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Short answer: There were as many Loyalists in arms as there were Redcoat regulars. In addition, the number of Loyalist troops in America equaled the largest number of Patriot troops ever commanded by George Washington (25,000 at NY in 1776).Men of property generally resisted the radicals everywhere. Indeed for the great majority of Anglo-Americans, loyalty to the king, Parliament, and the traditions of British colonial government was the “normal condition” of political life. Neutrality rather than loyalism was their characteristic refuge. In Connecticut, the only colony for which anything like an exact estimate of the resistance to the revolution has been made, hard-core Loyalists (those willing to actively take up arms for the crown) made up 6 percent of the population. By 1776 what remained of loyalism in New England had been driven underground, but a significant portion of the moderates were also unwilling to fight for independence and tried to remain aloof from the conflict.It is clear that the Crown did not always make the best use of Loyalist units during the war, dispersing them too widely as sentinels in outposts, as guards over supply depots, and as behind-the-line auxiliaries. History suggests that they may have been more effective if used aggressively.“Rouse, America!” a Patriot newspaper editor warned against such persons, “Your danger is great – great from a quarter where you least expect it. [The Loyalists] … will yet be the ruin of you! ‘Tis high time they were separated from among you. They are now just engaged in undermining your liberties.”[i][i] Richard D. Brown, Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, 1760-1791. (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000) 230.Discussion:At its peak, the British Army had about 22,000 “Redcoats” at its disposal in North America — twice the normal compliment of regulars. An additional 25,000 Loyalists participated in the conflict as well. Nearly 30,000 German auxiliaries, or Hessians, served alongside the British, and an untold number of Native Americans (less than 3000) might be added to this number. There were, of course, Loyalists who remained civilian non-combatants, but the material contained herein is geared predominately towards the military. See Todd Braisted’s comprehensive analysis: Loyalist RegimentsLoyalist before the outbreak of a shooting war generally sat back and hoped the whole crisis would pass. However, once the war began, they were very organized in their response — at least on the military level. Many American Tories never became overt Loyalists, and others came late to loyalism. Although most of the late Loyalists came from Pennsylvania, moderates in all the colonies outside New England were also having second thoughts concerning the revolution and were working toward reconciliation. The successful seizure by the Patriots of Boston in March 1776 virtually extinguished British Loyalism in New England, but New York (the “city” environs) was a hotbed of loyalism and a bastion of loyalist battalions right to the end of the war in 1783.Dissent proved easiest to undermine where it was least prevalent. A public carting or a coat of tar and feathers was usually sufficient. Geographical position seems to have been a factor in producing opposition to the rebellion. Although Massachusetts and Virginia were the most uniformly English of the colonies, it was they that supported the greatest proportion of rebels and were the first to effectively suppress loyalism. Other colonies were more diverse in the national origins of their residents, and in such places large pockets of loyalism might be found. New York, cosmopolitan by 18th century standards, was probably the most evenly divided colony in terms of rebellion and loyalism. There may have been as many as 100,000 loyalists in New York colony and an additional 20,000 in the region centered on Delaware."Tory Refugees on the Way to Canada" by Howard Pyle. The work appeared in Harper's Monthly in December 1901.There is evidence that in New England, at least, the revolution was a vastly popular movement springing from the rocky soil of Massachusetts with ideas of independency taking root among the populace from the first. The number of Americans who adhered to the British side after fighting commenced is still debated. It has been estimated that about 450,000 Americans remained loyal to Britain during the Revolution. This would be about sixteen percent of the total population of 3 million, or about 20 percent of white Americans.Early Loyalists regiments often served in “brick red” uniforms.When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, about fifty Loyalist regiments were raised, including the Butler's Rangers, the King's Royal Regiment, and the Maryland and Pennsylvania Loyalists, and others. Loyalist were noted for their dark green coats, or earlier in the war for their “brick red” uniforms (Madder Red). Both were meant to distinguish American Loyalist units from regular British redcoats dyed in Venetian Red or Scarlet. Venetian red was adopted as the primary uniform color of the New Model Army during the 17th century to ease mutual identification on the battlefield. The dark forest green coats “seasoned” throughout the year becoming more yellow-green as the Autumn approached.Timothy Ruggles, a Loyalist known for his service in the militia in the French wars of the 1750s, sought to promote a Loyalist Association as a counter to the Continental Association of the radicals, but he had very little success in attracting allies to his position and had to flee to the British army in Boston to avoid the furor of the radical mobs. Colonel Thomas Gilbert of Massachusetts had already raised the first Loyalist military unit. This was a force of three hundred men, armed by the British. Gilbert stored muskets, powder and bullets in his home. Gilbert and his three sons fought for the British in Massachusetts, were driven from their homes, and in May 1783 they were exiled to Nova Scotia along with their slaves. Ruggles and Gilbert had fought together in the F&I war. In March 1776 Ruggles left Boston for Nova Scotia with the British troops and accompanied Lord Howe to Staten Island where he formed a loyalist battalion. The Continental Congress confiscated his estates, and in 1779 he received as a reimbursement a grant of 10,000 acres of land from the crown in Wilmot, Nova Scotia, where he engaged in agriculture until his death.Having refused a commission from the Patriots, Robert Rogers (famed for his F&I War operations) raised a Loyalist unit in New York (mostly from Loyalists living in Westchester and Long Island), and from western Connecticut. The new unit was named the Queen’s Rangers in honor of Queen Consort Charlotte, the wife of King George III. It first assembled on Staten Island in August 1776 organized into eleven companies of about thirty men each, and an additional five troops of cavalry. It ultimately grew to 937 officers and men. Rogers did not prove successful in this command, and he left the unit in January 1777. John Graves Simcoe was ultimately given command and the unit became known informally as "Simcoe's Rangers". The Queen's Rangers was one of the most successful British regiments in the war. The regiment was taken into the Crown establishment as the 1st American Regiment in 1779, and was later (1782) taken into the British establishment. In 1783, the Queen's Rangers left New York for Nova Scotia, where it was disbanded.Tryon’s Raid on DanburyOne historian has called William Tryon “the evil genius of the royal cause in America” because of his many successes in prosecuting the Loyalist raids on patriot strongholds. Once the governor of North Carolina, Tryon was assigned the task of governing New York just in time to face the beginnings of the insurrection. He stood out as the most principled political architect of Loyalist resistance to the revolution as well as one of its most aggressive military leaders, especially in New York and Connecticut. Tryon operated with a force composed of more than 2,000 loyalist militiamen encamped on Long Island near Flushing, Queens. He also organized a stronghold on the north shore near Glen Cove and from here launched amphibious raids across the Long Island Sound into Connecticut.Battle of Ridgefield — When Patriot General David Brewster was killed 700 American militia under Benedict Arnold and Benjamin Silliman met the British and staved them off further attack. The Battle of Ridgefield was the only inland battle fought in Connecticut during the Revolutionary War.In April 1777 the loyalists in brick red or dark