Middle East has been a conflict area for centuries
27 November 2023 - 16:53
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Does ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina really believe Israel at the time of Jesus was a peaceful, tranquil country? (“MPs vote to close Israeli embassy in SA”, November 21). If so, she needs to do some historical research on what exactly was happening in Judea (it wasn’t called Israel then) in the first century of the common era (AD).
The situation then and now were similar. Israel has been a divided country for most of 2023, with citizens unhappy with the Netanyahu government wanting to limit the judiciary’s powers, and for months on end protesting with marches virtually every weekend. In the days of Jesus, Jewish citizens were similarly unhappy with their leadership collaborating with the occupying Romans.
Similar to now, the Jews at the time of Jesus were at war. Initially it was sporadic attacks against occupying Roman forces and then escalated to the Jewish/Roman war of AD66-70. The Jews were eventually defeated in the final Ben Kochba revolt of AD132 and Rome governed their country for a further 300-400 years, changing the region’s name from Judea to Syria Palaestina.
Rome controlled all of the countries bordering on the Mediterranean at the time of Jesus. Shortly before Jesus was born (27BC) Rome became an empire under the emperorship of Augustus Caesar, and the following 200-odd years were known as the “peaceful years” (pax Romana).
This was a time of relative peace, similar to SA after 1994, which is not actually peaceful at all, with the murder rate climbing at an alarming rate, cash-in-transit heists increasing, “hits” on innocent people increasing and foreign tourists having to watch their backs.
The Middle East has been a conflict area for more than 3,000 years, and it is foolish to say it’s going to end soon.
Patrick Dacey Northwold
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: ANC chief whip should learn history
Middle East has been a conflict area for centuries
Does ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina really believe Israel at the time of Jesus was a peaceful, tranquil country? (“MPs vote to close Israeli embassy in SA”, November 21). If so, she needs to do some historical research on what exactly was happening in Judea (it wasn’t called Israel then) in the first century of the common era (AD).
The situation then and now were similar. Israel has been a divided country for most of 2023, with citizens unhappy with the Netanyahu government wanting to limit the judiciary’s powers, and for months on end protesting with marches virtually every weekend. In the days of Jesus, Jewish citizens were similarly unhappy with their leadership collaborating with the occupying Romans.
Similar to now, the Jews at the time of Jesus were at war. Initially it was sporadic attacks against occupying Roman forces and then escalated to the Jewish/Roman war of AD66-70. The Jews were eventually defeated in the final Ben Kochba revolt of AD132 and Rome governed their country for a further 300-400 years, changing the region’s name from Judea to Syria Palaestina.
Rome controlled all of the countries bordering on the Mediterranean at the time of Jesus. Shortly before Jesus was born (27BC) Rome became an empire under the emperorship of Augustus Caesar, and the following 200-odd years were known as the “peaceful years” (pax Romana).
This was a time of relative peace, similar to SA after 1994, which is not actually peaceful at all, with the murder rate climbing at an alarming rate, cash-in-transit heists increasing, “hits” on innocent people increasing and foreign tourists having to watch their backs.
The Middle East has been a conflict area for more than 3,000 years, and it is foolish to say it’s going to end soon.
Patrick Dacey
Northwold
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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