CHARBONNEAU – Palestine vs. Israel: Brothers are the worst enemies

THROUGHOUT HISTORY, sibling rivalry and family feuds have resulted in epic struggles for power, land and resources.

The first murder recorded in the Bible was committed by a jealous bother. Cain murdered his brother Abel after God was more pleased with Abel’s offering of a lamb than Cain’s offering of leftover harvest.

The genetic record reveals that the Arabs of Palestine and the Jews of Israel are family. And their religions originate from the same source.

In her DNA study, Ariella Oppenheim of Hebrew University in Jerusalem found that the Y chromosome of Arab and Jewish men were almost indistinguishable. They both were descendants of indigenous people that lived in the area in the 12th century BC.

That’s not surprising when you consider that the indigenous people of North America are also genetically related. But unlike North America, where large tracts of land are recognized as belonging to one identifiable group, ownership of Palestine is disputed.

The current war between Palestine and Israel is over who owns the land.

Palestine is part of what was known as Canaan. The Canaanites were an indigenous people who occupied the area.

Since the Bible was written by the Israelites, it’s not surprising that the biblical record differs from the archaeological one.

The Bible traces the origin of the Israelites back to Abraham through their son Isaac. Isaac’s son Jacob was later called Israel. According to the Bible, the Canaanites are identified as descendants of Canaan, a son of Ham and grandson of Noah.

Archaeology reveals that the Canaanites were a confederation of Semitic-speaking tribes in the12th century BCE.

The Semitic languages are a branch of a larger language family. They include Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew, and numerous other ancient languages. Canaanite languages were common until the 2nd century AD. Hebrew is the only living Canaanite language today.

The Israelites and their culture, according to the modern archaeological account, did not overtake the region by force, but instead branched out of the indigenous Canaanite peoples that long inhabited the area.

Palestinians and Israelites have the same Abrahamic religions.

According to the Bible, Abraham had two sons Ishmael and Isaac. Isaac was the favoured son with whom God established a covenant. Ishmael was cursed and banished to the desert, though God promised that Ishmael would rise up a great nation of his own.

Muslims trace their lineage to Ishmael. Islam embraces the moral and ethical teachings of the Jewish Bible as well as Christianity. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all recognize Abraham as their first prophet.

Also, Muslims and Christians believe that Jesus was born to Mary, a virgin. They believe that Jesus is the Messiah. However, they differ on other key issues regarding Jesus.

The Israelite religion is unique in that it is monotheistic. Where the Canaanites believed in many gods, the Israelites centered belief in one, Yahweh, who was just one of the ancient Canaanite deities. The outgrowth monotheism that centred on Yahweh, along with a number other practices, gradually gave rise to a distinct Israelite ethnic group, setting them apart from other Canaanites.

The war between the Israelites and Palestinians will only be resolved when they acknowledge their common heritage and realize that the land belongs to both.

David Charbonneau is a retired TRU electronics instructor who hosts a blog at http://www.eyeviewkamloops.wordpress.com.