Letters from Palestine

Amongst all the lands on earth should Palestine, the former Jewish country, as small as it may be is in size, have drawn the largest attention within Christianity. This land has been the scene of actions for most of the Gods wonders that the bible tells about. No wonder therefore, that people amongst the country folk, that very little interest themselves for strange countries, however with exiting attention read and listen to tales about this land of “wonders”. To great one of many of the people friends readers explicit wishes, we want to give a portray of the holy lands nature and looks as well in former days as current.

The statement about the Canaans land (Palestine) is “That of where milk flows”, proves that this land in the times of Moses was one of the most fruitfully countries, where for thirtyfull and fourthifull yes even hundredfull fruits was not anything unusual –the land had grapes and figs that was harvested teen months of the year, and a number of other tree fruits all around the year. Palestine or, as is often still is called “The holy country” is in north and east connected with the Asian insatiable country stretch touch with its south western border side by Suez isthmus –dam that separates the read sea and the Mediterranean, the countries stretch is 38 German miles in length and 18 miles in width and therefore is not close to the size of Finland.

Palestine’s northern border mark is the 10.000 (ten thousand) feet high Lebanon mountain that on the top is surrounded by a constant bed of snow, under the lower parts of the mountain the most voluptuous verdure and shifting vegetation. The most famous of all is Lebanon’s cedars, where examples still exists, that has defied the thousand year ravages. The largest of these cedars has 40 feet in perimeter and height, calculated by the shadow, goes to 90 feet.

We want to descend from Lebanon from the southern slope and walk thus (in the mind) the northern part of Palestine, namely Galilee with Jordan and the Galilee lake (Lake Genesaret) to the border in east, Samarian in south and coastland in the west. These small landmark, that in the prime times was settled with cities and market towns to a number of 204 and had inhabitants to several thousands, has been one of the most fertile lands under the sun. The clean air, the happy climate, the excellent soil brought all that one planted and sowed to ripen, and the sessions seemed to compete with each other in abundant and pleasure.

Of all this shows however the country’s current looks hardly any few traces. The beauty and wealth of its cities are swept away; one other follows after that room, where it had is position. Between sparse scattered villages and towns marches unhindered and with out home the Arab with his herds here and there and houses the whole of Palestine like in his own native district. With the gun in one hand the farmer sow with the other fine seed and with care hides the crops, he wins, in holes and mountain cracks.

What the Arabic Bedouin allows him is not in safety for the Turkish powers possessors. Therefore stands the farmable land and profit not in contrast to the earths fertileness. Each and every one fruit tree is taxed: who would then feel mind to plant trees or for any thing other than he more that the outmost would by necessities of life would need?

On the Galilee plateau raises, as a cut off pin, the fair and forest grown mountain Tabor, on were southern side the large and name knowledgeable plain Jesreel or Esdrelon broadens. –From Tabors edge gives to the thousands swarming shepard camps a surprising gaze: long stretched processions of camels, donkeys with baskets and children, bearded armed Arabs with dark faces marches hereby unexpected pass the rambler and puts him in the imagination to the times when Abraham here graze fine herds.

Out East from these plains rises the mountains little Hermon and Biloa, and in the west by the seashore, Carmel, in which a long cape stretches into the see. Out from south passes Carmel to a number of lesser heights, which connect this with Efraims hills, that now takes the lower part of Palestine, namely Samaria. Beyond this, previously fertile but now laid to waste land travels one south and enters by Sarizims hills in Palestine’s third landscape, where without number of other memorable places, lays the city of Jerusalem, and in the East from Jerusalem the dead sea. Where by the firestorm ruined cities of Sodom and Gomorra was situated.

This about the most important places in Palestine: Let us once again go to these places and watch their current looks. When now a days someone walks thought the country and its valley’s he feels depressed by a deep sorrow when he over the hills overlooks the widespread plateau’s: Then his sadden view floats over the rampaged surface of a land, that formerly was the most beautiful of them all: astonished he looks up the passages in the bible where its ancient fruitiness’ is described and asks “Why has the lord done so to the land”? Its rain is now dust and ash. Heaven above burns with its blinding, glowing heat, so the rambler rapidly has to turn away his face, sky is like it was melted copper and the ground all around has hardened by the strong heat and is full of chinks, unfruitful as the desert and ring like iron under the ramblers staff.

