No Palestine

Shawn Vestal’s article July 8 on Arab journalism students visiting WSU deserves comment because of a major inaccuracy put forth by your professional writer and one interviewee: There has never been, nor is there currently a “Palestine” Arab country.

The region known as Palestine has for centuries referred to the eastern Mediterranean area that is now Israel and before 1948, a British mandate and before then, part of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire.

The countries (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq etc.) in the Mideast were carved and created by victorious French and British forces following the world wars. A new Arab state called Palestine was rejected by the Arab League in 1948 prior to their attack to destroy the newly created Israel.

The student declaring she was from Palestine must come from Gaza, controlled by Iran-backed Hamas terrorists, or an Arab town in Israel; some of these territories were part of Jordan prior to that country attacking and losing the 1967 war.

Best lesson we can offer journalists: report objectively, write truthfully and don’t revise history for a personal sake.

Joseph Harari

Spokane