Mad-Rabid-Clown-Comedian-Coward who could desert his men – AND HIS WIFE AND THREE DAUGHTERS, TOO, TO BOOT – and leave them to die, or whatever, and sneak off with ITS tail between ITS legs like “A JACKAL IN YELLOW PYJAMAS” to the French Embassy, and later to France
As for France; France screwed Lebanon and the Lebanese twice. The first time was when she saved THIS CREATURE and kept IT in A GOLD CAGE for 15 years; the second time was when she sent IT back to us
I RUE THE DAY, THE HOUR, AND THE MOMENT AOUN SHOWED HIS UGLY FACE AT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (the very airport he would later destroy and close down by his witless and thoughtless actions, alliances, and speeches) AND GOD – if he exists, which I strongly and fully doubt – DAMN THAT DAY TO HELL AND BEYOND……or BELOW……or whatever!
As for the AOUUIS; please do not blame them too much. They do not really like Aoun; they only follow this Mad-Rabid-Clown-Comedian-Coward for what they can out of him, or through him, or because of him
Kindly bear in mind and note well that, with all our troubles and worries and woes, Etc and so forth and so on, WE – the Lebanese people – are much happier and much better off than the Syrians and the Iranians have ever been or will ever be! Trust me, for I know well of what I write
Finally, If Fouad Saniora is still the Prime Minister then the International Tribunal is still on the tracks and that is why HASSAN HEZBALLAH and NABIH AMAL are not pleased. They did not expect IT, and they do not like IT
Hassan Nesrallah: We won’t use our weapons because we’ve already used them and, as I speak, we’re using them, so don’t worry. If we’ve already used them then we can’t use them because we’ve used them. And if we use them, we use them to see if we can still use them; so even when we use them, we’re not actually using them
Dear readers and fellow-Apes; I believe I have made my points in my comments in the title of this posting, so out of respect for your Etc, and so forth and so on, I shall keep any further comments short and sweet, and included, inserted, or added.
N.B: Hezballah, Amal, the SSNP, the Aounis, Maradas, Karamis, Arslans, Wahabs, Etc, are illiterate and ignorant in the sense that education and enlightenment are not as they are imbibed or assimilated but as they are applied and used
Headline:
HASSAN NESRALLAH VOWS NOT TO USE ARMS TO ACHIEVE POLITICAL GOALS Hezballah leader re-affirms his party's commitment to the Doha accord
The Daily Star Staff Tuesday 27th May 2008
BEIRUT: Hezballah leader Sayyed Hassan Nesrallah vowed his group (would not use) have used, and will continue to use its arms to achieve political gains, and renewed the party's commitment and determination to preserving Lebanese division (diversity) in a speech on Monday to mark the eight-year anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from most of South Lebanon
Nesrallah was speaking on the day after Michael Suleiman was elected president. The election ended a long-running political crisis between rival factions that left the country without a head of state since late November – and which was all because of Hezballah’s, Amal’s, and the SSNP’s weapons and arsenals which were used to achieve Syria’s and Iran’s aims and goals; i.e. what has taken place.
Headline:
SEVERAL WOUNDED AFTER RIVAL FACTIONS EXCHANGE GUN-FIRE IN CORNICHE AL-MAZRAA
The Daily Star Staff Tuesday 27th May 2008
BEIRUT: A late-night skirmish between rival factions in the Beirut neighborhood of Corniche al-Mazraa on Monday left several people injured. The Lebanese Army deployed and closed the roads between Corniche al-Mazraa, Barbour and Tarik al-Jadida and was soon able to contain the fight.
The fight broke out when supporters of Hezballah and Amal paraded in the streets of Corniche al-Mazraa, which is a predominantly Sunni neighborhood, shortly after Hezballah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah concluded his speech to mark Liberation Day – a speech which he made after he had given his illiterate and ignorant hordes their orders to do what they did, knowing fully well that the others would react to it, and as soon as they did, the weapons appeared as if by magic which means the Amal and Hezballah goons went there intending to provoke, and they were prepared.
