Did the Jews or Arabs live in Israel first?

Answer 1

The Ancient Hebrews lived in what is now known as the Land of Israel long before there was even an Arabic language, let alone Arabs in Israel. Recent archealogical artifacts have written Hebrew text on a pottery shard dating back to before the 10th century B.C.E. and was unearthed near the coastal region of Israel (near ancient Philishtim boundaries). The earliest known Arabic writing that is authenticated is only 2-3rd century BCE and it is known as 'Old Arabic' (not the Arabic language of today). But these writings were not found in Israel of course, they were found in Saudi Arabia. Arabs are part of an overall group of peoples who fall under the heading of "Semitic". While Jews are also Semitic, they as well as Syrians, Jordanians (Moabites) and Lebanese ARE NOT ARABIC in any way shape or form, aside from a measured level of assimilation with Arabs that resulted in the spread of Islam (recent DNA tests proved that Arabs are not related to the Jews, Moabites, Caananites or other inhabitants of ancient Israel). Arab activity in Israel is not found in any substantial way until after the death of Muhammed in the 7th century C.E. Yet there may have been nomadic traders from the Arabian Peninsula that traded with the Jewish/Hebrew peoples during Roman occupation of Judea/Israel. The Jewish people's presence in Israel pre-dates that of the Arabs by at least 800-1,000 years, but a more accepted time frame is about 1,500 years, considering such a tiny number of nomads visiting trade routes in Israel from the Arabian Peninsula.

Answer 2

Judaism is a very old religion, that originated in the place called Israel, some time

between 1400 and 1250 BCE.

It is older than Islam (610 AD) and the term "arab". There were no palestinians

when Judaism was formed.

Palestinians as an ethnic group are first mentioned in the early 17th century.

Before that they were part of may other groups, such as Ottomans.

In 1947, in preparation for the imminent departure of the British from the land

between the border of Iraq and the Mediterranean Sea, the United Nations

passed the resolution that provided for the partition of the piece between the

Mediterranean and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, with the western half of

that area to be administered by the Jews. In 1948, Jewish leaders proclaimed

the independence of the modern State of Israel. The new nation was attacked

by the massed armed forces of several surrounding countries, but survived. In

the years since, Israel has absorbed into its society the Arabs who elected to

stay where they were even after it became part of Israel, as well as the roughly

600,000 Jews who migrated to Israel from the surrounding predominantly-

Muslim countries. At the same time, many Arabs who elected to leave Israel

after independence, as well as their descendants, still live in "refugee camps"

more than 60 years later. No Palestinian nation was proclaimed until several

years after 1948, and as late as 2011, is still recognized by just a few other

countries.

How long have there been Jews in Israel?

The Patriarchs and their family were in Israel (Canaan) for 220 years (18th to 16th century BCE). The era from Joshua until the First Destruction (including the Judges and Kings) was 850 years. The Second Temple era was, according to traditional chronology, another 420 years (not 586), which included the Hasmonean dynasty. That's a total of 1490 years.

After the Second Destruction, there were thousands of Jews who remained in Israel (Judea; Palestine) throughout the Talmudic era (2nd to 5th century CE) and beyond (see for example the Talmud, Sanhedrin 17b). They were the majority of Palestine's population well into the fourth century, with records attesting to at least 43 Jewish communities, most of them in the Galilee and Jordan valley. After that, there were still Yeshivas in Israel with at least some thousands of community-members.

In the fifth century, the Jerusalem Talmud was completed in the yeshiva of Tiberias, by the disciples of Rabbi Johanan; and the Christians of Palestine declared Judaism to be a tolerated minority.

In the sixth century CE, Mar Zutra and his descendants served as head of the community and the Rabbinical academy in Tiberias.

In the seventh century, the Palestinian Jews joined the Persians in a battle to take Jerusalem from the local Byzantines, and enjoyed a brief autonomy, which the Byzantines under Heraclius officially recognized in 628. At the time of the Moslem conquest of Palestine in 638, the Jewish population in the land has been put at no less than 300,000; and a period of flourishing began. Caliph Umar encouraged Jews to resettle Jerusalem.

In the eighth century, there were 30 synagogues in Tiberias. A Jew named Abu Issa brought his forces in battle against the Caliph.

In the ninth century, the Jews of Palestine instituted their own Gaon (leading sage) in Tiberias and later in Jerusalem.

In the tenth century, we have the greatest of the Massoretes, Rabbis Aharon ben Asher and Ben Naphtali, flourishing in Tiberias.

Contemporary with Rashi (11th century), we have a Rabbi Abiathar and others, who lived in Israel (see for example Rashi commentary, Talmud Berakhot 62a), and large Jewish communities in Rafah and Ramle, Hebron, Acre, Caesaria, Jaffa, Ashkelon and Gaza.

In the 12th-13th centuries, the Palestinian Jews were harshly persecuted under the Christian Crusaders, yet many Jews continued to live in all the above-mentioned towns as well as Haifa, with Judah Halevi journeying to Palestine in 1141, Maimonides in 1165, and Nachmanides in 1286. In 1187, Saladdin invited more Jews to settle Palestine. In 1204, a group of Maghreb Jews arrived; and in 1211, 300 Rabbis arrived from France and England. In 1260, Rabbi Yechiel of Paris established a Talmud academy in Acre.

Since that time, the continual presence of Jewish communities in Palestine (Israel) is well-known and needs no reiteration.

A brief timeline of Israel and the Jews:

1) c.1950 BCE: Noah delegated what is now called Israel to the children of Shem (Rashi commentary to Genesis ch.12).

2) c. 1750 BCE: The neighboring Canaanites slowly take control of the land (ibid) which therefore becomes called Canaan.

3) 1737-1522 BCE: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob spread their teachings in the land. God promises this land to them and their descendants (Genesis ch.28).

4) 1272 BCE: The Israelites under Joshua, at God's command, enter the land (Joshua ch.3-4) which now becomes called the Land of Israel.

5) 422 BCE: The Babylonians destroy the First Temple, exiling the Jews.

6) 352 BCE: The Persians permit the Jews to rebuild the Temple. Many Jews settle in Israel, now called Judea, while others remain in Babylonia.

7) 68 CE: The Romans destroy the Second Temple. Most of the Jews in Judea slowly scatter afield, but some thousands remain. Judea is renamed Palestine by the Romans.

8) 1096-1270: the Crusades.

9) from 1492: after the Spaniards expell all Jews from Spain, some thousands move to Palestine.

10) c.1780-1880: The first wave of Aliyah, mostly religious Jews, who move from Europe to Israel (Palestine) in the thousands.

11) c.1880 onward: the large-scale Jewish return to Israel gets underway.

Answer 3

Both Jews and Arabs live in the former Mandate of Palestine.

In terms of Israel, there are roughly 6.0 million Jews and 1.6 million Arabs.

In terms of the Palestinian Territories, there are only Arabs in the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, there are 500,000 Jewish Settlers in comparison to 2.1 million Arab Palestinians.

Answer 4

The Jews and Arabs are both Semitic peoples. As a consequence they evolved together as cultures from Mesopotamian peoples in the 4th millennium BCE. The Hebrews/Israelites had a formative period ranging around 1200-1000 BCE. The Old South Arabian speaking people developed in the 9th to 1st centuries BCE while the Old North Arabian speaking Bedouins were present from the 9th century BCE. This would make both groups of an equivalent age.