DISCOVERY IN ANTIOCH

The town of Antioch is today, the city of Antakya, a city under Turkish occupation in the southern-most part of Turkey. Known as the cradle of Christianity, it was originally part of the territory of the Syriac Christians who inhabited the lands from Antioch in the west to western Iran in the east, and represented the churches belonging to the Syrian Orthodox Church, the Syrian Catholic Church, the Assyrian Church, and the Chaldean Catholic Church. Most of the followers of these churches have left Antioch over the years due to Turkish oppression. 

Recently, an amazing archaeological find was discovered under a luxury hotel in the area attesting to ancient, non-Turkish habitation, the ancesters of today's Syriac Christians. See article here.

ISRAEL: CURRENT EVENTS

 A lot has been happening in Israel lately - on the one hand, trying to act as mediator in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and on the other, the uptick in Arab terrorism. The uptick in Arab terror is nothing new. The Zionists could have put an end to that a long time ago but they refuse to. Anything to make Jews suffer. Ironic when one considers Israel's friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine who also have very friendly relatons with their respective Jewish communities. (Zionists, take a lesson.) So what does Israel do in this situation? I'm sure there are thousands of opinions on the subject and I admit this blog is just not capable of answering that kind of question. Personally, I direct the reader to two links I tend to read a lot - here and here. They are general websites focused, of course, on Israel, but you get a lot of information.

For a historical list of indigenous (Jewish) leaders of Israel since the time of Abraham, see this posting.

PRESENT-DAY AMMAN

In a few blog postings past, l mentioned that the Kingdom of Jordan was an Arab-occupied country, and I believe in another post, I referred to it as an artificial country created by the British. I think this deserves some clarification since it’s actually a bit more complex than that. While it is a simple fact that Jordan really is an artificial country with no historical basis, as far as it being Arab-occupied, well, that's only half true. In other words, half of it is true and half of it is not. The western part, especially the northwestern quarter, is indeed Arab-occupied since it historically belongs to Israel. The rest of the country has historically belonged to Arabia, so in that sense, Jordan is not as occupied as most countries in the region. The reason why I bring this up is because I decided to do a posting on the capital city of this artificial country, Amman, originally the ancient town of Ammon, capital of the Ammonites, located in the western Central part, just outside the borders of historic Israel, in Arabia. Today of course, it serves as “Jordan” ‘s political and financial hub.

For many years, anti-American sentiment has been rife in this city as in the rest of the country. America’s crime? Being allies of Israel. See this article written in Weave News in February.

I wonder if the present-day Ammonites ever thought about fixing their own problems at home instead of blaming everything on America and Israel. See this article in RoyaNews in March.

FOLLOW-UP FROM PREVIOUS POSTING

Algiers is a major city in Arab-occupied Algeria. Indigenous sites in the city include:

The Casbah, located on the ruins of Icosium, the Roman settlement, located along the city's bay. Roman ruins can still be seen there today. Located in the Casbah are several Moorish-influence palaces such as the Palace of the Dey, built by the Dey Hussein in the 16th century; along the bay, the so-called Palace of Riyadh fortress which was begun by the Dey Ramdhan Pasha in 1576; and the Dar Moustapha Pacha Moorish Palace built in 1798. 

The El Kebir, or Great, Mosque, the oldest in Algiers, is located on the Rue de la Marine. It was built by the Berber Almoravid Caliph Yousef ibn Tashfin; 

The Bardo National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography was originally a Moorish villa; it opened as a museum in 1927.

The Villa Abd el Tiff, built in the Moorish style in 1907.

The Museum of Modern Art was originally a French department store, completed in 1909 in the Moorish style. It opened as a museum in 2007.

THE INDIGENOUS ALGERIANS

The Pact of Omar in the 7^th century defined the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims. Usually, this meant that non-Muslims would have to content themselves with being second class citizens. It was institutionalized racism, but did this racism only pertain to non-Muslims. The answer is actually “no”. The indigenous people of North Africa, the Berber (Amazigh) tribes, who adopted Islam early in Islamic history – some tribes, involuntarily – in the wake of the Arab invasion, occupation, and colonization of their ancestral homeland, North Africa, many times, throughout their history, have often been relegated to second class citizenship in relation to the Arab occupiers.  

Since North Africa is such a huge area, this blog has covered various locations separately. So for right now, I will cover the indigenous people of Algeria. For a brief historical overview of the indigenous Algerians, see this posting.  

