[News] Zionist Myths: Israeli Invention of National Symbols

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Zionist Myths: Israeli Invention of National SymbolsJune 27, 2023
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Israeli far-right politician May Golan at a Flag March in Jerusalem, in
2021. (Photo: Adi Hodefi, via Wikimedia Commons)

*By Jamal Kanj <https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/jamal-kanj>*

The absence of an authentic Israeli national memory made it crucial for
political Zionism to construct a convoluted web of deception by
appropriating national symbols.

If a random group of highly educated individuals were asked who established
the city of Jerusalem, some might plead ignorance, but most would likely
answer King David. After all, it’s ostensibly known as the City of David.

This example demonstrates how unchallenged legends, originating from
non-historical documents like religious texts, can shape the sophistical
historical narratives. This article will delve into major Zionist wonted
myths that are accepted at face value in the West.

The organic development of nations relies on several factors: mainly
national symbols that form an important part of the national memory,
distinct cultural heritage, belonging, territory, values, customs,
traditions, language, and social behaviors. These elements evolve gradually
and are transmitted over generations, forming the foundation of nationhood.

However, the development of the State of Israel followed an unconventional
path. The political Zionist movement took a reverse approach by occupying
the territory, first, bypassing the natural process of generational
development and appropriating various aspects of the local surface culture,
including national symbols.

Israeli leaders often assert, for instance, that Jerusalem has been the
Jewish capital for 3000 years. In the West, the veracity of such a claim is
not questioned, either out of ignorance, religious accommodation, or
outright fear of being accused of “antisemitism” for challenging Zionist
narratives. This organized intimidation is the primary reason why critical
thinking in the West often fails to challenge Israeli accounts.

As a result, only a few are aware that the city of Jerusalem served as the
capital of the original Palestinians for over 6000 years, long before it
was occupied by Jewish tribes from Mesopotamia. Historical and
archaeological evidence points to the Phoenician Canaanites, the ancestors
of today’s Palestinians, as the first human settlement in Jerusalem in the
4th millennium BCE. The Jebusites, a Canaanite tribe, referred to the small
town on the hill as “Urushalim.” The name is a portmanteau term blending
the words “uru,” meaning “founded by,” and “Shalem,” the Phoenician
Canaanite god of dusk, hence, “Urushalim.”

Consequently, the most well-known Israeli national symbol, Jerusalem, was
not the City of David. In fact, it was built 3000 years before David’s
birth, and was dedicated to the Canaanite god of dusk, Shalem, not
Avraham’s Elohim. Israel and Zionism adopted a variation from the Canaanite
lexicon, calling the city “Yerushaláyim,” implying a Hebrew association
with the original name.

The Zionist appropriation of national symbols is so pervasive that I, too,
once fell for this misconception, mistakenly believing that “Urushalim” had
a Hebrew origin. I recall hearing a Christian priest in Lebanon refer to
Jerusalem as “Urushalim,” instead of its Arabic name, “Al Quds.” At the
time, I failed to realize that the priest was using the original Canaanite
name, reminding us that modern Zionists appropriated the name “Urushalim”
when the city was occupied in the 10th century BC and again in the 20th
century AD.

In addition to the historically forged claim of being the “eternal
capital,” another iconic national symbol that has been falsely portrayed as
exclusively “Jewish” is the six-pointed star in the Israeli flag. Contrary
to popular belief, the hexagram in the Israeli flag is not solely a Jewish
symbol. Prior to its association with Judaism in 17th-century Eastern
Europe, the earliest Jewish usage of the symbol was inherited from medieval
Arabic literature by Kabbalists for use in talismanic protective amulets.

The symbol was also used in Christian churches as a decorative motif many
centuries before its first known use in a Jewish synagogue. Israeli
historian Shlomo Sand’s book, “The Invention of The Land of Israel,”
explains that the Star of David is not an ancient Jewish symbol but has its
origins in the Indian subcontinent, where it was extensively used by
various religious and military cultures.

The two equilateral triangles can still be found today in the stunningly
intricate mother-of-pearl inlay work featuring hexagrams as part of mosaic
designs on walnut chairs, tables, and wooden boxes in present-day Syria.
This exquisite art form dates back thousands of years in the city of
Damascus, the world’s oldest continuously inhabited city.

Another symbol that lacks inherent religious significance in history is the
so-called “Western Wall.” The wall is not an internal structure and cannot
be part of a building. Rather, it is an exterior embankment supporting
higher ground (Haram el Sharif/ Noble Sanctuary) and an extension of the
defensive exterior wall surrounding the Old City, which predates the Jewish
presence in the city. The approximately 2.5-mile-long and 40-foot-high
fortification wall was reconstructed between 1537 and 1541 under Ottoman
Sultan Suleiman I.

Jews who assimilated within Palestinian culture but maintained their
religious beliefs lived in Palestine, including Jerusalem, alongside their
Muslim and Christian compatriots for centuries. Throughout history, before
the advent of the Western Christian Messianic movement and the birth of
political Zionism, there are no historical records indicating that the
Western fortification wall was used as a prayer site. The west side of the
wall only became a religious attraction in the seventeenth century, driven
by Christian religious devotees who wanted to hasten the return of the
Messiah.

In an attempt to validate their delusional fantasies, successive Israeli
governments have conducted extensive excavations beneath the Noble Sanctuary
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20151013-israels-haunted-temple/> for
over sixty years. However, they have yet to produce any archeological
evidence pointing to a religious Jewish site.

In more recent history, it is little-known that the melody of the Israeli
national anthem, “Hatikvah,” originally belonged to the World Zionist
movement’s anthem and was adapted from the famous tune “Vltava” (My
Homeland) by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana.

The absence of an authentic Israeli national memory made it crucial for
political Zionism to construct a convoluted web of deception by
appropriating national symbols and imbuing alternative facts that have
become ingrained in the Western national discourse. By inculcating false
narratives, legends, and fables into the mainstream, a new reality is
shaped, or as Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels famously said, “A lie told
once remains a lie, but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.”

The latter could possibly explain the mutual adulation between Donald
Trump, and his Hebrew version, Benjamin Netanyahu.

*This is the third of a series of articles that will explore Zionist myths,
artificial history, and made-up culture. For the first article, click here
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/zionist-myths-israeli-invention-of-artificial-reality/>.
For the second article, click here
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/zionist-myths-and-israels-fairytale-history/>.*


*– Jamal Kanj is the author of “Children of Catastrophe,” Journey from a
Palestinian Refugee Camp to America, and other books. He writes frequently
on Arab world issues for various national and international commentaries.
He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle*
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