Sources added that after verbal insults had been traded, the quarrel degenerated into a fight and the two groups exchanged gunfire.
The exact number of casualties was not immediately clear. Security sources said nine people were hurt, while other sources said 16 people were wounded in what it called provocation and attacks by Amal and Hezballah supporters.
This was the first incident since the Lebanese Army took control of western Beirut after deadly clashes between pro-government and opposition gunmen in early May killed at least 65 Lebanese and wounded scores more, in the worst internal fighting since the 1975-1990 Civil War.
THE DOHA ACCORD: QUE PASA? QUO VADIS, ET CUI BONO? The biggest losers are Lebanon and the Lebanese
The Doha accord called for Michael Suleiman's election and appointment as the next president, a national unity government in which the Opposition has veto power, and a new law for parliamentary elections due next year. Well, Michael Suleiman is now the president, and it is my belief that not God and all his angels, and Satan and all his devils can save Lebanon from Syria’s boots on our leaders’ and politicians’ necks, and Iran’s boots in their mouths! Actually, his election to and appointment as the president was neither legal nor constitutional – it was done without the necessary Constitutional Amendment – and one day, if and when he decides to do the right and good thing for Lebanon and the Lebanese, THEY will use it against him and say he is illegal and unconstitutional, and then we shall have Tent City, strikes, demonstrations, and violent protests and street and road blockages, with the usual side-dish: burning tyres, and the closing down of the Beirut International Airport, Etc, and so forth and so on.
The Opposition has the power of VETO! BY GOD! Do you guys out there realise what this means? It means: the Opposition is not going to do anything good for or beneficial to Lebanon and the Lebanese; that’s for sure, and that’s settled; once and for all time! BUT! The Opposition will do anything and everything good for and beneficial to Syria and Iran! AND! The Opposition will not let or allow the government – whoever they are – to do anything good for or beneficial to Lebanon and the Lebanese; including the new Electoral Laws! So, in several nut-shells, it means:
1: The International Tribunal is out the window; BAHH! KAPUT! And Syria is back in the saddle and……
2: Saad Harriri will be the next Prime Minister – better to be still alive and the PM than to be dead and buried
3: We all thought Michael Aoun sought to enhance and improve the position, dignity, and status of the Maronite President, increase his powers, and widen his scope or range of prerogatives, but ALAS! All he wanted was the Presidency; even if it was for only a week and even if it meant he couldn’t do or say anything! For Aoun, it has always been: Ya ana, aou la a7ad! And right now, it is true that there is a Donkey at the Donkey-Stable Baabda Palace, but he’s just a Donkey on the Chair with no real or full powers; one more Syrian Puppet-Pawn, and Aoun has been screwed but he doesn’t know it yet. No presidency for him; they’ll fade him out, bit by bit.
4: UN Resolution 1559, or Hezballah’s weapons and arsenal – including Amal’s, the SSNP’s, and their allies’ – are now off the table and out of the question!
5: UN Resolution 1701 is in big trouble, since Hezballah, Amal, and the SSNP Etc will now have a free hand.
6: Nabih Beriberi Berri is set for life as the Speaker, and he will probably set it up as a Dynasty for his posterity. This Beriberi disease has outstayed his welcome in the House of Representatives or Parliament, but hasn’t yet outlived his usefulness to his owners: Syria and Iran.
7: Michael Suleiman could and might turn out to be another Le-Hood, if not worse – slightly more or less.
8: The Maronite Presidency has now become more of a farce than ever before! Drain his brain, strip him of his powers, teach him the best way to nod for YES and shake his head for NO, place him on that meaningless chair, and then pat him on the back.
