Myth vs. Fact
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In Part 1, we examined what Scripture teaches about God’s covenant with Israel and the enduring promises connected to the land. Those biblical foundations are essential, but they naturally lead to another important question:
What does history actually show?
Many modern claims about Israel depend on historical assumptions that are repeated so often they sound authoritative. Yet repetition does not equal truth. When examined carefully, the historical record tells a more complete—and often very different—story.
In this second installment, we will examine widely repeated historical claims about Israel and compare them with documented events, legal decisions, and long-standing ties between the Jewish people and the land.
❌ Myth
Jews are foreign colonialists with no connection to the land.
✅ Fact
The Jewish people are indigenous to Israel, with over 3,000 years of recorded presence.
Jewish kingdoms existed in the land long before the rise of Rome, Islam, or modern European powers. Jerusalem became Israel’s capital during the reign of King David around 1000 B.C.
“David captured the stronghold of Zion, that is the city of David.”
— 2 Samuel 5:7
Scripture repeatedly affirms Jerusalem’s central place in Israel’s history:
“Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is the city of David.”
— 1 Chronicles 11:5
Archaeological discoveries—including inscriptions, coins, city ruins, and temple remains—confirm the presence of Jewish civilization throughout the land. Excavations in Jerusalem and surrounding regions continue to uncover physical evidence consistent with the biblical record.
Even after foreign conquests and dispersions, Jewish identity remained tied to this land through language, worship, and national memory.
This is not the pattern of colonial settlement—but of indigenous continuity.
❌ Myth
Palestine was always an Arab country.
✅ Fact
The land was historically known as Judea.
The name Palestine was introduced by the Romans after suppressing Jewish revolts in 135 A.D. Roman Emperor Hadrian renamed the region Syria Palaestina in an effort to minimize Jewish identification with the land.
Yet long before Roman renaming, Scripture consistently referred to the land as belonging to Israel:
“So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it.”
— Joshua 21:43
The name itself derived from the Philistines—an Aegean people, not from modern Arabs.
For centuries following Roman rule, the region passed through multiple empires, including:
Byzantine
Persian
Arab
Crusader
Ottoman
During these centuries, the land functioned as a province—not an independent Arab Palestinian state.
No independent Arab Palestinian state existed historically prior to the modern era.
❌ Myth
Jews have no historical claim to Israel.
✅ Fact
Jewish civilization in Israel dates back more than 3,000 years.
Israelite society flourished long before many modern nations existed. The kingdoms of Israel and Judah developed:
Agriculture
Law
Worship systems
Urban life centered around Jerusalem
Even after exile periods, Jewish communities remained active in the land.
Scripture anticipated both exile and return:
“Then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples.”
— Deuteronomy 30:3
Historical records confirm Jewish communities in:
Jerusalem
Hebron
Tiberias
Safed
These cities became centers of Jewish scholarship, religious life, and culture.
Jewish pilgrims continued traveling to Jerusalem across centuries—even when the land was ruled by foreign empires.
Jewish connection to the land was never abandoned—it was preserved generation after generation.
❌ Myth
Israel was created illegally in 1948.
✅ Fact
Israel’s establishment followed internationally recognized legal processes.
Israel did not emerge suddenly or without legal foundation. Its establishment followed decades of diplomatic recognition and international agreements.
Key Historical Milestones
📜 Balfour Declaration (1917)
Britain publicly supported the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people while protecting the rights of existing non-Jewish communities.
📜 League of Nations Mandate (1922)
The international community formally recognized the historical connection of the Jewish people to the land.
📜 UN Partition Plan (1947)
The United Nations proposed dividing the land into Jewish and Arab states.
Scripture repeatedly emphasizes God’s sovereign role in establishing nations:
“He changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings.”
— Daniel 2:21
Israel’s founding followed internationally recognized processes—not unilateral action.
❌ Myth
Palestinians were never offered their own state.
✅ Fact
Multiple proposals for Palestinian statehood were offered and rejected.
Several major opportunities for Arab or Palestinian statehood occurred across decades.
Notable Proposals Included:
1937 — Peel Commission Partition Plan
1947 — United Nations Partition Plan
2000 — Camp David Negotiations
2008 — Olmert Proposal
Scripture frequently highlights the importance of choosing peace when opportunities arise:
“Seek peace and pursue it.”
— Psalm 34:14
Repeated rejection of partition proposals contributed to continued conflict rather than peaceful coexistence.
History records multiple missed opportunities for negotiated settlement.
❌ Myth
Jews arrived suddenly in the modern era.
✅ Fact
Jewish presence in the land never ceased.
While waves of Jewish migration increased in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Jewish communities existed in the land long before modern Zionism.
Historical records show:
Jews became the majority population in Jerusalem by the 1860s
Jewish agricultural settlements existed before the modern State of Israel
Jewish religious communities remained active across centuries
This ongoing presence reflects a people returning to ancestral land—not appearing without historical roots.
Scripture anticipated long remembrance of the land:
“If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand forget her skill.”
— Psalm 137:5
This pattern reflects restoration—not invention.
✍️ Closing Reflection
History tells a consistent story:
“Israel was not invented in modern times—it was restored after centuries of exile.”
When examined honestly, the historical record reveals enduring connections between the Jewish people and the land of Israel—connections that survived exile, persecution, and foreign rule.
Understanding the historical record helps believers evaluate modern claims more carefully and thoughtfully. It allows Christians to approach difficult conversations:
With knowledge rather than assumption
With discernment rather than reaction
“The works of the LORD are great,
Studied by all who delight in them.”
— Psalm 111:2 (NASB 1995)
🔎 Looking Ahead
In our final installment, we will move from history into the present day, examining modern claims about Israel, including:
War
Security
Humanitarian concerns
The pursuit of peace
🙏 A Personal Note
I am sincerely grateful for your willingness to read these articles, written as an effort to address the increasing spread of misinformation about Israel and the Jewish people, and the antisemitism that so often follows.
— Stuart
📚 Continue Reading
To read Part 1 in this series, as well as all previously written articles, click this link:
Hi Stuart, Thank you so much for these. They are very insightful and I have really enjoyed reading them and passing them along. I do have a question about Matthew 21:43. How would you interpret this scripture?
Thank You,
Keren
Thank you clearing the air on this topic: always insightful!!!
Ken and Dianne Duggan