When we now walk from our home, that for Moses was a distant land, comes to the blessed land (Palestine), that is the home land for our Christian minds and memories, we ask astonished: Were is the milk and honey that floated in the this land, where one now barley can find water? Were are now its gardens and fertile fields, since the laid to waste storms has crossed over the mountains slopes?

Country torments are plenty and unbearable in this land: by the night one is tortured by millions of bugs, which stops the tired ramblers sleep. To that come eye deceases, fever, or the quickly killing plague and many other sicknesses, that have its foundation in the dry heat. If one turns the gaze towards the coast, it seems that the sea itself has retracted for the miserable appearances, that so nowadays many cities are within the country, which we knew prior has been situated by the sea shore. Cliff towers that has been there previously, now stands in desolate loneliness on the low plains of sand and rocks, and a considerably deep silence, merely at times interrupted by a bird of prey lonely shriek, on all sides.

The cities are the cities of the dead. The tombs tread the country. Inhabitants are scattered here and there to individual hundreds, but all the same surrounded by thousands of memorials, that testifies about past centuries numerous population and about the present unfertile. From millions has Syria’s inhabitants diminished to thousands and from thousands to hundreds and in some spots is merely some families left.
If one walks to the inner part of the land, the ramblers dejected eyes is captivated by large plains that are cowered by one of the most fair flowers, the ground is in the hidden fertile, with hundreds of rich harvest, but there is no one that sows, no one that reaps, and on all sides the eye is meet by rocks and rubble from castles, palaces and old cities.

Raptors hovers in silent attention over these deserted remains, wild predators camps by the ruins of a grand people. Jackals (a kind of fox) and wild dogs shrieks from the deeps of the ancient vaults and destroyed abodes. Now and then fly a couple of wild Arabs by on their horses over the plains or one catch sight of some of the despaired rural people empowerless in misery, a couple of old men and women, that with pitiful slowness collects the sparse crop of a poor harvest, where the men and youths has with force been driven away to serve as soldiers in slavery beneath cruel masters in Egypt or Turkey.

The whole land seems to go to waste to Arabic robbing people and there innumerous moving tribes. Human life is unsafe and without protection; no one that sow, knows who will harvest his crop. And when it is harvested, one has arms by the side (or in the other hand, as mentioned before) and hurries with the work in such a haste, like one had stole the vintage from someone else’s properties. They must pay attention on every distant large cloud, fearing to see from there a robbing gangs glimmering gun or spear.

Houses are with violence pillaged, and robbers make them for a while to their own domicile. This land, however where it is resided in the heart of the worlds best surroundings, by the end of the most famous sea, with ports that in old days controlled the most profitable trade between the east and the west. This land is now hardly inhabited, and on its plains and mountains the people lead a life full of feverish anxiety, without safety and protection.

At no other place on earth there is such numbers of barren rocks, without the least maintenance, of soil, as on these mountains in Judea, which before was so famous as the worlds most fairy and fertile gardens. The old cultivation on the sides of the hills are all destroyed. The intense rains flushes the soil down into the valleys; and the cliff, that constant is eroded by air and water, is likewise every season so cleaned, as if it would been scrubbed, and displays a dryness and devastation that awakens horror.

With such dark colors describes the author, were we in the later part of our essay almost word by word have followed, Palestine’s current moaning condition. We therefore cannot help to conclude in the same authors finishing worlds “So testifies the whole country present situation about the lords righteousness and the prophecy truthfulness ”. That he all their land with sulphur and salt burned up has, so that it cannot nurture, neither grows, or no herb arises, like in Sodom and Gomorra, Adama and Beboim is subversive is, in which the lord in his wrath and cruelness has overthrown. So has already Moses prophesied more than 3000 years ago, and the lord has fulfilled the prophecy, and in our days we se this prophecy fulfillments before our eyes. This prophecy is literate, complete, undeniable. For sure it also likewise that, all the prophesies shall literarily be fulfilled, that yet has not been fulfilled: One of the prophets is with as large and even further detail this lands renewed condition, its fruitfulness and rich possibilities described.
Folkvännen, Palestine or the holy land, 30 April, 1862

For reference, these digital archives are open for the public, both in Finland, and for the Internet users everywhere on the globe. The Finnish University has a splendid search function. http://digi.lib.helsinki.fi/index.html

“Digital Collections
The Finnish Historical Newspaper Library 1771-1890
177866 bindings, 415117 pages in total.”