green uniforms, commanded by William Tryon, crossed Long Island Sound and landed unopposed at Compo Beach near Westport, Connecticut. They marched inland to raid the towns of Bethel, Ridgefield, and Danbury. The 1777 raid was followed in July 1779 by a larger affair employing more than eighteen warships and 2000 Loyalist soldiers. This time Tryon targeted the towns of East Haven, New Haven, West Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk. The landing at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk was the largest amphibious operation mounted by Loyalist forces during the entire revolutionary war. Described in British records as a nest of privateers, Norwalk, with its protective archipelago of small sandy islands and shallow waters, had served as an American vice-admiralty court for small prizes taken on the Sound, a fact that has almost escaped historians because all the court records were burned during the 1779 raid along with 88 homes, dozens of barns and workshops, four mills, and a church. Losses were later estimated to amount to over 26 thousand British pounds. Norwalk was so heavily damaged that George Washington described it as having been “destroyed” in his report to the Continental Congress after the battle.Several dozen Connecticut patriots under Captain Stephen Betts, who put a few small cannon on the heights in the center of the town, drove off the Loyalists in the so-called Battle of the Rocks.Among the Loyalist troops that attacked Norwalk was a unit commanded by Edmund Fanning. In the 1760s and 1770s, Fanning first came to fame as the focus of hatred of the North Carolina Regulators, and led, with Tryon an anti-Regulator militia in a brutal repression of the colonials (several colonials were hanged and one executed by pistol after their surrender). Fanning followed Tryon to New York as his personal secretary, and he raised a regiment of Loyalists named the King's American Regiment on Staten Island. He was wounded twice during the war and was credited with saving Yale (then a college) from destruction by British forces during a destructive raid against New Haven led by Tryon. Fanning was granted an honorary law degree in 1803 as thanks for this action.Col. James De Lancey, known in some circles as the Outlaw of the Bronx, was one of the extremists from New York on the Tory side. Related also to the revolutionary patriot John Jay, James De Lancey was connected by blood and marriage to the elite on both sides of the political divide. First associated with his uncle, General Oliver De Lancey, in raising volunteers from among the Loyalists of Long Island for De Lancey’s Brigade, in 1777 James De Lancey was appointed captain of an elite Troop of Light Horse known as the Westchester Chasseurs. The troop was issued arms and equipment and harassed enemy depots and outposts. Driven from Westchester county by the Patriot party, De Lancey and his like-minded loyalists now known as De Lancey's Refugee Corps occupied the Morrisania area of the Bronx. These men formed one of the most effective loyalist militia units to serve during the rebellion, and De Lancey was made a lieutenant colonel in the British army hierarchy. De Lancey was “attainted” and his estate confiscated in 1779 by the Patriot Committee of Safety. Taken prisoner late that same year, he was soon released on parole.Sir John Johnson, son of William Johnson, inherited his father's baronetcy and lands in 1774. Sir John moved to Canada during the American Revolutionary War with his family and allies because he was at risk of arrest by rebel authorities. He led the King's Royal Regiment of New York and was promoted to brigadier general in 1782. That year Sir John Johnson was also appointed as Superintendent General and Inspector General of Indian affairs of First Nations in Canada, including the control of the four Iroquois nations that had relocated there. Johnson gathered several hundred armed loyalist supporters at Johnstown. He sent a letter to Governor William Tryon saying that he and his Loyalist neighbors had conferred about raising a battalion for the British cause. He also said he could raise 500 Indian warriors who, when used with his regular troops, could retake all of the frontier forts captured by the rebels.Guy Johnson, nephew of Sir William Johnson and cousin to Sir John, had migrated to the Province of New York as a young man and worked with his uncle. He served as agent to the Iroquois, with whom the British had a strong trading diplomatic relationship, and directed joint Loyalist militia and native military actions in the Mohawk Valley. When the New York Committee of Safety committed the colony to armed resistance to the King following the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, Johnson remained loyal to the Crown and worked to control the Tryon County courts, assisted by fellow loyalists Sir John Johnson and Colonel Daniel Claus (a son-in-law of Sir William). These three also commanded three regiments of the Tryon County militia, but the American Patriots in the Mohawk Valley soon drove the three Loyalists out of power. General Guy Carleton, Governor-in-Chief of Quebec, told Guy Johnson that he had no authority over any Indians in Canada and that the Iroquois were not to fight outside the Province of Quebec. Nonetheless, from his command post at Fort Niagara, he led forces against the colonials in the Mohawk Valley frontier, and his subordinates carried out the actions in what the Americans called massacres at Wyoming and Cherry valleys. This was also known as the "Burning of the Valleys". Ultimately he was forced to go to London to defend his reports and actions to the government and he remained there.Walter Butler (Butler’s Rangers / King’s Rangers) ravaged the New York frontier until his death in 1781. Made a Captain in the ranger unit created by his father, John Butler (a wealthy Indian agent who worked for Sir William Johnson), Walter Butler often combined his loyalist frontiersmen with the Native allies under the Iroquois leader Joseph Brant. Butler is most often noted for leading the so-called Cherry Valley Massacre (1778). He has been blamed for the deaths of the many women and children who were killed on that occasion. He fought in the Battle of Johnstown and was killed on October 30, 1781, while retreating back to Canada in a skirmish with rebel troops. Writer Stephen Vincent Benét listed Walter Butler as one of the villainous jurymen, brought back from the dead, in the 1936 short story (and stage play) The Devil and Daniel Webster.In parts of Maryland Loyalists clearly outnumbered radicals, and the Chesapeake peninsula had the highest density of active loyalists in the colonies. White Loyalists in the South were in constant fear of slave insurrections and Indian attacks, and those from the backcountry of Georgia and North and South Carolina were highly disaffected from the revolution due to the isolation of their holdings from the support of other whites. Those who were active in the Loyalist Party and willing to take up arms to fight for Britain, however, were limited to just a few marauding bands.New Jersey residents, led by their “tenacious champion” Gov. William Franklin (son of Benjamin Franklin), generally resisted the revolution, preferring neutrality to insurrection in greater proportion than the total populations of any other colony except New York and Georgia. The distribution of Loyal sentiment and Patriot fervor was particularly scattered in New Jersey with whole Loyalist town being opposed to others of equal Patriot devotion. This led to a great number of small, local encounters as well as a great number of indiscriminate executions among “warring” families that were settling old private scores rather than political questions. William Franklin proved himself an unbending proponent of negotiation and conciliation stiffly holding his ground even after being arrested and confined by the New Jersey Provincial Congress.General Cortlandt Skinner was one of the three current and past speakers of the New Jersey colonial assembly who actively opposed American independence. As a prominent New Jersey Loyalist, Skinner accepted a commission as a brigadier under the British Crown and was authorized to raise a Provincial corps, known as the New Jersey Volunteers or "Skinner's Greens". Three battalions were authorized, to consist of 2,500 soldiers. Throughout the war, the New Jersey Volunteers mercilessly harassed their Patriot opponents in New York from the defensive outposts of Long Island and Staten Island. By the end of war in 1783, Skinner was one of the three highest ranking Loyalist officers in the British Army. His wife