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PaperclipPerfector  8d ago (text post)   27486 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of November 2, 2026

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Good thing I didn't say the Muslims were entitled to it. I said it was a waste to take it from them merely to establish Israel.

I disagree with the phrase "take it from them," since it presupposes that a particular group owns an area and you haven't offered any evidence or argument which establishes such ownership. You just assume it.

But even putting that aside, you seem to be saying that one state of affairs (Muslim control of Palestine) was morally preferable to another state of affairs (Jewish control of Palestine). Do I misunderstand you? If I do, what exactly was being "wasted" by the foundation of Israel?

Religious makeup of Mandatory Palestine, per the 1922 census (total population 757,182):

Religion Population Share
Muslims 590,890 78.0%
Jews 83,794 11.1%
Christians 73,024 9.6%
Druze 7,028 0.9%
Sikhs 408 0.05%
Baháʼís 265 0.03%
Samaritans 163 0.02%
Metawalis 156 0.02%

Thanks for posting this. Probably it's worth noting that in 1922, British Mandatory Palestine was far far bigger than 1948 Israel. It included what is now Jordan; Gaza; and J & S.

That being said, I'm not sure what your point is. Are you saying that due to the Muslim super-majority in British Mandatory Palestine, the entire Mandate belonged to Muslims in some sense, even areas which had been predominantly Jewish?

Are you saying that Muslim control of the entire Mandate area was preferable to any other state of affairs, such as the existence of a Jewish state on a modest percentage of the Mandate area with the rest of the Mandate being under Arab (or Muslim) control?

Probably it's worth noting that in 1922, British Mandatory Palestine was far far bigger than 1948 Israel. It included what is now Jordan; Gaza; and J & S.

The 1922 census did not cover Transjordan at all, since it was run separately as an emirate under Abdullah from 1921. So the figures are for the area west of the Jordan, roughly today's Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, which is only slightly larger than Israel. Within that area, Jews were about one in nine when Ottoman rule ended.

The 1922 census did not cover Transjordan at all

Thanks for pointing it out. In any event, your figures contradict your claim that the area was "crowded Muslim land" at the time. 757,000 is about 7 percent of the current population of Israel.

I'm still not sure what your point is though.

Are you saying that due to the Muslim super-majority in British Mandatory Palestine, the entire Mandate belonged to Muslims in some sense, even areas which had been predominantly Jewish?

Are you saying that Muslim control of the entire Mandate area was preferable to any other state of affairs, such as the existence of a Jewish state on a modest percentage of the Mandate area with the rest of the Mandate being under Arab (or Muslim) control?

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