Letter ‘Omits Non-Jewish Side Of The Story’

Aug. 17, 226 Editor, The News-Gazette: The letter last week from Bennett Ross about Israeli history omits the non-Jewish side of the story. Iwill discuss his first point that Jews have lived in the region since Biblical times, which is true. Unfortunately, however, Ross fails to mention the non-Jews that have lived in the region. The original inhabitants of Palestine were the Canaanites, not the Jews, who were also preceded by the Hittites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the Edomites. The Jews entered Palestine around 1200 BC, making them relative newcomers in Palestine’s 9,000 years of settlement.