9: Worst of all, Lebanon and the Lebanese people are headed straight back into Syria’s arms or Syria’s feet; and……
10: ……watch this space……
IRAN: AT LEAST 30 KILLED AND 38 INJURED IN EXPLOSION AND FIRE AT CHEMICAL PLANT IN SHAZAND – MARKAZI Is this another attempt by the USA and Britain and counter-revolutionary elements?
IRNA via AFP via Yahoo! News Alerts Sunday 25th May 2008
Dear readers and fellow-Apes; read the report below and remember it well because Mahmoud Ahmedinehad will later on put the blame on the USA and Britain, and counter-revolutionary elements
TEHERAN: The Iran State News Agency (IRNA) reported that at least 30 people were killed and 38 seriously injured (23 suffered severe burns: 70 to 100%) in a fire that was caused by an explosion at a Cosmetics and Detergent-Producing Chemical Plant in Shazand in Markazi; Central Iran on Sunday. All the equipment in the factory and in the adjacent plant caught fire.
Shazand is about 320km (200m) south of Teheran. Markazi province is one of Iran's main industrial hubs. It is also one of Iran's key nuclear sites; a heavy water-reactor is at present under construction near the city of Arak.
ISRAEL OR PALESTINE OR PALESTINE OR ISRAEL OR ISRAEL OR….Once one knows the facts of HOW, WHY, and WHERE; one could then decide WHAT is WHAT, WHICH is WHICH, and WHO is WHOM; and let go of the HORSE-SHIT
THE LAND OF ISRAEL, known in Hebrew as Eretz Yisrael, has been sacred to the Jewish people since the time of the biblical patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Bible places this period in the early 2nd millennium BC. According to the Torah, the Land of Israel was promised to the Jews as their homeland, and the sites holiest to Judaism are located there. Around the 11th century BC, the first of a series of Jewish Kingdoms and States had established rule over the region; these Jewish Kingdoms and States ruled intermittently for the following one thousand years.
Between the time of the Jewish Kingdoms and the 7th-century Moslem conquests, the Land of Israel fell under Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Sassanian, and Byzantine rule. Jewish presence in the region dwindled after the failure of the Bar Kokhba (the return of the Messiah) Revolt against the Roman Empire in 132AD and the resultant large-scale expulsion of Jews. Nevertheless, a continuous Jewish presence in Palestine was maintained. Although the main Jewish population shifted from the Judea region to the Galilee; the Mishnah and part of the Talmud, among Judaism's most important religious texts, were composed in Israel during this period. The Land of Israel was captured from the Byzantine Empire around 636AD during the initial Moslem conquests. Control of the region was transferred between the Umayyads, Abbasids, and the Crusaders over the next six centuries, before falling into the hands of the Mamluk Sultanate, in 1260. In 1516, the Land of Israel became a part of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled the region until the 20th century.
PALESTINE, Greek: Παλαιστίνη. Latin: Palaestina; Hebrew: פלשתינה Palestina; Arabic: فلسطين Filasṭīn, Falasṭīn, Filisṭīn; is a widely-attested Western and Near Eastern conventional name which is used, among others, to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River and various adjoining lands. As a geographical, apolitical term, in its broadest application, it can be used to refer to ancient Palestine, an area that includes contemporary Israel, the Israeli-occupied territories, part of Jordan, and some parts of both Lebanon and Syria. In classical or contemporary terms, it can also be used to refer to the area once known as British Mandate Palestine, and today known as Israel, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.
The Hebrew Bible calls the region Canaan (כּנען), while the part of it occupied by the Israelites is designated Israel (Yisrael). The name Land of the Hebrews (ארץ העברים, Eretz Ha-Ivrim) is also found, as well as several poetical names: land flowing with milk and honey, the land that God promised to your fathers to assign to you, the Holy Land, the Land of the Lord, and the Promised Land.
* The Land of the Lord indeed! What a shambles of a place! Personally, I do not see anything holy about the place, as it has been an arena of wars, battles, and skirmishes since as far back as anyone could possibly remember or read about; nor do I see any sign or hope of peace or compromise or co-existence.