Discrimination against the Amazigh continues to this day. For articles on such discrimination, combined with their culture, see these articles from France24, Xinhua, and PressZA.

INDIGENOUS ALEXANDRIA

The status of the indigenous Egyptians, the Copts, in Alexandria, as with the rest of Egypt, is pretty precarious at best. For instance, in December 2020, a Coptic shopowner was stabbed to death by an Arab settler simply for being a Copt. For a history of the indigenous Egyptians in Alexandria, see this posting. For two of the most recent events in the indigenous Egyptian community, both written in Wataninet.com, see here and here.

COMPARING TO CURRENT EVENTS

From a Jewish perspective, the present conflict in Ukraine is very awkward. Both the leaders of Russia and the leaders of Ukraine are very friendly to Jews and have close relations with Israel. The question then arises: how do Jews relate to a leader, in this case, Putin of Russia, who may be a friend to Jews but a tyrant to other people, in this case, Ukrainians. This blog does not attempt to answer that but I have written on the subject in a roundabout way (nothing to do with Eastern Europe). See this posting written in October.

MISHKAN MUSEUM OF ART, EIN HAROD

Ein Harod is a kibbutz in northern Israel founded in 1921. For a history of Ein Harod, posted on this blog, see here. The Mishkan Museum of Art is Ein Harod's main attraction. COVID-19 has wrought havoc on this museum as it did on every other cultural institution in the world. For a write-up of the various shows that were put on here last year, see this article in the Jerusalem Post.

JUDEA

The ancient tribal territory of Judah, later modified to “Judea”, is a medium sized desert and steppe area roughly stretching from Jerusalem in the north to Beersheba in the south, and includes the cities of Bethlehem and Hebron. Most of the international community considers this area to be illegally occupied by the Jews. I’d respond to that, but I really shouldn’t use that kind of language on a blog. For a brief history of this area, I refer you to this blog’s posting here.

In between all the intifadas, attacking Jews who reclaim stolen Jewish property, Zionist and Arab prevention of Jews freely going to their holy places, rocks being thrown at passing motorists, Molotov cocktails, etc., not to mention international Jew-hatred resulting in multiple condemnations, especially from that Pile of Shit in New York, the Jewish population, commonly referred to as “settlers”, continues to try to lead normal lives, operate businesses, and conduct archaeological excavations of which, there are many sites. In fact, archaeological excavations continue to this day. See this article from IsraelNationalNews.com.

ISRAEL PAST AND PRESENT

The world’s irrational obsession with Israel is simply mindboggling. Every single day, literally, the anti-Semites would come up with a brand new excuse to hate Israel and Jews in general. Today, Israel is supposed to be an apartheid state. In yesteryear, Israel stole land from the Palestinians, and before the Palestinians, the Arabs. In the last 50 years, the country had been the receiver of more resolutions against it from that Pile of Shit in New York than any other country combined – and that includes the likes of Iran, North Korea, China, or Venezuela. But why? A couple of reasons. Primarily, because Israel is a Jewish country and no one likes that. Another reason, which is just as compelling, is that the Jews, as the indigenous people of Israel, won back its homeland and reestablished a successful independent country. This quietly serves as an inspiration, not just for the other indigenous populations in the Middle East and North Africa that are under Arab occupation such as the Copts in Egypt, the Assyrians and Kurds in Iraq, and the Amazigh (Berbers) in North Africa, etc. (which after all, is the theme of this blog, isn’t it?) but also to those beyond the region. This, I’m sure, give the dominant populations in those countries a little discomfort.

Today, Israel has been very active on the world stage but just as active a history, something the Zionists refuse to acknowledge. For a listing of past leaders of Israel, see this posting on this blog. For the latest news and analysis, I recommend (and I’m sure some might disagree with me) the Jerusaslem Post website.

