Palestinian brothers

Palestinians are not Arabs by descent. Could their true identity provide a path towards peace in the Middle East today?

When Jews started returning to their ancient homeland in large numbers just over a century ago, they made the same mistake as their ancestors in Ezra and Nehemiah’s generation: they viewed the people living there as enemies, failing to recognise that most of them were descendants of fellow Jews.

The Bible states this clearly, though we might miss it. When the Israelites were conquered by Babylon in the sixth century BC, not all of them were taken into captivity. Those from rich families (including Daniel) were taken first, followed by educated people (2 Kings 24:14-16; Jeremiah 52:28-30). They were replaced by ruling classes from neighbouring countries. But the poor were left where they were.