The Land of Canaan is given a precise description in the Bible (the Old Testament) as including all of Lebanon as well. The wide area appears to have been the home of several small nations such as the Canaanites / Hebrews / Hittites / Amorrhites / Pherezites / Hevites and Jebusites.
According to Hebrew tradition, the land of Canaan is part of the land given to the descendants of Abraham, which extends from the Nile to the Euphrates River. That land is said to include an area called Aram Naharaim, which includes Ur Kasdim in modern Turkey, where Abraham's father was born.
Human remains found at El-'Ubeidiya, 2 miles (3 km) south of Lake Tiberius date back as early as 500,000 years ago. The discovery of the Palestine Man in the Zuttiyeh Cave in Wadi Al-Amud near Safad in 1925 provided some clues to human development in the area. N.B: He was named the Palestine Man but that doesn’t prove he was Palestinian or Jew. He could have been a wanderer from the Arabian Peninsula or anywhere else.
In the caves of Shuqba in Ramallah and Wadi Khareitun in Bethlehem, stone, wood and animal bone tools were found and attributed to the Natufian culture (12,800 – 10,300 BC). Other remains from this era have been found at Tel Abu Hureura, Ein Mallaha, Beidha and Jericho.
Between 10,000 and 5,000BC, agricultural communities were established. Evidence of such settlements were found at Tel El-Sultan, Jericho and include mud-brick rounded and square dwellings, pottery shards, and fragments of woven fabrics.
A culture originating in Syria existed along the Jericho-Dead Sea-Bir El-Saba-Gaza-Sinai route, marked by the use of copper and stone tools that brought new migrant groups to the region contributing to an increasingly urban social fabric.
By the early Bronze Age (3000–2200BC) independent Canaanite city-states situated in plains and coastal regions and surrounded by mud-brick defensive walls were established and most of these cities relied on nearby agricultural hamlets for their food.
Archaeological finds from the early Canaanite era have been found at Tel Megiddo, Jericho, Tel al-Far'a (Gaza), Bisan, and Ai (Deir Dibwan/Ramallah District), Tel El Nasbe (al-Bireh) and Jib (Jerusalem).
In the Middle Bronze Age (2200–1500BC), Canaan was influenced by the surrounding civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, and Syria; diverse commercial ties and an agriculturally based economy led to the development of new pottery forms, the cultivation of grapes, and the extensive use of bronze. Burial customs at the time seemed to be influenced by a belief in the afterlife.
Political, commercial, and military events during the Late Bronze Age period (1450–1350BC) were recorded by ambassadors and Canaanite proxy-rulers for Egypt in 379 cuneiform tablets known as the Amana Letters.
By 1190BC, the Philistines had arrived and mingled with the local population, losing their separate identity over several generations.
Pottery remains found in Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gat, Ekron and Gaza decorated with stylized birds provided the first archaeological evidence for Philistine settlement in the region. The Philistines were credited with introducing iron weapons and chariots to the local population.
After the Persian Empire had been established, Jews were allowed to return to what their holy books had termed the Land of Israel, and having been granted some autonomy by the Persian administration, and it was during this period that the Second Temple in Jerusalem was built. Sebastia, near Nablus, was the northernmost province of the Persian administration in Palestine, and its southern borders were at Hebron. Some of the local population served as soldiers and lay people in the Persian administration, while others continued in agriculture. In 400BC, the Nabataeans made inroads into southern Palestine and built a separate civilization in the Negev that lasted until 160BC.
The Persian Empire fell to the Greek forces of the Macedonian general Alexander the Great. After his death, with the absence of heirs, his conquests were divided amongst his generals, while the region of the Jews: Judah or Judea as it became known; was at first part of the Ptolemaic Dynasty and then part of the Seleucid Empire.
