Palestinians: Why Newt is right and a BYU professor is wrong

“The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct ‘Palestinian people’ to oppose Zionism.” – Zahir Muhsein, member, PLO Executive Board (1977)

“…it’s true that a specifically Palestinian identity is a relatively recent development.” – BYU Prof. Daniel Peterson

“…that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.” – Alma 17:9 (Book of Mormon)

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My last three posts were dedicated to answering questions about Mormon beliefs posed by a thoughtful rabbi. My task today is to respond to a thoughtful BYU professor who believes that Newt Gingrich was wrong when he said that the Palestinians are an “invented” people. Dr. Daniel Peterson is every Mormon’s favorite Arabist, as well as one of the LDS Church’s leading apologists. In a