OF COURSE, IT MUST BE TRUE, JEWISH HISTORY AND THE NATION OF ISRAEL ONLY BEGAN IN THE MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY!

The widespread ignorance of history is appalling; but, even more deplorable, are efforts to rewrite history in pursuit of political goals, seeking to prey upon that ignorance

A prime example of such endeavors occurred last week, when the Arab League threw its considerable weight around to  suppress a UNESCO-sanctioned exhibit in Los Angeles.  The display, "People, Book, Land - The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People and the Land of Israel,"  was set to open tomorrow, January 20.  The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles partnered with UNESCO to make the event possible. Israel, Canada and Montenegro had signed on as co-sponsors.  However, at the last minute, the Arab League used its influence in the U.N. to nix the exhibit, loudly proclaiming that it was a travesty of history.

That the Jewish exodus from Egypt began in the 14th century B.C. is usually not contested by sane people. Running on through history, the long-running process of the diaspora is generally viewed as beginning with the Babylonian Captivity in the 6th century B.C. , with the Jewish people being dispersed throughout the Middle East, Judea and Babylon.  By 63 B.C., Israel had become a Roman protectorate.  The revolt against Rome in 66 A.D. resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem. which eventually led to the Emperor Hadrian declaring Israel to be part of "Syria-Palestine" in 135 A.D..

Despite the diaspora, there continued to be a Jewish presence from the time of the Crusader states, running through centuries of Turkish rule, which ended with the First World War, when the Jewish population amounted to approximately 100,000.  The Jewish population was augmented during the British mandate (1917 - 1947) and after World War II, when Jewish refugees arrived from Europe and other war-torn areas of the world.  By 1947, the United Nations had given its approval to the nation of Israel, which was recognized by the U.S. in 1948.  Thus, to deny a Jewish presence in the area which comprises the nation of Israel in 2014 for a space of 3,500 years is nothing short of unhistorical.

The revision of history for political purposes is nothing new.  Not only have crank historians sought to deny the Jewish Holocaust, similar efforts, with the sanction of law, have been undertaken to blot from memory the slaughter of Christian Armenians in Turkey.  In Turkey, journalists and historians who have sought to raise the national consciousness of the Armenian holocaust  have fallen upon Turkish law, which bans any public mention of officially carried out atrocities against Armenians as an "insult against Turkishness."

Efforts to falsify history were well known in the former Soviet Union; and, today, Muslim nations such as Pakistan go all out to "Islamify" history while reviling perceived enemies such as India.  And even in 21st century France, official history is not without an effort to put a positive spin on French colonialism.

It goes without saying that George Orwell had it right:  "The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history."  Given the authoritarian nature of the regimes making up the Arab League, I am not surprised that this group would seek to quash any attempt of expression contrary to their official line.  What is surprising, though, is that there has been nary a peep of official disgust from our own government in the U.S.  Servants of Clio must redouble their efforts in serving their mistress.

Deo Vindice!

May God less Texas, and may the Lone Star State remain forever red!