Where anyone, from anywhere in the world with a Internet connection and computer can search their databases with keywords, like Palestine, or Jews, Israelites, Hebrews, Mohammedan, Arab, Musleman, Jerusalem, Hebron, etc (”palestinians” as the ”Westbank” are of course unheard of, since that later arabist propaganda invention did not exist that century) in a number of papers, from 1771 up to 1890. And those papers are in mainly Swedish, and some Finnish ones. Only 15 years after above travel description, yet another (of plenty) revealing and summarizing line:

"Palestine is a land of ruins"
Åbo Underrättelser, no 139 26 May, 1877

Just to conclude, the database, when entering the search term “Palestine” reveals some “ Results 1 - 10 / 500” for a numbers of papers publications until the year of 1890. A news snippet item from August 5 1885 of Finland no 178 what people it was, and why lands was being restored?

- Sir Moses Montefiore. The elderly warm human friend Moses Montefiore, who’s death we a couple of days ago mentioned, was in October previous year the attention of the grand tribute from the whole literate world. He then arised into his hundred year, and the attention and gratitude was then led to all that he had accomplished for the suffering mankind. His race and people of belief to the heightening from the distress and villainess the centaury cruel oppression and fanatics had lowered them into, he perhaps more than any other participated, wear by all the synagogues testimonial of his noble self-sacrificing mind. We want here in short mention only the most important of his living deeds- Montefiore was born the 24th of October 1784. A journey to the orient, that he did at the age of 30, awakened first his thought to devote his life for his oppressed people of beliefs aid. Hard earthquakes in Zafed and Tiberias and a Jew persecution in Damascus 1840 made him to twice renew this journey. On Nikolai 1st wishes he traveled to Russian Poland to get to know the there present Jews situation and work for their elevation. At the return to England he was raised to the nobility of baron due of noble character and services to the state. The famine in Palestine 1854 called him once again there and he seeked by own rich gifts and aid from England to relive the distress. By the Sultan he obtained the right to own soil in Palestine, started arable land colonies and industrial companies and laid nurseries for poor. Because he searched for his whole life to promote poor Jews emigration to Palestine. As a result of the persecution against the Christian and Jews in Morocco 1836 he traveled there 1836, and 1866 for the sixth time to Palestine to help the one of cholera and grasshoppers haunted Jews. 1867 years Jew pogroms in Rumania called to Bucharest and he became the object of some success in his efforts. His charity was never bound by confessional considerations, but each large enterprise found in him a warm character.

Also similar testified in Folkvännen 28.08 1885 nr 198 and Åbo Tidning no 216 12.08.1885 of the Jewish systematical effort of restoration in Israel. But so if the country sides were at large deserted, as largely witnessed 1862, from permanent inhabitants, how was it then about the cities?

The new Palestine
The progress, that in Palestine has taken place for the last 25 years, gives in particular its presence by the erection of a whole lot of new buildings. Within Jerusalem’s borders has altogether decayed houses been repaired or restructured. Outside the city lies whole and completely new suburbs, who stretches in particular towards west. The Jews has amongst them formed building societies that has erected long barrack looking buildings, decorated for several families. The number of dwelling houses for the last 25 years has tripled. Bethlehem gives the impression of a newly built city. In Jaffa has the city wall been torn down, ditches been filled and numbers of new house and magazine along with also palace looking buildings been erected. Likewise has many new buildings been built in Jaffa’s gardens, and in the south and north of the city complete Arabic suburbs, to the greater part occupied by settlers from Egypt. In Hamish there is new houses likewise in Haifa. Nazareth has grown in size and looks like it has been rebuilt. Tiberias has likewise nice new houses: In Jenin a new military arsenal been erected, likewise in Nablus, but there in connection with a new, nice barrack. On the latest spot has the once so lonely valley against the east formed a rather smart look, and in the city many private buildings, likewise a new “Skan” (Inn): where also new school, a roman monastery and the protestant mission buildings. In Bethlehem has a new barrack and arsenal been erected. By the schools and the increased businesses has the working people gained better manners and taste, and the new houses outdo therefore in high degree the older, the oldest that in general are well built. Almost a houses now has see trough glasses, something unusual twenty years ago.
Huvudstadsbladet 1880 no 216, The new Palestine 17 September, 1880

