Newt Gingrich: Palestinians Are 'Invented' People

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Newt Gingrich is defending himself after a questioner at the GOP presidential debate criticized him for calling Palestinians an invented people.

A questioner of Palestinian descent asked Gingrich how he could say Palestinians are "invented."

Gingrich answered by reiterating his stance, saying that Palestinians were, in fact, invented in the 1970s. He says before that they were simply identified as Arabs.

Gingrich is also making it clear he is a strong supporter of Israel. He says that President Barack Obama has not stood up in support of Israel amid ongoing tension with Palestinians. Gingrich says he would be a steadfast supporter of Israel.

Comments

[njoytday]

10:36 PM on 01/28/2012

The Emperor Has No Clothes is the story I am reminded of. Right Newt. They are Arabs that live in Israel or whose great grandparents once plowed land there. You said it out loud, what every one else was thinking.
But NOW they want what they want and unless we deal with them there is no peace. So we have to deal with them. And they have named themselves this name, Palestinians.

[Seawolf56]

01:01 PM on 01/28/2012

Bought and paid for Adelson... No Brainer any American politician that would sell out the USA for Israel is a no vote. Newt will never get the nomination...

[Cynthia Rays]

11:41 AM on 01/28/2012

Newt said he is a steadfast supporter of Israel. Is he a steadfast supporter of the United States?
Adelson, his benefactor, is quoted as saying,
" he "unfortunately" wore the uniform of the American military not the Israeli army, and that he wants his son to be a sniper for the Israeli army (4:45 on). "All we care about is being good citizens of Israel."
"Gingrich, who stirred controversy recently by calling the Palestinians “an invented people,” appeared on the cover of Adelson’s Israeli newspaper"
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/01/isikoff-blast-at-gingrich-backer-israel-is-in-my-heart-puts-israel-firster-issue-in-mainstream.html

[fromdnorth]

11:04 AM on 01/28/2012

Israel was invented by the League of Nations.
This does not negate the need of Jews to be protected as it is important to protect all other people from tyranny, Apartheid and forced removal...

[fromdnorth]

10:55 AM on 01/28/2012

Moderators are good. Censorship is another matter...

[l78lancer]

10:28 PM on 01/27/2012

If you start from the position that the Palestinians are an "invented people," you neither have a chance of resolving Israeli-Palestinian issues nor are you serious about solving them. The tons of money given to the super PAC supporting Newt by Adelson doesn't help.

New has no credibility here.

[lbsaltzman]

11:41 PM on 01/27/2012

Correct! This is about Newt doing Sheldon Adelson's bidding. Adelson has funneled millions to Newt's PACs.

[l78lancer]

10:14 PM on 01/28/2012

It is also an attempt to purchase the White House for BeBe Netanyahu.

[JacksonJones]

08:41 PM on 01/27/2012

Every people is "invented". Some were invented a long time ago, others were invented more recently. For the purposes of solving the I/P conflict, it is irrelevant. The Palestinians are a people, the Jews are a people, they both have a right to self-determination, and in my opinion, the only way that this can be addressed in via the two state solution.

[Matt Redman]

03:49 PM on 01/28/2012

Exactly. Even the Jews and Israelis are "invented," yet I don't hear Newt claiming that. All peoples everywhere on this globe are "invented."

[njoytday]

10:25 PM on 01/28/2012

No. Jews were not invented. Palestinians are newly invented. But so what? They are still a group of Arabs that want their own state and continue to terrorize so must be dealt with to have peace. But we all know they do not want a two state solution, whereas Israel does, for peace. What they want is a one state, theirs, and Israe's extinction. That is why there is no solution here. If you give them their state they will want more...

[squiems]

08:39 PM on 01/27/2012

Historically, he has a point. While it's undeniable that events have led to the creation of a unified palestinian people, even a few years ago there was nothing to distinguish them from other levantine arabs except for the fact that they lived on land controlled by israel.

Case in point; before the 1967 war, the PLO denied that the west bank or gaza were "palestinian territory"

[BcemXAHA]

06:50 PM on 01/27/2012

on March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview with Palestine Liberation Organization executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

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.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan

[Shastafari]

06:13 PM on 02/27/2012

so what? Muhsein never spoke for ALL Arabs...his drivel is as apt as saying that Newt speaks for ALL Americans.