and family embarked for England in the summer of 1783, and he followed shortly. His claim to compensation for his losses was made, and he also received the half-pay of a Brigadier-General during his life.There had been during the revolution, moreover, strong support for Tory policies in Delaware in largely Anglican Sussex County and in overwhelmingly pacifist Kent County. New Castle County with its commercial ties with Baltimore and Philadelphia and its largely Presbyterian and Scotch-Irish population, had been, on the other hand, a stronghold of Patriot power and had carried the war almost by itself. Holding an overwhelming majority in New Castle County (but being an overall minority in the rest of the colony) the Patriot Party worked hard to support the Sons of Liberty throughout Delaware as they suppressed Loyalism to the Crown by force. The Patriot Party in Delaware proved well organized, unified in their purpose, and unnervingly ruthless in the prosecution of their cause. They were capable of forcing the election of many like-minded men to positions of authority throughout the colony and of disarming and prosecuting Loyalists.Highland Scots who had immigrated to America overwhelmingly favored the king over the Revolutionary cause. In the South, most of the Highland Scots organized quickly in the royal cause. North Carolina governor Josiah Martin had hoped to recruit heavily among the Scots, but too many had turned against the government during the War of Regulation (1765-1771). Some historians consider this conflict a catalyst to the Revolution. The battle of Moore Creek Bridge (1776) had significant effects within the Scots community of North Carolina, where Loyalists refused to turn out when calls to arms were made later in the war, and many were routed out of their homes by the pillaging activities of their Patriot neighbors. In a brief early-morning engagement, a barrage of musket fire met a charge across the bridge by sword-wielding Loyalist Scotsmen. One Loyalist leader was killed, another captured, and the whole force was scattered. In the following days, many Loyalists were arrested, putting a damper on further recruiting efforts. North Carolina was not militarily threatened again until 1780, and memories of the battle and its aftermath negated Crown efforts to recruit Scotsmen.In 1780, as part of the Crown’s Southern strategy to end the Revolution, more than 1000 loyalists assembled near the Blue Ridge Mountains (in what is now Tennessee), under the able leadership of British Major Patrick Ferguson. This loyalist force was well armed with standard British muskets and bayonets, and its leader was a serious professional officer. He warned mountain residents that if the insurrection continued, he personally would “lay waste their country with fire and sword.” Ferguson had issued a challenge to the rebel militias to lay down their arms or suffer the consequences, however he was killed at the Battle of King’s Mountain and his loyalist force devastated. This defeat combined with the defeat of a Crown detachment at Cowpens virtually ended the resistance of loyalist in the South.Banaster Tarleton's dragoons were called 'Tarleton's Raiders'. His green uniform was the standard uniform of the British Legion, a provincial unit organized in New York, in 1778. On 13 December 1776, Tarleton (then a mere Cornet attache’) had surrounded a house in Basking Ridge, and forced Patriot Gen. Charles Lee to surrender. As a prisoner of war, General Lee, was taken to New York, and later was used in an exchange of prisoners. The capture led to immediate advancement for Tarleton. After becoming commander of the British Legion (1780), a force of American Loyalist cavalry and light infantry, also called Tarleton's Raiders, he went to South Carolina. Tarleton's Legion was harried by Patriot leader Francis Marion, 'The Swamp Fox', an American militia commander who practiced a form of guerrilla warfare against the British. Throughout the campaigns, Tarleton was unable to capture him or thwart his operations. In 1781 Tarleton's forces were virtually destroyed by American Brigadier General Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens. Tarleton and only 200 men escaped the battlefield. After his return to Great Britain, Tarleton wrote a history of his experience in the war in North America, entitled Campaigns of 1780 and 1781 in the Southern Provinces of North America (London, 1781). Herein he portrayed his own actions in the Carolinas favorably and questioned many of the decisions made by Lord Cornwallis that led to the ultimate British defeat at Yorktown.After he had turned traitor, the British gave Benedict Arnold a brigadier general's commission in their provincial forces with an annual income of several hundred pounds. He and his wife settled in New York, where the Loyalist elites at first snubbed them. In December 1780, he led a force of 1,600 troops into Virginia, where he captured Richmond by surprise and then went on a rampage through Virginia, destroying supply houses, foundries, and mills. His command consisted of detachments from Simcoe’s Queen’s Rangers and the Loyalist American Legion.Through the spring and early summer of 1781, three thousand French troops under Rochambeau marched from Newport, Rhode Island, across Connecticut to join with Washington’s forces on the Hudson River. Benedict Arnold, born and raised only 10 miles away, was anxious to command a raid on New London in order to demonstrate his newfound loyalty to the Crown. By September it was clear, however, that Virginia was the target. At precisely this time, General Clinton agreed to a small diversionary attack — a punitive raid on New London, CT. At Fort Griswold on the Groton heights, approximately 160 Patriot militiamen and civilians gathered to fight the 800 Crown and Hessian soldiers including several Loyalist and Loyalist refugee battalions. Refusing to surrender when that option was offered, they fought furiously, killing 2 English officers and 43 others and wounding 193 more. After about 40 minutes, the British made it into the fort. Colonel Ledyard, realizing all was lost, commanded his men to put down their arms. At that point there were an estimated 6 American dead and 20 wounded. But after giving up his sword, Ledyard was immediately run through. When the slaughter ended, 83 Americans were dead and 36 wounded. After looting the town, Arnold ordered his British soldiers to set fire to every building, causing the equivalent of more than $500,000 in damages. During his command of British troops, Arnold did not gain a great deal of respect from other officers. His actions in Virginia and Connecticut were criticized, and allegations circulated in New York that he was primarily interested in money.Associated Loyalists: Lt. Colonel Joshua UphamLoyal Refugees: Lt. William CastlesAmerican Legion: Captain Nathan FrinkLoyal American Regiment: Lt. Colonel Beverly Robinson Jr.3rd Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers: Lt. Colonel Abraham van BuskirkWhen the British evacuated New York after the Treaty of Paris (1783) 100,000 Loyalists left with them. It is clear that the Loyalists had made a large but futile contribution to the war.See:Amazon.com: To Starve, Die, & Be Damned: The Delaware Blues of the American Revolution, 1776-1783 (Traditional American History Series Book 11) eBook: James M. Volo: Kindle StoreandAmazon.com: Stand Alarmed, Militia in America 1607-1783 (Traditional American History Series 2nd Edition) eBook: James M. Volo: Kindle Store

