When did the Arabs in Israel start calling themselves Palestinians?
You know the claim. Arabs in and around Israel made up a phony name for themselves. No longer Arab, but Palestinian. They started calling Israel Palestine. An ethnic slur that dated back to Emperor Hadrian.
Here’s what my research found with the help of AI Copilot.
The term “Palestinian” as a distinct national identity among Arabs in Israel and the broader region began to take shape in the mid-20th century, particularly after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and the rise of Arab nationalism.
📜 Historical Timeline of Identity Formation.
Pre-1948: Arabs living in the region identified primarily by religion (Muslim, Christian) or local affiliation (e.g., Jerusalemite, Galilean). The term “Palestinian” was used regionally and applied to both Jews and Arabs under the British Mandate. In fact, many Jews referred to themselves as Palestinians before 1948.
1948–1964: After Israel’s founding and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Arabs (the Nakba), the term “Palestinian” began to take on a more politicized and national character, especially among refugees and those in the West Bank and Gaza.
1964: The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded. This marked a turning point: the term “Palestinian” was now used to define a distinct national identity aimed at resisting Israeli sovereignty and advocating for self-determination.
Post-1967: After the Six-Day War, Arabs in the newly occupied territories (West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem) increasingly adopted the Palestinian identity.
The term “Palestinian” wasn’t widely used by Arabs in the region until after 1948, and it became a formalized identity in the 1960s. Before that, most Arabs in the area simply identified as Arabs, often with tribal or religious affiliations.
