Apartheid and genocide apologists are fond of repeating the lie that “Palestine never existed” or that there is no such thing as Palestinians. But in “Palestine: a Four Thousand Year History” by historian Nur Masalha, the long history of the region is detailed. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote about a district in Syria. It was called Palaistinê and it was between Phoenicia (modern day Lebanon) and Egypt in the 5th century BCE. From the 2nd to 4th centuries AD, the Romans referred to it as a province called Roman Palestine. The Ottoman and British Empires also called the region Palestine. Even early Zionists referred to it as Palestine when discussing plans to colonize it.

The insatiable colonial impulse to purge Indigenous history isn’t anything new. We have seen this in the Americas, where white European settlers attempted to eradicate Indigenous cultural identity and history. The Spaniards razed temples to the ground to build cathedrals on top of them. The British burned villages. The Americans and the Canadians forbade Native peoples speaking their languages and practicing their religions.

The erasure of Indigenous history is key to justifying a project of violent subjugation, ethnic cleansing and annihilation. In this new narrative, the settlers are cast as the true victims. A “civilized” people trying to tame a wild land. A “villa in the jungle” surrounded by rapacious beasts. It must tell itself and the world this lie in order to rationalize its actions.

This is why Gaza has been systematically leveled. Why its historic landmarks, buildings, ancient mosaics and markets, museums, libraries and universities have been blown up or burned down. It isn’t fighting a war, it is demoralizing a people by attempting to nullify their identity. Like the people who live there, these buildings and places represent historical truth. And the colonial settler cannot tolerate the existence of those damning reminders.

No matter how much destruction it causes, the historical record is clear. Palestine existed. Palestine exists. And the Palestinians will not be erased, even though this genocidal campaign is trying its hardest to do just that.

Kenn Orphan, April 2025