The Chinese are very aware of their government’s censorship because their government tells them “we censor stuff.”All countries censor their media but do so in two ways:Some tell their citizens, “We censor our media. Here are our rules.”Some don’t tell their citizens that they censor their media and don’t tell them the rules.Singapore and China are examples of #1 and the United States is an example of #2.Let’s look at China first:China’s Chief Censor is Wang Huning, Chairman of the Central Guidance Commission on Building a Spiritual Civilization. Every Chinese knows the constitutional source of his authority, “Once a policy has been widely discussed, voted on and legislated, discussion is suspended while everyone unites to implement it.” Wang helps keep public expectations in line with government capabilities by presenting his Central Steering Committee colleagues’ ideas to the Chinese people and the Chinese people’s concerns to his colleagues. Here are his rules:Anyone with more than five thousand social media followers must comply with mass media regulations: no infringing, fake accounts, libel, disclosing trade secrets or invading privacy; no sending porn to attract users; no torture, violence, killing of people or animals; no selling lethal weapons, gambling, phishing, scamming or spreading viruses; no organizing crime, counterfeiting, false advertising, empty promises or bullying; no lotteries, rumor-mongering, promoting superstitions; no content opposing the basic principles of the Constitution, national unity, sovereignty or territorial integrity; no divulging State secrets or endangering national security. As Ren Xianliang⁠[1] explains,The relationship between the government and Party to the media is different from that in western countries. In the West, these relationships are often adversarial debates with the media, with many pointed questions. This is not true in China, because the political system is quite different. The core value of the Chinese Communist Party is, ‘to serve the people with all your heart’ and it embodies the fundamental values of Marxism. The people are the masters of China and officials are their servants⁠2. This is said too often and many leaders don’t know what it means and do not put it into practice. They don’t take seriously the problem of creating an effective system for releasing news in order to satisfy as much as possible the people’s right to know.People have a constitutional right to know, to express themselves, to participate in management and decisions about public life and to exercise oversight of the state. The media supports the right to know, warn society, exercise oversight of the government, participate in the market economy and help reconcile various interests. The media are the ears of the Party and government and their microphone. A classic example of the news media in action was the Watergate affair. The lesson of Watergate is that failure to understand the media can be fatal to a government or a ruler. Lies cannot substitute for the truth and the truth cannot long be concealed.Deborah Fallows⁠[3] found that, of the eighty percent of Chinese who want media controlled, eighty-five percent want the government controlling it. Students consider say the censor is too strict, adults say he strikes the right balance and older folk criticize has laxness. No-one finds his censorship evil or repressive and some praise⁠[4] it for maintaining social harmony. Says Alice L. Miller⁠[5],Virtually every topic of conceivable interest to students of Chinese politics and policy now has specialist periodicals devoted to it. This diversity includes publications on previously sensitive topics like foreign affairs and military issues. Since the early 1980s, previously restricted specialist publications dealing with various aspects of international affairs–journals such as American Studies and Taiwan Studies–and new publications such as Chinese Diplomacy became openly available. In military affairs the Academy of Military Science’s premier journal, Chinese Military Science, became available for home delivery to Western students of the PLA. In the 1990s PRC media began routinely to carry opinion pieces by the growing community of foreign policy and national security specialists in China that frequently offered competing and clashing perspectives on various international issues, raising fundamental questions among Western analysts about what political authority to attach to them in Beijing’s policy process..The proliferation of websites hosted by news agencies such as Xinhua has given immediate access to streams of information and commentary far surpassing anything that was easily accessible by traditional means.The constitution protects critics, “Citizens have the right to criticize and make suggestions regarding any State organ or official, to make complaints or charges against relevant State organs and expose any State organ or functionary for violation of law or dereliction of duty.” Harvard’s Gary King⁠[6] says, “Contrary to much research and commentary, the purpose of the censorship program is not to suppress criticism of the State or the Communist Party. Indeed, despite widespread censorship of social critics, we find that when Chinese people write scathing criticisms of their government and its leaders the probability that their post will be censored does not increase. Instead, censored tweets were equally likely to be against the state, for the state, irrelevant, or factual reports about events. Negative, even vitriolic criticism of the state, its leaders and its policies are not more likely to be censored.” Maria Repnikova⁠[7] finds critical journalism alive and well:A popular depiction of Chinese media in the past decade has been that of a fearful, loyal agent of the ruthless party-state which exudes no tolerance towards its critics. Indoctrinated to channel official propaganda to the public, silenced by censorship and threatened by coercion, Chinese journalists function in one of the world's toughest places when it comes to media freedom.…What goes unnoticed beneath the stark imagery of collision between the mighty state and the fearless, isolated critics however, is the web of complex negotiations taking place between some Chinese journalists and party officials. Specifically, whereas the majority of Chinese reporting still adheres to the propaganda model, in the past three decades an exceptional practice of what I term ‘critical journalism,’ including investigative, in-depth, editorial and human-interest coverage of contentious societal issues, has emerged in China amid the restrictive environment..what unites these journalists is their pursuit of social justice and their quest to push the envelope of permissible reporting.They exposed stories such as the 2002 AIDS epidemic in Henan province, the 2003 Sun Zhigang case of a migrant worker illegally detained and beaten to death in Guangzhou, the scandalous school demolitions in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, the 2008 milk-poisoning scandal, widespread environmental protests and food safety crises among other contentious issues. In most cases their stories raised a wide public outcry, as manifested in active discussions online, and in some cases they also produced a moderate policy shift...recently demonstrated in courageous investigative reporting of the major chemical explosion in Tianjin.Investigative journalist Cui Yongyuan⁠8 hosted a popular talk show, Tell It Like It Is, that garnered him 20 million Weibo followers. In 2013 he catalyzed national debate by voicing vehement opposition to the government’s plan to introduce genetically modified food. He exchanged heated, personal attacks with GM food supporters, greatly impacted how it is viewed, and helped defeat the legislation. His allegations about tax evasion by China’s highest-paid actress, Fan Bingbing, triggered a nationwide tax audit of the entire entertainment industry and forced it to disgorge two billion dollars in taxes and fines. He publicly accused Shanghai police of taking huge bribes during their investigation of the case and of ignoring death threats to himself and his daughter. When the police responded by saying they had been unable to reach him, Cui ridiculed them and turned his attention to the highest levels of the legal system.Surprisingly, even when Chinese journalists impinge on national security, the consequences are relatively mild. The government funded the monthly journal, China Through the Ages, for thirty years and a hundred thousand subscribers enjoyed its blunt criticisms of ‘the Party’s self-serving narrative about the Cultural Revolution,’ and its advocacy of constitutional, multi-party democracy and privatization of state assets. Beijing finally lost patience and cancelled its subsidy after the journal praised Zhao Ziyang, the Cabinet Minister who collaborated with the CIA during the Tiananmen demonstrations but, even then, the editor went down fighting, “This magazine will stop publication due to policy changes reflecting the establishment’s intolerance of reformers and liberals.” Imagine the US Government funding America Through the Ages for thirty years as it advocated one-party rule, workers’ ownership of the means of production and the abolition of competitive, multi-party elections.Now, let’s look at censorship in the United StatesThe New York Times’ reports of Iraq’s non-existent weapons of mass destruction and President Trump’s non-existent Russian connection seem scandalous to Chinese readers. Temple University Professor Deborah A. Cai⁠ [9] says, “Chinese reporting on the US appears to be relatively balanced overall. Extreme negative tones toward the US are rare and appear mostly during periods of overt Sino-US confrontation, such as the reconnaissance plane