The landscape during this period was markedly changed by extensive growth and development that included urban planning and the establishment of well-built fortified cities. Hellenistic pottery was produced that absorbed Philistine traditions. Trade and commerce flourished, particularly in the most Hellenized areas, such as Ascalon, Jaffa, Jeruslem, Gaza, and ancient Nablus.
The Jewish population in Judea was allowed limited autonomy in religion and administration.
An independent Jewish Kingdom under the Hasmonean Dynasty existed from 140 to 37BC. In the second century BC, fascination for Greek culture in Jerusalem resulted in a movement to break down the separation of Jew and Gentile and some Jews even tried to disguise the marks of their circumcision. Disputes between the leaders of the reform movement eventually led to civil war and the intervention of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Subsequent persecution of the Jews led to the Maccabean Revolt under the leadership of the Hasmoneans, and the construction of a native Jewish Kingship under the Hasmonean Dynasty. After approximately a century of independence, disputes between the Hasmonean rivals Aristobulus and Hyrcanus led to control of the kingdom by the Roman army of Pompey; the territory then became first a Roman Client Kingdom under Hyrcanus and then, in 70BC, a Roman Province administered by the Roman Governor of Syria.
General Pompey arrived in Judea in 63 BC, but Roman Rule was solidified when Herod of Idumean ancestry was appointed as king. Urban planning under the Romans was characterized by cities designed around the Forum – the central intersection of two main streets – the Cardo, running north-south and the Decumanus running east-west. Cities were connected by an extensive network of roads developed for economic and military purposes. Among the most notable archaeological remnants from this era are Herodium (Tel al-Fureidis) to the south of Bethlehem and Caesarea.
Around the time associated with the birth of Jesus, Roman Palestine was in a state of disarray and direct Roman Rule was re-established. The early Christians were oppressed and while most inhabitants became romanized, others, particularly Jews, found Roman rule to be unbearable.
THE FRIST JEWISH REVOLT IN JUDEA
The Jews revolted, and as the result of the First Jewish-Roman War (66-73AD), Titus sacked Jerusalem; destroying the Second Temple, leaving only supporting walls, including the Western Wall.
THE SECOND JEWISH REVOLT IN JUDEA
In 135AD, following the fall of the second Jewish revolt led by Bar Kokhba (Hebrew: מרד בר כוכבא) in 132–135AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian attempted the expulsion of Jews from Judea. His attempt was as unsuccessful as were most of Rome's many attempts to alter the demography of the Empire; this was demonstrated by the continued existence of the Rabbinical Academy of Lydda in Judea; and in any case large Jewish populations remained in Samaria and the Galilee.
The Bar Kokhba Revolt against the Roman Empire was the second major revolt by the Jews of Judea and the last of the Jewish-Roman Wars. Simon Bar Kokhba, the commander of the revolt, was acclaimed the Messiah, the King prophesied to restore Israel. The revolt established a Jewish state for over two years, but a massive Roman army finally crushed it. The Romans then barred Jews from Jerusalem. Jewish Christians hailed Jesus as the Messiah and did not support Bar Kokhba, but all the same, they were barred from Jerusalem along with the rest of the Jews. The war and its aftermath helped differentiate Christianity as a religion distinct from Judaism.
The Revolt is also known as The Second Jewish Revolt that resulted in the second Jewish-Roman War; or The Third Revolt, with the Kitos War, 115 - 117, as the Second.
Lydda or Lod (Hebrew: לוֹד, Arabic: اَلْلُدّْ, pronounced Al-Ludd, Greco-Latin: Lydda) is a mixed Arab-Jewish city ten miles southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. In 2007, its population was 74,000. A historic city dating from the Greek and Roman eras, Lod is the hub of Israel's main international airport, Ben Gurion International Airport, previously known as Lod Airport. The airport and related industries are a major source of employment for the residents of Lod. The Jewish Agency Absorption Centre, the main facility for handling olim arriving in Israel, is also located in Lod.