 

AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan is another one of those countries that has been in the news once or twice recently. The Islamic Emirate, whose population is composed mostly of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks, could be considered part of the “Greater Middle East” and in fact, none of Afghanistan’s neighbors are “Arab countries”. Indeed, it is sandwiched between the major countries of that region – Iran to the west and Pakistan to the east and south – as if that’s better. It is also bordered by Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to the north, and Tajikistan and China to the northeast. Human habitation in Afghanistan dates back to the Middle Paleolithic era, and the country's strategic location along the historic Silk Road connected it to the cultures of other parts of Asia as well as Europe, leaving behind the mosaic of ethnolinguistic and religious groups, mentioned above. The land has also witnessed numerous military campaigns throughout its history including those by Alexander the Great, the Maurya Empire, Muslim Arabs, and the Mongols. Afghanistan also served as the source from which the Greco-Bactrians and the Mughals, among others, rose to form major empires. The various conquests and periods in both the Indian and Persian cultural spheres made the area a center for Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and later Islam throughout history. The modern state of Afghanistan began with the Durrani dynasty in the 18th century. This empire, at its peak, ruled an area stretching from eastern Iran to northern India. Following its decline, and the death of Timur Shah, it was divided into the smaller independent kingdoms of Herat, Kandahar and Kabul, before being reunited in the 19th century after wars of unification led by Dost Mohammad Khan. During this time, Afghanistan became a buffer state in the "Great Game" between British India and the Russian Empire. The British in India attempted to subjugate the country but were repelled in the First Anglo-Afghan War; in the second Anglo-Afghan war, the British successfully established a protectorate. Following a third war in 1919, the country became free of foreign dominance, and eventually emerged as the independent Kingdom of Afghanistan in June 1926 under Amanullah Khan. This kingdom lasted almost 50 years, until Zahir Shah was overthrown in 1973, following which a republic was established. Afghanistan's history since the late 1970s has been dominated by coups, revolutions, invasions, insurgencies and civil wars, not to mention, a Soviet invasion and occupation and, after 9/11, an invasion by an American-led coalition force which hunted down the terrorist network that was responsible for the attacks on New York and Washington. Mission accomplished, the eventual American withdrawal unfortunately, ended up in a big mess. Today, the country is under the control of the Islamist Taliban, which came back to power after a 20-year long war. In the meantime, Afghanistan has witnessed high levels of terrorism, poverty, and child malnutrition, and an economy that ranks number 96 in the world. See this BBC report. Women’s rights are another issue of concern. See this video clip as reported by NBC News and this clip by the PBS NewsHour. 

JERUSALEM PAST AND PRESENT

Jerusalem has been the capital of the nation of Israel for over 3000 years since the time of King David, probably making it the longest serving capital city in the world. But because it is the Jewish capital, the present international community refuses to recognize it as such. So if you’re looking for some juicy anti-Semitic propaganda like distinguishing between “Arab East” and “West” Jerusalem, I suggest you go to the websites of the BBC or the Guardian or the LA Times or the NY Times, but you won’t find such propaganda here. I refuse to do that. And because Jerusalem is the Jewish capital, this post will focus only on the Jewish aspects of the city (unless it is important to mention otherwise), so get used to it!!!

For a brief historical overview of the city, see this posting on this blog.

Jerusalem isn’t as violent as people think it is. This article in the online version of the Jerusalem Post (jpost.com) describes briefly the many cultural events in the city in the first week of February 2022.

YEMEN

Yemen, also known as South Arabia, is a country on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula with a population estimated at over 30,000,000. Its constitutionally stated capital, and largest city, is Sana’a. Currently, Yemen is a member of the Arab League, the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

In ancient times, the country was known as Saba (Sheba) and was the home of the Queen of Sheba. It was a trading state that included parts of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea. Saba was later followed by the Kingdom of Awsan. By 275 CE, Yemen was ruled by the Himyarites who had adopted Judaism. Christianity arrived in the fourth century. Islam spread quickly in the seventh century and Yemenite troops were crucial to the Islamic conquests that followed. Several dynasties emerged between the 9th and 16th centuries and in the 19th century, the country was divided between the Ottoman (North Yemen) and British (South Yemen) empires. After World War I, the Zaydi Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen was established in South Yemen but was overthrown in 1962 and the Yemen Arab Republic, a British protectorate, was created in its place. It remained a British protectorate until 1967 when it became independent. In 1990, North and South Yemen united to form the modern Republic of Yemen (al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah) with Ali Abdullah Saleh as president. With the outbreak of the Arab Spring, the people of Yemen took to the streets to protest widespread poverty, unemployment, corruption, and Saleh's plan to amend the constitution and eliminate the presidential term limit. Eventually, Saleh stepped down and the powers of the presidency were transferred to Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Since then, the country has been in a civil war (alongside the Saudi Arabian-led military intervention aimed at restoring Hadi's government) with several proto-state entities claiming to govern Yemen. At least 56,000 civilians and combatants have been killed since January 2016. The ongoing humanitarian crisis and conflict has received widespread criticism for having a dramatic worsening effect on Yemen's humanitarian situation, that some say has reached the level of a "humanitarian disaster". Today, Yemen belongs to the least developed country group, referring to its numerous "severe structural impediments to sustainable development". (see video)