incident or, more recently, following America’s decisions to raise steel import tariffs or conduct unilateral actions in the Middle East.”Here are some random news clippings that illustrate American censorship in action:Politicians Can Break Our Content Rules, YouTube CEO Says PoliticoFacebook Confirms Its ‘Standards’ Don’t Apply To Politicians ars technicaThe US Department of Education has ordered Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to remake their joint Middle East studies program after concluding that they were offering students “a biased curriculum that, among other complaints, did not present enough “positive” imagery of Judaism and Christianity in the region.”In a series of damning emails exchanged with this writer, the predominant Internet-based encyclopedia Wikipedia admitted they subjectively censor material they deem to be controversial, in reference to the September 11, 2001 attacks, although their censoring is not limited to 9-11. Internet Encyclopedia Helps Brainwash Millions of MindsTwitter purges dozens of Cuban reporters just before president’s energy speechPublished time: 12 Sep, 2019 22:06. Last month, Twitter announced that it had suspended nearly 1,000 accounts it linked to a “state-backed information operation focused on the situation in Hong Kong,” accusing them of “sowing political discord” on the platform, though the social media giant offered no evidence to support the assertion. There was no similar statement regarding the bans of Cuban accounts.Facebook removed accounts with too many HK protesters violence videos but allowed Amnesty ad "describing HK peaceful protesters" appear on my Facebook pageRussia Insider on List of Censored Sites Leaked by Google Whistle-BlowerRon Paul's #2 and Fierce Foreign Policy Critic Dan McAdams Permanently Banned From Twitter Over Nothing at AllThe US military has issued a call for research proposals from technology partners for the development of an automated system capable of scanning the entire internet and locating and censoring content deemed as “false media assets” and “disinformation.” According to government documents, the requested solution would provide “innovative semantic technologies for analyzing media” that will help “identify, deter, and understand adversary disinformation campaigns.”MSNBC paid me millions to ‘keep quiet’ on Iraq: Jesse Ventura to RT’s Lee CampMedia silent on dismissal of DNC suit against Julian Assange.On December 2017 , my 5-years-old Youtube channel, Sayed Hasan, mainly translating speeches from Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, was completely removed by Youtube, along with its 10 000 subscribers, +6 millions views and +400 subtitled videos of anti-Zionist & anti-Imperialist content. I then denounced this censorship in detail in my article Kafka 2.0: How Youtube’s Political Censorship is Exercised. And just around New Year’s Eve 2019, the +6000 Subscribed Facebook Page Resistance News Unfiltered, along with all its similar content, got deleted without explanation.Slave Bible from the 1800s omitted key passages that could incite rebellion MPR NewsCNN commentator fired after giving pro-Palestinian speech at UN. #MediaPolitical commentator Marc Lamont Hill is quickly fired after promoting 'free Palestine'Twitter has suspended noted anti-war commentator, economist and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Paul Craig Roberts.The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) spoke with over two dozen national and international journalists, who were subjected to or threatened with searches. They published a report on the “wide powers” claimed by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. Around 1 million people cross U.S. borders every day. Less than 1 percent have their electronic devices searched. Nevertheless, electronic device searches went from 8,500 in 2015 to more than 30,000 in 2017. CBP contends it must operate with a “border exception” when it comes to needing a warrant to search the electronic devices of individuals. It searches devices for threats to “national security,” which includes “classified information.” That directly threatens journalists and their confidential sources. According to the report from CPJ and RSF, from 2006 to June 2018, 37 journalists were “stopped collectively for secondary screenings more than 110 times.” At least four journalists were questioned while leaving the country. Nearly all of the 20 journalists, who said their devices were searched, had their devices taken out of sight. “I treat the U.S. as almost a hostile state,” the reporter said. “You do or say what you have to to maintain that privilege because the financial cost of not being able to access the U.S. is huge.”According to Canadian journalist Ed Ou, who was denied entry to the United States, border agents in 2016 asked him why he was interested in covering the protests against the Dakota Access pipeline at Standing Rock. One agent apparently said “covering a protest is not a valid reason to come into the country,” and agents were concerned about how he wanted to report on indigenous groups in America. Journalists Face Greater Risk Of Warrantless Electronic Searches At BorderIn North Carolina, farm level data is classified information,” said Heather Overton, referring me to the 1979 confidentiality state statute § 106-24.1. which states, “All information published by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services pursuant to this Part shall be classified so as to prevent the identification of information received from individual farm operators.” Confidentiality laws are so unyielding, even when an Alabama and Texas ranch produced cows with the always fatal mad cow disease their identities were kept secret and they were allowed to resume operations in 30 days. If anyone questions whether agriculture departments serve the public and consumers or meat producers that’s the answer.If you regularly visit bookmarked mainstream sites such as BBC , Independent , Guardian , Ebay , Amazon etc. those sites will be showcased as “frequently visited” by OSX in your bookmarks index. If , however you regularly visit bookmarked sites such as Sputnik , RT , OffGuardian, Craig Murray , Southfront , Jonathon Cook etc. these sites will NEVER be showcased by OSX no matter how many times you visit these sites per day. Visit them each 25 times a day and they will NOT get highlighted as “frequently visited” by OSX .Google and YouTube Suppress Controversial 9/11 Truth?Search Engine Manipulation. Google and YouTube Suppress Controversial 9/11 Truth? By Elizabeth Woodward via Global research, Oct 2013Punishment for breaking America’s unpublished censorship rules is draconian:The US Government has issued a million national security letters (administrative subpoenas with gag orders that enjoin recipients from ever divulging they’ve even received them).The President controls all information through EO 10995 & 12472.The President can order the execution of American citizens just for preaching religion. In 2011 he separately executed an American Muslim preacher Anwar al Awlaki, his sixteen-year-old son, and his eight-year-old daughter, all without trial._____________________________________________________________________1 The Art of Guiding Public Opinion—How Leading Cadres Handle the Media. By Ren Xianliang, Vice Chairman of the China Journalists’ Association. David Cowhig's Translation Blog.2 The People are supreme, the state is secondary, and the Ruler is least important. Only those who please the people can rule. Mencius. Mengzi (372–289 BC), 孟軻, was born near modern Zoucheng, Shandong Province, just south of Qufu, Confucius's birthplace. An itinerant teacher and sage, he was the principal interpreter of Confucianism.3 Most Chinese Say They Approve of Government Internet Control, by Deborah Fallows, Pew Internet & American Life Project. March 27, 2008.4 A Confucian Look at Internet Censorship in China. Yubo Kou, Bryan Semaan, Bonnie Nardi. September 20175 Alice L. Miller. Analysing the Chinese Leadership in an Era of Sex, Money and Power. China Leadership Monitor, Issue 57 (Fall 2018).6 “Reverse-Engineering Chinese Censorship”. Gary KingThursday, September 12, 20137 Media Politics in China: Improvising Power under Authoritarianism by Maria Repnikova, C.U.P., July 15, 2017.8 MEET CUI YONGYUAN, CHAT SHOW HOST: CHINA’S UNLIKELIEST WHISTLE-BLOWER (JUST ASK FAN BINGBING). SCMP Jan 26, 20199 Deborah A. Cai, Perspectives Toward the United States in Selected Newspapers of the People’s Republic of China. University of Maryland Institute for Global Chinese Affairs and the Department of Communications, May 2002, pp. 6–7.