[BcemXAHA]

06:47 PM on 02/27/2012

I often hear that excuse when a Muslim acts in ways that other Muslims disapprove of. I wish that they didn't tote the line and found their individuality instead and most importantly stopped fearing to speak up.

[lbsaltzman]

06:38 PM on 01/27/2012

All this is about is Newt parroting what Sheldon Adelson is telling him to say. Adelson and his wife have provide millions of dollars to super pacs supporting New. Adelson is well known for his extremist right wing Zionist positions. He helps fund the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

[lbsaltzman]

07:29 PM on 01/27/2012

That is Newt not New. I probably have a block against writing Newt's name.

[Galilee]

02:00 PM on 01/27/2012

Professor Azmi Bishara: There Is No "Palestinian Nation"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3n5-yG-6dU

[Matt Redman]

03:46 PM on 01/28/2012

And when were there Americans before the US was invented as a nation state?

[Galilee]

04:45 PM on 01/28/2012

You are confusing between states and nations.
There is an Arab nation, not a Palestinian nation.
There was never a Palestinian state.
The Arabs use the "Palestinian" hoax as an excuse to destroy Israel and steal land from Jews.

The state of America was created and actually exists. See the difference between things that exist and things that do not exist?
Some Jews lived in Arabia during the time of the prophet Mohammad, but if they claimed Mecca and Medina as belonging to a "Jerabia" nation, you would say it is a hoax.

[njoytday]

10:29 PM on 01/28/2012

So give teh Native Americans back their country .

[Wa1111]

01:18 PM on 01/27/2012

Newt does have a solution to the Palestinian issue. He intends to sit down with them, add just the right combination of herbs & spices...AND EAT THEM! A REPUBLUCAN DEBATE WRIITEN BY ALFRED HITCHCOCK...FOR...THE THREE STOOGES Thoughts at 3 A.M. http://thoughtsatthreeam.blogspot.com/?spref=tw

[surferlaments]

09:41 PM on 01/27/2012

if these are your thoughts at 3:00 am, it would be best to turn yourself in. pronto!

[Vlady]

01:15 PM on 01/27/2012

Technically Gingrich is correct about Palestinians being Arabs. However they could have become a separate nation over time by developing their distinct culture and statehood, provided they want it more than to just destroy Israel.

[Galilee]

01:52 PM on 01/27/2012

The Palestinians got a state called Gaza in 2005, they didn't make it distinct from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and other Arab fanatics.

[njoytday]

10:30 PM on 01/28/2012

How are they distinct other than their suicidal terror?

[lancedaboil]

12:32 PM on 01/27/2012

I like old maps. They are good at showing History. Now, I can not find one single map published before 1948 that has " Israel" on it. However I do find maps that has Palestine on it. Maps from different ages going back to the Roman Empire, and there is a Palestine on them, no Israel. So I'm going to assume that the people living there figured out that they were Palestinians. And yes, there were Jew and Arab living there, but that is a religious difference no different than
Catholic and Baptist. But genetically they are the same as each other now and through history. Newt knows this.

[Vlady]

01:11 PM on 01/27/2012

>> I do find maps that has Palestine on it. Maps from different ages going back to the Roman Empire

Because it was Roman Empire who renamed Israel into Palestine to obliterate even a slightest remembrance of the country they conquered and destroyed.

[Galilee]

01:50 PM on 01/27/2012

Look up the term "Land of Israel", even the Koran mentions Israel (No "Palestine").

[lancedaboil]

11:35 AM on 01/28/2012

Jew,Muslim, Christian are all sects of the same god Yahweh. So why would you be surprised by what you find in their holy book. I personally call this area by it's original name-"The Land of Milk and Honey". Look it up, it's what the Jews called before they stole it.

[Cynthia Rays]

12:27 PM on 01/27/2012

"What’s happening now is quantitatively different than in the past, an outgrowth of the globalization of media and the borderlessness of wealth and power, allowing one fabulously rich individual the opportunity to influence government policy and public opinion at a scale far above anyone else’s. This isn’t some behind-the-scenes maneuver; it’s blatant, transparent, but nonetheless troubling. Would we be comfortable with an American media mogul operating in another, less friendly nation also influencing our presidential campaign?"
http://www.forward.com/articles/150317/#ixzz1kgFn3C8L

[BcemXAHA]

06:28 PM on 01/27/2012

Oh sheesh, you and your megaphone!