“Jerusalem seems once again want to become the Jews city. By 1880 there was probably not more than 5000 Jews, now the numbers are more than 30.000 The latest pogroms in Russia has returned thousands of Jews to their ancient main capital.” Wiborgsbladet, The growth of Jews in Jerusalem, 10 June, 1890

Or another, quite different, testimonial:

“Jerusalem is one of the most filthy cities one can come across and everywhere there lies since years rubbish heaps that gives an horrible stench from them. Hardly a single one street- at least laid with stones – there is. But appalling alleys, where the filth goes over photon far worse than Cairo’s worst city blocks. The houses are small and bad, not one smart looking inhabitant, not one horse, not one carriage there was. To clean and water there seems not to be any words for in the language. The holy church is not pleasant either in the in or outside, not the rest also, and one sell and trade there as in the times of Christ, but he drove away the rabble. In the church one is stalked by hoodlums that would like to show it and beg for their payments, that they in no way has deserved, but only destroyed ones good thoughts and the calm. By all holy sites the most horrible people lay on the streets, leprosy, limb crippled, on all the possible ways deformed, that stalks one and scream their “backsciss” with a stubbornness without limits, and one gives likengly and in the longest, but it helps less, a rich mans pockets should soon be empty and these people would scream anyway. It destroys in the foundation all warm feelings, all holy thoughts, all happy mood, one gets sadden, despaired and outraged; the poor illusion one has left flees in haste for this naked and unpleasant reality.”
WiborgsBladet, The Holy City, 21 June, 1890

The word “backsciss” or as it is known as today, baksheesh, is an interesting expression. Used by Arabs, that indeed reoccurs vividly in these travel descriptions. For the behaviors in some of the native Arabic Muslim inhabitants mindsets. This word, can be found in dictionaries:

NOUN:
Inflected forms: pl. baksheesh
A gratuity, tip, or bribe paid to expedite service, especially in some Near Eastern countries.
http://www.bartleby.com/ 2006

If some of the members of the Arab world insist on talking about the “Jewish Holocaust Industry”, after the butchery of 6 millions 1945, were it often said, or rather accused in various ways, that “Jews profit from the Holocaust”, lets then see if there is a Arabic baksheesh industry? First printed in a Egyptian web travel agency http://www.egyptmagic.com/story_baksheesh.htm. Then reprinted at http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/baksheesh.htm as a “featured story”:

“In the West, we call it "tipping" or "service." But those words don't fully express the breadth of flexibility and purpose of the practice known as "baksheesh." Egypt appears to run on baksheesh and the protocol of the practice becomes evident quite quickly once in the country.
Basically, there are three kinds of baksheesh. The first is baksheesh as "alms giving." One of the 5 tenants of Islam is the giving of alms to the poor. The giver is made more holy by the action. We encountered surprisingly few opportunities in the streets for this kind of baksheesh. Either the government provides well for the potential beggars or the people are more industrious and thus embarrassed to spend their lives in this fashion.

The second type is baksheesh as "for services rendered." This is the closest to the western tipping practices. Except it goes further. There are people at the airport whose only job appears to be opening doors. Of course, they require baksheesh. And every bathroom has an attendant, who expects a few piastres for keeping the place clean (supposedly). One is continuously passing out a few piastres here and a few there. Thank goodness the group had the central tipping kitty administered by the tour guide, who knew the proper amount to baksheesh.