ADEN

A lot of people have accused this blog of being anti-Arab. They often ask me if the Arabs have a place in the Middle East at all? First, I just want to categorically state that this blog is by no means anti-Arab or anti- anybody else. I do condemn the Arab occupation but that doesn’t mean I condemn the Arabs. Indeed, the Arabs have a very important place in the Middle East, but it can only come from their ancestral homeland, Arabia. Starting today, and from time to time, I will be posting articles on Arabia and its different localities – the good, the bad, and the stupid – three aspects that all nations around the world contain.

 

This posting today, will cover the city of Aden, a city with a population of approximately 800,000. It is located near the eastern approaches to the Red Sea on the Gulf of Aden, some 110 miles east of the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb. Aden's natural harbor, Front Bay, lies in the crater of a dormant volcano, which now forms a peninsula joined to the mainland by a low isthmus. This harbor was first used by the ancient Kingdom of Awsan between the 7th to 5th centuries BCE. Khormaksar, located on the isthmus, includes the city's diplomatic missions, the main offices of Aden University, and Aden International Airport (the former British Royal Air Force station RAF Khormaksar), Yemen's second biggest airport. Aden was the capital of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen until that country's unification with the Yemen Arab Republic in 1990, and again briefly served as Yemen's temporary capital during the aftermath of the Houthi takeover in Yemen in the Battle of Aden, March to July 2015. Water, food, and medical supplies ran short. On July 14, the Saudi Army launched an offensive to retake Aden for the Yemeni government. Within three days the Houthis had been removed from the city. Since February 2018, Aden has been seized by the Southern Transitional Council, that is supported by the UAE. Violence is still a factor of daily life as described by this article on the Al Jazeera website in 2021.

ETHIOPIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Ethiopia has been in the news a lot lately, especially concerning the troubles in Tigray province. But this blog is about the Middle East, and the Arab-occupied territories in particular. Obviously, Ethiopia is not an Arab country but would it be considered part of the Greater Middle East? That could be a subject of debate but in my opinion, the answer would be yes. Even though many of the local ethnicities are African, and some might be considered Middle Eastern, geographically, of the six countries that border Ethiopia, the country is sandwiched between three Arab-occupied countries who are members of the Arab League – Sudan on the west, and Djibouti and Somalia on the east. Eritrea on the north is an Arab League observer. Aside from Tigray, Ethiopia has a long-running feud with Somalia which is naturally allied with the ethnic Somalis in the neighboring Ogaden region which falls within the borders of Ethiopia. In between Djibouti and Somalia is the Republic of Somaliland which wants independence from Somalia and return to its non-Arab roots as represented by the ancient Land of Punt. (see article) Relations with Sudan and Egypt over its [Ethiopia’s] construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River have been sorely tested recently. Relations with Israel go back centuries. It is said that the Ethiopian royal house was descended from the union between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. During the late 30s/early 40s, when Italian fascist troops occupied Ethiopia, it was to the Land of Israel that Emperor Haile Selassie fled. Since that time, there was a kind of love/hate relationship between the two countries but relations have grown warmer in recent years. 

JORDAN

Jordan is one of those countries where you question the purpose of its existence, especially considering the fact that there is no historical basis for it except for its largely Jewish history which goes back to antiquity (see here and here).

Still, one must admit that, by Middle Eastern standards, Jordan is a pretty stable country considering there are many actors who would love to chop the heads off of the king and his entire family.

The “Jordanian” government has long had a strong alliance with the Zionists in Israel especially in regards to Temple Mount in Jerusalem where the Zionist government gleefully allows the “Jordanian” wakf, a Muslim trust responsible for, what they consider to be, Muslim holy places, total control, and enthusiastically agree to make Jewish prayer there illegal, which is itself illegal under international law (if not treason in this case). And not just in Jerusalem. See here.

During the pandemic, the “Jordanian” economy suffered just like every other economy around the world. But still in the midst of the pandemic, King Abdullah II is trying his best to revive the economy, especially in regards to tourism. (see article)