In today’s Middle East, there are Arabs, Jews, and so-called “Palestinians.” Just who are the Palestinians?  Are they a unique group of people with a separate ethnic identity, language, and history? The modern-day term “Palestinian” has been around since the British controlled the region after defeating the Ottoman Turks in WWI. The British referred to the local inhabitants as “Palestinians.”  Ironically this included Arabs and Jews. In 1947, at the request of the British, who chose to pull out of the region, the United Nations voted to create two separate states, one Jewish and one Arab.  However, the surrounding Arab nations rejected the U.N. vote and declared war on the fledgling Jewish state the day after it declared statehood in May 1948. The war lasted until mid-1949, when a ceasefire was signed. Certain Arabs who lived on the land became displaced due to territory Israel gained in the year-plus-long war...(Read Full Post)