Wow...a lot of hasbara propaganda going on in these answers.I've also notice, no one really ever answered your question. It's danced around, but never really answered.1. Palestinians are from many religions, including Jewish. Palestine referered to *all* the inhabitants of Palestine...they are the descendants of all who inhabited Palestine thru the ages, including the ancient Israelites. DNA studies show Palestinians have a closer genetic connection than do the European/American/white Jews. So yes, Palestininian referred to Jews, Christians, Muslims, Ba'hai, Jehoveh's Witness, what have you, who lived in Palestine prior to the European invasions.2. The PLO and the Hamas Charters both recognize the Jewish Palestinians as citizens of Palestine.3. Palestinian Jews helped found Palestinian liberation organizations such as the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.4. If Palestine only referred to Jews, why change the name to Israel? Because Israel refers *exclusively* to Jews, whereas Palestine refers to multi-religions. When Israel came about, they couldn't wait to change the names and wipe all references of Palestine out of history.5. Originally, the propaganda from Israel was there was no Palestine, no Palestinians existed. Maps, photos, ancient and modern documents, original source material, old census records, etc. proved differently.As the evidence mounted, the new trope is that 'oh, *those* Palestinians, hey, they were actually all Jews-no Arabs at all.' Well, why not say that from the beginning, instead of changing the history yet again?And no, my references were not refuted.Incidentally, you will see quotes, made by Arabs and Palestinians supposedly, denying Palestine existed, but you won't see those quotes referenced or sourced...just a quote.If Palestine *only referred to Jews (who were a mere fragment of the population according to censuses, Why did Palestinian Arabs call them self such from an early time?6. Many Israel supporters claim "Palestine" is a Phoenecian word that means "Invaders." Why would the Jews refer to themselves as 'invaders?' (It actually doesn't mean that, but you will hear it).I've listed more detailed info below, but it represents only a very small part of the evidence collected. There are many books that include more info. Its impossible to list everything here.I wish I could spend more time on Quora, but my mom is in the end stage now, and I just don't have the time I used to.Census Studies:As for the early population of Palestine, even the Jewish virtual library puts the Jewish population at less than 2% in 1517 ( Page on jewishvirtuallibrary.org... )According to the founder of Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics Roberto Bachi there were:
 219 000 Muslims, 
 11 000 Christians and only2 000 Jews in the year 1690.So Muslims were the vast majority. Even by each Palestinian city, you can see that. In the middle of the 16th century for example:
 Hebron had 749 Muslim taxable households to only 20 Jewish.Jerusalem had 7,287 Muslims and only 1,363 Jews.Nablus 806 Muslim households to only 15 Jewish.Safed had 1,121 Muslim households to 716 Jewish (Jewish community of Safed was just formed at that time of Jewish refugees from Spain).As early as 1882 Ben-Yehuda and Yehiel Michal Pines, Zionist pioneers in Palestine, talked about 500 000 Arabs living in Palestine.Ahad Ha'am, the founder of cultural Zionism, visited Palestine in 1891 and described it as Arab developed land. The founder of Israel David Ben Gorion, spoke about Arab farmers as descendants of ancient Hebrews. Michael Bar-Zohar, Ben-Gurion's official biographer, said that Palestine was not an empty land, and the Jews were only a small minority of its population.Arthur Ruppin the founder of the Bit Shalom Kibbutz movement, said that in Palestine there were hardly any more arable unsettled lands, Israel Zangwill, another Zionist leader in 1900 said that the pashalik of Jerusalem is already twice as thickly populated as the United States, having fifty-two souls to the square mile, and not 25% of them Jews, ..."Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata" - a detailed geographical survey of Palestine in 1696 written in Latin by Adriaan Reland published by Willem Broedelet, Utrecht, in 1714.Nablus: 120 muslims, 70 SamaritansNazareth: 700 people - all Palestinian ChristiansUmm al-Fahm: 50 people-10 families, ALL Palestinian ChristianGaza: 550 people- 300 Jews, 250 Christian (Jews engaged in agriculture ,Christians deal with the trading and transporting the products)Tiberias: 300 residents, all Jews.Safed: about 200 inhabitants, all JewsJerusalem :5000 people,most of them (3,500) Jews, the rest - 1500 Palestinians (1000 Christian,500 Muslim)

(It should be noted that the Jews there were *Palestinian* Jews.)

Jewish Palestinians helped start the PLO and the DFLP.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, 30% of Palestinians were Christian and Jewish.DNA STUDIES:American author and Professor of Political Science Alan Dowty put it best when he wrote, "Palestinians are the descendants of all the indigenous peoples who lived in Palestine over the centuries." Moreover, studies suggest, that part, if not the majority of Arabs living in Palestine, descend from a core population that dates back thousands of years.I Traveled to Palestine-Israel and Discovered There Is No 'Palestinian-Israeli Conflict'High-Resolution Y chromosome haplotypes of Israeli and Palestinian Arabs Reveal geographic substructure and substantial overlap with haplotypes of JewsAlmut Nebel · Dvora Filon · Deborah A. Weiss · Michael Weale · Marina Faerman · Ariella Oppenheim · Mark G. Thomas 21 November 2000 c. Springer-Verlag 2000AbstractHigh-resolution Y chromosome haplotype analysis was performed in 143 paternally unrelated Israeli and Palestinian Moslem Arabs (I&P Arabs) by screening for 11 binary polymorphisms and six microsatellite loci. Two frequent haplotypes were found among the 83 detected: the modal haplotype of the I&P Arabs (~14%) was spread throughout the region, while its one-step microsatellite neighbor, the modal haplotype of the Galilee sample (~8%), was mainly restricted to the north. Geographic substructuring within the Arabs was observed in the high-lands of Samaria and Judea. Y chromosome variation inthe I&P Arabs was compared to that of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, and to that of North Welsh individuals. At the haplogroup level, defined by the binary polymorphisms only, the Y chromosome distribution in Arabs and Jews was similar but not identical. At the haplotype level, determined by both binary and microsatellite markers, amore detailed pattern was observed. Single-step micro-satellite networks of Arab and Jewish haplotypes revealed a common pool for a large portion of Y chromosomes,suggesting a relatively recent common ancestry. The two modal haplotypes in the I&P Arabs were closely related tothe most frequent haplotype of Jews (the Cohen modal haplotype). However, the I&P Arab clade that includes the two Arab modal haplotypes (and makes up 32% of Arab chromosomes) is found at only very low frequency among Jews, reflecting divergence and/or admixture from other populations.Page on ucl.ac.ukDowty, Alan (2008). Israel/Palestine. London, UK: Polity. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-7456-4243-7. “Palestinians are the descendants of all the indigenous peoples who lived in Palestine over the centuries; since the seventh century, they have been predominantly Muslim in religion and almost completely Arab in language and culture.”Likhovski, Assaf (2006). Law and identity in mandate Palestine. The University of North Carolina Press. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-8078-3017-8.According to Rashid Khalidi, the modern Palestinian identity encompasses the heritage of all ages from biblical times up to the Ottoman period. (Rashid Khalidi, Palestinian identity: the construction of modern national consciousness, Columbia University Press, 2009 p.18.)According to Palestinian author Walid Khalidi: "the Palestinians considered themselves to be descended not only from Arab conquerors of the seventh century but also from indigenous peoples who had lived in the country since time immemorial."("(With reference to Palestinians in Ottoman times) Although proud of their Arab heritage and ancestry, the Palestinians considered themselves to be descended not only from Arab conquerors of the seventh century but also from indigenous peoples who had lived in the country since time immemorial, including the ancient Hebrews and the Canaanites before them.Acutely aware of the distinctiveness of Palestinian history, the Palestinians saw themselves as the heirs of its rich associations.") and according to Palestinian anthropologist Ali Qleibo: "in their customs and manners, fossils of these ancient civilizations survived until modernity—albeit modernity camouflaged under the veneer of Islam and Arabic culture."