I stumbled across the Bad Eagle Journal this morning and found myself surprised by the writings of David Yeagley, great-great-grandson of Comanche leader Bad Eagle. Dr. Yeagley has spent time in Israel and has even written an opera about the Jewish Holocaust. Why would a Comanche Indian compose an opera about such devastation to the Jewish people? His response: "For now, I find my voice in the ancient wailing of another people. I indulge myself through their exquisite articulations. I hide behind the Jews."

In A "Palestinian" State? Dr. Yeagley agrees:

Follow up:

Yes, there should be a "Palestinian" state–in Jordan. In Syria. These "Palestinian" people belong in their home country, not in Israel.

Land claims are moot if not meaningless. Only the strong hold the land. (Ask American Indians. That’s right, we still have our land–not only literally, but legally. We're American citizens!–all declared such by the US government in 1924.) The Arabic people who actually do come from families in Palestine since 586 BCE are very few. Today's "Palestinian" is basically a Jordanian native, or a Syrian. And the first Arabic people in Palestine never formed a country, a nation, nor ever had a unified religion or social structure at all. We’re not talking about an ancient nation here, with any particular claim or right to such a status or its accoutrments. "Palestinians" are not the descendents of some ancient Arab nation in Palestine.

What we’re talking about today is an illusion, a professional reactionary social response. We’re talking basically rhetoric, nothing more. We're talking Hanan Ashrawi. There is no "Palestinian" people, or any semblence of a "Palestinian nation." In 1949, Arab activist Musa Alami said of the Arabs in Palestine regarding the idea of a nation, "most of them do not know the meaning of the word. How can people struggle for their nation? The people are in great need of a 'myth.'" (See, "The Lessons of Palestine," in The Middle East Jounral, October, 1949.) Sixty years hasn’t created a nation, a nationality, a religion, a language, or any basic fundamentals of nationhood. It has produced a prolonged piece of failed political strategem, targeting Israel, which has brought nothing but suffering to all involved.

The rest of his article is well-worth reading - he concludes with "In the last analysis, the "Palestinians" have only the Arab nations to blame. The "Palestinian" is the illegal Mexican immigrant of the Middle East." Well put. In Are the Arabs, Arab?, Dr. Yeagley details the history and origins of those calling themselves Palestinians today and then gives a brief synopsis of the Palestine Mandate which gave Jews 25% of the land originally dedicated to a Jewish homeland. It is clear that Dr. Yeagley doesn't want Israel to be sacrificed on the alter of the promise of world peace.

Dr. Yeagley has some strong views on immigration and the Mexican problem America faces. Israel could benefit from his teachings and rethink it's immigration policies along those lines. In his wisdom he asks "Does a nation have the right to determine who its citizens are, and who may live within its borders?" and answers:

I know of no nation in world history that has ever existed without the authority to determine its constituents.

In fact, when a nation doesn’t have this basic sovereignty, it declines. It may disappear under foreign conquest, or in the case of hopeless multiculturalism within some over-extended empire, like ancient Greece, or Rome, that nation may absorb into a cultural malaise.

But aside from the historical view, it’s common sense that any nation, like any club, church, or organization, must have power to define its membership.

In The Magic Qur'an, Dr. Yeagle gives us good reason to put an immediate stop to the pagan incantations those of us who live near mosques are awakened to at 5:30 a.m. And speaking of the Qur'an, what exactly does it say about Israel?

All the Qur'an does say about Jews in Palestine is simply a recount of their original entry into Canaan. "O my people! Enter the holy land which God has assigned unto you" (5:22). "We settled the Children of Israel in a beautiful dwelling place, and provided for them sustenance of the best" (10:93), and "Dwell securely in the land of promise" (17:104).

Did the prophet's eye not see the violence and destruction involved in the Jews' ousting the indigenous Canaanites from their homeland? Did Mohammed fail to recognize the 'social injustice' of a few Jews taking over the homelands of multitudes?

If the prophet did not condemn Israel for being in Palestine the first time, why to the mullahs get hysterical about the Jews there now?

In 1999, when I visited Astan Quds Razavi University (a Shi’ite theological seminary in Masshad), Professor Khazee Ali pushed the same line. "We have no objection to Jews in Palestine. It is the ruling state of Israel that is unjust and immoral." Fine. Just don't say that's what the Qur'an teaches.

Islamic Professor Abdul Hadi Palazzi is quoted in the July 2, 2001, Washington Times: "A good Muslims must be a Zionist. Classical Islamic sources do not support the so-called 'Islamic anti-Zionism' preached by radical groups. The idea of making Islam a factor that prevents Arabs from recognizing any sovereign right of Jews over Palestine is an artificial apparatus that has no precedent in Islamic classical sources." Sheik Palazzi is director of the Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community.

So, Muslims have a choice about what to believe, after all.

On the other hand, the Qur'an leaves the door wide open for the most base anti-Semitism—and hatred of anyone who isn't a Muslim.

On the topic of revisionist text books, Dr. Yeagley warns that it's not just Jewish history the Islamics are trying to rewrite - they've gone too far by dissing the American Indians!

One final tidbit along these lines that I'd like to share is something I learned recently regarding the anti-Israel campaigns on U.S. campuses .

I was intrigued by his writing and in my research I came across this amusing article Why I'm An Indian—not "Native American", which is a little off-topic for this blog, but I found it amusing enough to share.