Netanyahu purveyed a fictional history of Israel to Jordan Peterson
PM Benjamin Netanyahu has a creative new take on Palestinian and Israeli history (pictured: Netanyahu smiles during a press conference in August 2014, after declaring victory in an attack on Gaza that killed 2,200 Palestinians) (photo)
by Kathryn Shihadah, reposted from If Americans Knew, February 24, 2022
Canadian author and media commentator Jordan Peterson recently interviewed prime minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu. After a few softball questions, Peterson gave Netanyahu free rein to present an overview of the history of the Palestinian (“Arab”) and Jewish people on the land historically known as Palestine. Netanyahu’s account was completely fabricated. The fiction is apparently laid out in detail in his newest book, Bibi: My Story.
Dr. Jordan Peterson is an internationally recognized clinical psychologist, best-selling author, lecturer, intellectual, and media commentator. Dr. Peterson has a dedicated following, which makes it all the more troubling that he has been duped (or participated willingly in a scam) by a man who has been indicted on corruption charges, and has been for fifteen years head of a state that has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including apartheid.
Israel also spies on the US; steals American technology; tried to sink a U.S. Navy ship and all the men aboard, killing 34; and embroils America in wars on its behalf, causing massive tragedy and dangerous destabilization of the region.
Peterson hinted early on that his goal for the interview was not to examine Netanyahu’s narrative, but to receive truth. He stated (5:30) that he hoped to “rectify” his own ignorance about the history of Israel and that of “young people” who tend to favor “the Palestinian viewpoint.”
It is safe to say that Peterson’s ignorance was not rectified, but expanded. (Of course, if Peterson is actually seeking the truth, he will now interview diverse individuals, not just an Israel advocate.)
Below are just a few of the historical fallacies that PM Netanyahu promoted – along with comprehensive, annotated, and easily verifiable corrections.
The Flight of the Prisoners (1896) by James Tissot; the exile of the Jews from Canaan to Babylon (photo)
Ancient Israelites “never went into exile”
Bibi’s Myth: Netanyahu claimed (around 7:30): that the Jews “held the land [of Palestine] for 2,000 years,” and their conquerors “didn’t really exile us, contrary to what people think” (7:45) – until the Muslim conquest in the 7th century CE.
Fact: According to Jewish Virtual Library, the united kingdom of Israel lasted just 120 years; then the kingdom fractured in two (Israel and Judah). Israel survived for 200 years, and Judah lasted “a bit longer.” Other than those few hundred years of autonomy, the Jews, like the other populations in Palestine (Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites, etc.), were ruled by Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and other empires. The claim that Jews “hold the land for 2,000 years” is off by roughly 80%.
Fact: The Bible – which Netanyahu specifically references (7:15) as the history of the Jewish people – explicitly states the Jews experienced 2 seasons of exile: under the Assyrians (8th century BCE, see 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles) and under the Babylonians (6th century BCE, see Jeremiah and Lamentations). Both of these events are supported by archeology – and confirmed by Israeli historians like Dr. Milka Levy-Rubin. Some Jews returned to Palestine under the Persian Empire, but many communities remained permanently scattered.
Fact: Later, Dr. Levy-Rubin asserts, following Jewish rebellions in 66 and 132 CE, the Romans “emptied the entire land of Judea of its Jewish residents.” In her words, Netanyahu’s narrative is “a mistaken and distorted picture” of history.
Fact: Professor Yehoshua Frenkel (department of Middle Eastern History at the University of Haifa) explains that the Muslim conquest of Palestine and the growth of Islam did not devastate the Jewish population – on the contrary, a number of Jews were permitted to return to Jerusalem after a 500-year exile.
Bottom line: Netanyahu’s claim that the Jews “held” the land – implying dominance – for 2,000 years is exaggerated by at least 80%; his claim of no Jewish exile till the Muslim conquest is completely false, even according to the “historical” account he cites….[read full article here]