("Throughout history a great diversity of peoples has moved into the region and made Palestine their homeland: Canaanites, Jebusites, Philistines from Crete, Anatolian and Lydian Greeks, Hebrews, Amorites, Edomites, Nabateans, Arameans, Romans, Arabs, and European crusaders, to name a few. Each of them appropriated different regions that overlapped in time and competed for sovereignty and land. Others, such as Ancient Egyptians, Hittites, Persians, Babylonians, and Mongols, were historical 'events' whose successive occupations were as ravaging as the effects of major earthquakes ... Like shooting stars, the various cultures shine for a brief moment before they fade out of official historical and cultural records of Palestine. The people, however, survive. In their customs and manners, fossils of these ancient civilizations survived until modernity—albeit modernity camouflaged under the veneer of Islam and Arabic culture."Genetic analysis suggests that a majority of the Muslims of Palestine, inclusive of Arab citizens of Israel, are descendants of Christians, Jews and other earlier inhabitants of the southern Levant whose core may reach back to prehistoric times.(Gibbons, Ann (October 30, 2000)."Jews and Arabs Share Recent Ancestry". ScienceNOW. American Academy for the Advancement of Science.. Studies cited are: M. F. Hammer et al. (2000)."Jewish and Middle Eastern non-Jewish populations share a common pool of Y-chromosome biallelic haplotypes". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 97 (12): 6769–6774. doi:10.1073/pnas.100115997. PMC 18733. PMID 10801975. and Almut Nebel et al. (2000)."High-resolution Y chromosome haplotypes of Israeli and Palestinian Arabs reveal geographic substructure and substantial overlap with haplotypes of Jews". Human Genetics 107 (6): 630–641. doi:10.1007/s004390000426. PMID 11153918.Another study says; "Our recent study of high-resolution microsatellite haplotypes demonstrated that a substantial portion of Y chromosomes of Jews (70%) and of Palestinian Muslim Arabs (82%) belonged to the same chromosome pool." "Almut Nebel, Dvora Filon, Bernd Brinkmann, Partha P. Majumder, Marina Faerman, and Ariella Oppenheim,'The Y Chromosome Pool of Jews as Part of the Genetic Landscape of the Middle East,' American Journal of Human Genetics, November 2001; 69(5): 1095–1112. 10.1086/324070,PMCID: PMC1274378.)REFERENCES TO PALESTINIAN ARAB LEADERSHIP BEFORE ISRAEL**1919: Aref Al-Dajani President of the Palestine Arab Congress, (also president of the Jerusalem Christian-Muslim Society). Also part of the Executive Committee were Izzat Darwaza and Yusef al-‘Isa, editor of paper Falastin, the newspaper of Palestine. (So much for an invented people.)**1920-1934: Musa al-Husayni, former mayor of Jerusalem was elected President of the Palestine Arab Congress. It had 36 delegates, including Sheik Suleiman al-Taji Al-Faruqi, Daoud Issa, and head of the Catholic community -Bullus Shehadeh. The congress was opened by Haifa's mufti, Muhammad Murad.1921 Musa Kazem led a delegation from the executive committee to meet the British Colonial Secretary, Winston Churchill.1922- funds were raised by the 100 delegate Congress and Executive Committee by the selling of stamps that depicted the Dome of the Rock and said "Palestine for the Arabs" in English and Arabic. (again...usage of the national identity term “Palestine.”A Women's Congress, attended by 200 women, was convened in 1929. Organisers included Wahida al-Khalidi (wife of Hussein al-Khalidi) and Amina al-Husayni (wife of Jamal al-Husayni). It was led by Salma al-Husayni, wife of Musa Kazim.**1934, Christian executive vice-president Yacoub Farraj became acting president. The Palestine Arab Congress was eventually broken up by the British and other groups took its place in a splintered Palestine.April - Palestine Arab Party established.23 June - Reform Party (Palestine) established.**1935- 25 April – The Arab Higher Committee is established, on the initiative of the Mufti of Jerusalem Hajj Amin al-Husayni, to oppose British rule and Jewish claims in Palestine.**1936-1939 Palestine Arab Revolt for Independence against the British. Palestinian Arabs -Arab Higher Committee (until October 1937)Central Committee of National Jihad in Palestine (from October 1937) 1 in 10 Palestinian adults were murdered by the British and led to greater support for the Zionist immigration and division of Palestine. Palestine was lead by city leaders during this time. Each city had its own leader and coordinated attacks against the British.From 1939-1948 Britain and Palestinians fought. Zionist immigration expands dramatically, most of the Kibbutzes are founded. thousands of Palestinians are murdered and most Palestinian villages are destroyed.**1948-1959 All-Palestine Government established and is recognized by all Arab League States, except the Trans-Jordan. The Prime Minister of the Gaza-seated administration was Ahmed Hilmi Pasha, and the President was Hajj Amin al-Husseini, former chairman of the Arab Higher Committee. The Government was taken over and dissolved by Egyptian President Nasser, who was trying to establish a Pan-Arab nation.Palestine was occupied by Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. War, massacres, and refugee status led to a largely government-less population.****1966-Palestine National Congress established, with 422 representatives under Ahmad Al-Shuqeiry as the elected Chairman.1969-2004 Yassir Arafat was Chairman until his death.1988 Palestine declared its independence, and under the Oslo Accords, recognized Israel’s right to exist, deleting the part of the charter that said otherwise.REFERENCES TO PALESTINE PRIOR TO ISRAELITES, ROMANS, AND ARAFAT-THAT DON'T REFERENCE OR MEAN JEWSBCE1150 BCE Land of “Peleset” referred to in numerous Egyptian heiroglyphics, refering to their neighbors during the 20th dynastyFirst mention was in the texts at the temple of Medinet Habu referring to the “Sea People during Ramsses III reign.800 BCE The Assyrians called them the Palashtu or Pilistu. There were references to them for over a century.5th century BCE- Herodotus wrote about Palaistine in The Histories
^ In his work, Herodotus referred to the practice of male circumcision associated with the Hebrew people: "the Colchians, the Egyptians, and the Ethiopians, are the only nations who have practised circumcision from the earliest times. The Phoenicians and the Syrians of Palestine themselves confess that they learnt the custom of the Egyptians.... Now these are the only nations who use circumcision." The History of Herodotus^ Beloe, W., Rev., Herodotus, (tr. from Greek), with notes, Vol.II, London, 1821, p.269 "It should be remembered that Syria is always regarded by Herodotus as synonymous with Assyria. What the Greeks called Palestine the Arabs call Falastin, which is the Philistines of Scripture."^ Elyahu Green, Geographic names of places in Israel in Herodotos This is confirmed by George Rawlinson in the third book (Thalia) of The Histories where Palaestinian Syrians are part of the fifth tax district spanning the territory from Phoenicia to the borders of Egypt, but excludes the kingdom of Arabs who were exempt from tax for providing the Assyrian army with water on its march to Egypt. These people had a large city called Cadytis, identified as Jerusalem.4th century BCE Aristotle wrote about the Dead Sea in Palestine in his book, Meteorology,"Again if, as is fabled, there is a lake in Palestine, such that if you bind a man or beast and throw it in it floats and does not sink, this would bear out what we have said. They say that this lake is so bitter and salt that no fish live in it and that if you soak clothes in it and shake them it cleans them," an obvious reference to the Dead Sea.Later writers such as Polemon, and Pausanias also used the term to refer to the same region. This usage was followed by Roman writers such as Ovid, Tibullus, Pomponius Mela, Pliny the Elder,[15] Statius, as well as Roman-era Greek writers such as Plutarch, Dio Chrysostom and Roman-era Judean writers such as Philo of Alexandria[16] and Josephus.135 CE After the Bar Kokhba Revolt, the Romans called it Syria Palaestina*In Hebrew, the name Palestine (פלשת) and the name Philistine (פלשתי) are pretty much the same, and Philistine literally means One Of Palestine. The Philistines are descendants of the Casluhim, who were