Originally Posted by momoffuzzyfaces.
Really Israel was there first. They were thrown out by the Romans in 70 AD. There are still ruins from their original buildings there just being found by archelogists.
Quote Originally Posted by jenn_librarian View Post
People were there, not "Israelis".

People.
Israel did NOT exist before WWII.

Jews were there, along with Palestinians. Jews have been in that area for centuries. Israel is the very embodiment of Jewish continuity: It is the only nation on earth that inhabits the same land, bears the same name, speaks the same language, and worships the same God that it did 3,000 years ago. You dig the soil and you find pottery from Davidic times, coins from Bar Kokhba, and 2,000-year-old scrolls.
The name Israel derives from the name given to Jacob. The name Jew derives from Yehuda (Judah) one of the 12 sons of Jacob (Reuben, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Yisachar, Zevulun, Yosef, Binyamin). So, the names Israel, Israeli or Jewish refer to people of the same origin.

The people of modern day Israel share the same language and culture shaped by the Jewish heritage and religion passed through generations starting with the founding father Abraham (ca. 1800 BCE). Thus, Jews have had continuous presence in the land of Israel for the past 3,300 years.