The third kind of baksheesh is "for the granting of favors." Want to see what's in the tomb which is posted as closed? A few piastres will see a key miraculously produced. Want to see an excellent photo location? Just 25 piastres. How about having a light in that museum display case? Don't forget me when you leave. Want to see a forbidden mummy? Only another 50 piastres The amazing thing is that you don't even need to ask for the services.”
Joyce Carta, 
Baksheesh
, touregypt.net 2006

Today such “alms giving, tip for services rendered, or granting of favors”, primarily still comes from the people of western world, these days on government scale instead of wealthy travelers, towards local Arabic clans. That easily can also bee seen serving such a baksheesh tradition. Only though that in these days it’s not a question of some pastries, but million, if not billions, in handouts that today is called international aid, funding that today goes straight into the pockets of islamofacists and nazibaathist arabist warlords and other various corrupted clanleaders, to serve the –European- tradition of genocide attempts against Jews. Here is one Israeli politicians blog post, via Israel national news, on just about he perceives such aid 2006.

Europe "Outsources" the Killing of Jews
“This past weekend, Israel came within a matter of meters from disaster, death and destruction, when rockets fired by Palestinian terrorists in northern Gaza just missed hitting an elementary school and a gas station.

And how did the European Union respond to this outrage?

By agreeing to fund Hamas, of course.On Monday, the EU announced that it would provide the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority (PA) with some $140 million in “emergency” funds to stave off the financial collapse of the PA.
And so, Europe now joins with Iran, which has pledged $250 million to the Palestinians, in helping to salvage the solvency of Gaza and Ramallah.
It does not seem to matter one whit to the enlightened statesmen of Europe that they are helping to keep a terrorist entity afloat, providing it with the wherewithal to continue to threaten Israel and attack Jews, and effectively joining hands with the Ayatollahs of Iran.

But none of us should really be all that surprised by this turn of events. After all, Europe has spent the better part of the past millennium killing and persecuting Jews.

Now, instead, they are merely “outsourcing” their efforts to Hamas.”

Michael Freund,Israel National News, Europe "Outsources" the Killing of Jews, 28 February, 2006

For other examples of local newspapers, for those in pursuit of history and truth, there is the Palestine Post, printed from 1932-1950, that can be searched online as well http://jic.tau.ac.il/moreshet/palestineEn.html. That however was a Jewish paper, and still is since today its known as the international acknowledged Jerusalem Post.

There are also, a number of other, international travel journals, both from explorers and adventures, mostly western writers, from these times of the 1800. Such as the famous author Mark Twain or Karl Marx (and later Winston Churchill). And no one of these can be said to be “Zionists” (since Zionism wasn’t even articulated as such then), most of them were Christians or atheists, and likewise. Such are quoted, by for instance by Joseph Farah, in his chronicles “What is a Palestinian?” April 25, 2001 and “The Jews took no one's land” April 23, 2002. Or as the Liberal Professor Alan Dershowitz found out and puts it, in “The case for Israel“ is his chapter, “Did European Jews displace Palestinians?“ page 27, with several indifferent from each other references in the short quote:

“Four years later, it was reported that ‘depopulation is even now advancing.’ And four years after that [1857], it was noted that in certain parts of the country ‘land is going out of cultivation and whole villages are rapidly disappearing … and the stationary population extirpated.’
Other historians, demographers, and travelers described the Arab population as ‘decreasing,’ and the land as ‘thinly populated,’ ‘unoccupied,’ and ‘almost abandoned now.’ The plain of Sharon, which the Jews of the first Aliyah later cultivated, was described by Reverend Samuel Manning in 1874 as a ’land without inhabitants’ that ‘might support immense population.’”

Not one of these travelers could not have been interested in being a part of the today more hysterical leftwing terrorist apologist Jew hating cultivated myths, like the “theft of Palestine” and “Jewish conspiracy,” that later is said to rule the press in the free world, to hide the previous former accusation.
And where is any of the other testimonials that would supports the Arabic Muslim claim and fantasy thesis that this was their land, where the evil Jews came and stole their nice cultivated villas? These traveling explorers where at that time, unattached from Jewish interests, working as indifferent witnesses in history. And they all testify the same thing to the history mid 1850-60. The countryside’s of Israel proper was largely barley inhabitable for humans, in permanent homes or houses, ergo there was therefore not much people in the barren land, and there were for certain no ”Palestinians” then, and if there was anywhere, it was mostly lawless Arabic bandits who, as testified and witnessed in various ways, stole property from each other, or the local Jewish natives of the since time immemorial Jewish nation.