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The original draft of the Balfour Declaration called for "The reconstitution of Palestine as the Na-
tional Home of the Jewish people." Anti-Zionist assimilationist Jews in Britain caused the final draft to
be toned down. The original intention was that ALL of Palestine would be given over to the Jews --
and so it should have been. Palestine then included the present-day State of Jordan.

The so-called Palestinian people are the descendants of a mixed populace of local inhabitants
together with numerous other groups of Muslims brought to Palestine from Bosnia, the Balkans, and
the Caucasus by the Turks, and from the Sudan, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon by the British. Those who
came to Palestine in the time of the British Mandate were, however, brought over only partly due to
the anti-Zionist, religious, and ideological motivation of some British officials -- and mainly because of
administrative and economical necessity. Jewish Zionists and capitalists were amongst their major em-
ployers (often at the expense of the Jewish Proletariat) and struggles were fought over this issue.

At all events, it is possible to see the Palestinians as representing the Philistines in Biblical termi-
nology for the following reasons:

1) It may be that many of them actually are physically descended from the Philistines -- some of
whom remained in Gaza and neighbouring areas.

2) Their name "Palestinian" is derived from the Latin word for Philistine, i.e. they now call themselves,
and are called by others, "Palestinian" -- meaning Philistine. If in days of yore a Hebrew Prophet had
wanted to denote the present-day Palestinians using a familiar name, then he could have chosen no
better an appellation than "Philistine."

3) The geographical bases of power, international connections, and general orientation of the "Pales-
tinians" are all similar to those of the ancient Philistines.

The Prophet Isaiah -- and other prophets in addition to Obadiah -- foresaw the eventual recon-
ciliation between Judah and Ephraim, and the defeat of Edom and the Philistines:

And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel,
and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off:
Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines towards the west; they shall spoil
them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the chil-
dren of Amon shall obey them (Isaiah 11:12-14).

The above verse (Isaiah 11:14) concerning the Philistines (as it has been translated in the KJ and
Orthodox Jewish "Koren" translation) is consistent with the simple Hebrew and with the context.

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