sons of Mizraim, son of Ham, son of Noah (Genesis 10:14).Page on www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Palestine.html#.VNI2l8afu0c ********Peleshet (פלשת Pəlésheth)- usually translated as Philistia in English, is used in the Bible more than 250 times.In the Torah / Pentateuch the term is used 10 times and its boundaries are undefined. The later Historical books (see Deuteronomistic history) include most of the biblical references, almost 200 of which are in the Book of Judges and the Books of Samuel, where the term is used to denote the southern coastal region to the west of the ancient Kingdom of Judah.1500sAs for the early population of Palestine, even the Jewish virtual library puts the Jewish population at less than 2% in 1517 ( Page on www.Home | Jewish Virtual Library/jsou... ) According to the founder of Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics Roberto Bachi there were 219 000 Muslims, 11 000 Christians and only 2 000 Jews in the year 1690. So Muslims were the vast majority. Even by each Palestinian city, you can see that. In the middle of the 16th century for example Hebron had 749 Muslim taxable households to only 20 Jewish. Jerusalem had 7,287 Muslims and only 1,363 Jews. Nablus 806 Muslim households to only 15 Jewish. Safed had 1,121 Muslim households to 716 Jewish (Jewish community of Safed was just formed at that time of Jewish refugees from Spain).SHAKESPEAREthere are also references to "Palestine" in Shakespeare. In Othello, Act 4, scene 3, "I know a lady in Venice would have walked bare-foot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip". In King John, Act 2, Scene 1, "fought Holy Wars in Palestine". Othello was written between 1601 and 1604. King John Was written in 1594-1596.1600s"Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata" - a detailed geographical survey of Palestine in 1696 written in Latin by Adriaan Reland published by Willem Broedelet, Utrecht, in 1714.1800sAs early as 1882 Ben-Yehuda and Yehiel Michal Pines, Zionist pioneers in Palestine, talked about 500 000 Arabs living in Palestine.Ahad Ha'am, the founder of cultural Zionism, visited Palestine in 1891 and described it as Arab developed land. The founder of Israel David Ben Gorion, spoke about Arab farmers as descendants of ancient Hebrews. Michael Bar-Zohar, Ben-Gurion's official biographer, said that Palestine was not an empty land, and the Jews were only a small minority of its population.^ a b Robinson, Edward, Physical geography of the Holy Land, Crocker & Brewster, Boston, 1865, p.15. Robinson, writing in 1865 when travel by Europeans to the Ottoman Empire became common asserts that, "Palestine, or Palestina, now the most common name for the Holy Land, occurs three times in the English version of the Old Testament; and is there put for the Hebrew name פלשת, elsewhere rendered Philistia. As thus used, it refers strictly and only to the country of the Philistines, in the southwest corner of the land. So, too, in the Greek form, Παλαςτίνη), it is used by Josephus. But both Josephus and Philo apply the name to the whole land of the Hebrews ; and Greek and Roman writers employed it in the like extent."^ Studies in Hellenistic Judaism ：Louis H. Feldman1900sArthur Ruppin the founder of the Bit Shalom Kibbutz movement, said that in Palestine there were hardly any more arable unsettled lands, Israel Zangwill, another Zionist leader in 1900 said that the pashalik of Jerusalem is already twice as thickly populated as the United States, having fifty-two souls to the square mile, and not 25% of them Jews, ...1910sBattle of Nablus (1918)American author and Professor of Political Science Alan Dowty put it best when he wrote, "Palestinians are the descendants of all the indigenous peoples who lived in Palestine over the centuries." Moreover, studies suggest, that part, if not the majority of Arabs living in Palestine, descend from a core population that dates back thousands of years.I Traveled to Palestine-Israel and Discovered There Is No 'Palestinian-Israeli Conflict'Filastin was a daily newspaper published from 1911-1967 in Palestine. Published from Jaffa, the principal publishers (who edited and owned the paper) were Issa El-Issa and his cousin Yousef El-Issa.[1] Both El-Issas were Greek Orthodox, opponents of British administration, and supporters of pan-Arab unity. The paper supported the Committee of Union and Progress, opposed Zionism, and promoted Palestinian nationalism.[2]**1919: Aref Al-Dajani President of the Palestine Arab Congress, (also president of the Jerusalem Christian-Muslim Society). Also part of the Executive Committee were Izzat Darwaza and Yusef al-‘Isa, editor of paper Falastin, the newspaper of Palestine. (So much for an invented people.)1920s**1920-1934: Musa al-Husayni, former mayor of Jerusalem was elected President of the Palestine Arab Congress. It had 36 delegates, including Sheik Suleiman al-Taji Al-Faruqi, Daoud Issa, and head of the Catholic community -Bullus Shehadeh. The congress was opened by Haifa's mufti, Muhammad Murad.1921 Musa Kazem led a delegation from the executive committee to meet the British Colonial Secretary, Winston Churchill.1922- funds were raised by the 100 delegate Congress and Executive Committee by the selling of stamps that depicted the Dome of the Rock and said "Palestine for the Arabs" in English and Arabic. (again...usage of the national identity term “Palestine.”A Women's Congress, attended by 200 women, was convened in 1929. Organisers included Wahida al-Khalidi (wife of Hussein al-Khalidi) and Amina al-Husayni (wife of Jamal al-Husayni). It was led by Salma al-Husayni, wife of Musa Kazim.JEWISH REFERENCES TO ARABS PREDATING THEM IN PALESTINE“Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because geography books no longer exist. Not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahlal arose in the place of Mahlul; Kibbutz Gvat in the place of Jibta; Kibbutz Sarid in the place of Huneifis; and Kefar Yehushua in the place of Tal al-Shuman. There is not a single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.”
– David Ben Gurion, quoted in The Jewish Paradox, by Nahum Goldmann, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1978, p. 99″We will expel the Arabs and take their place. In each attack a decisive blow should be struck resulting in the destruction of homes and expulsion of the population.” David Ben Gurion, Letter to his son, 1937"We came here to a country that was populated by Arabs and we are building here a Hebrew, a Jewish state; instead of the Arab villages, Jewish villages were established. You even do not know the names of those villages, and I do not blame you because these villages no longer exist. There is not a single Jewish settlement that was not established in the place of a former Arab Village." ­ Moshe Dyan, March 19, 1969, speech at the Technion in Haifa, quoted in Ha'aretz, April 4, 1969.PALESTINIAN FLAG HAS BEEN IN USE SINCE 1911The flag used by the Arab Palestinian nationalists in the first half of the 20th century is the flag of the 1916 Arab Revolt. The origins of the flag are the subject of dispute and mythology. In one version, the colours were chosen by the Arab nationalist 'Literary Club' in Constantinople in 1909, based on the words of the 13th-century Arab poet Safi a-Din al-Hili:Ask the high rising spears, of our aspirations
Bring witness the swords, did we lose hope
We are a band, honor halts our souls
Of beginning with harm, those who won’t harm us
White are our deeds, black are our battles,
Green are our fields, red are our swords.
(Safi al-Din al-Hili, poet).Another version credits the Young Arab Society, formed in Paris in 1911. Yet another version is that the flag was designed by Sir Mark Sykes of the British Foreign Office. Whatever the correct story, the flag was used by Sharif Hussein by 1917 at the latest and quickly became regarded as the flag of the Arab national movement in the Mashriq.[1]On October 18, 1948, the flag of the Arab Revolt was adopted by the All-Palestine Government, and was recognised subsequently by the Arab League as the flag of Palestine. A modified version (changing the order of stripes) has been used in Palestine at least since the late 1930s[citation needed] and was officially adopted as the flag of the Palestinian people by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964. On November 15, 1988 the PLO adopted the flag as the flag of the State of Palestine.On the ground the flag became widely used since the Oslo Agreements, with the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1993. Today the flag is flown widely by Palestinians and their supporters.[2][3][4]Source: Wikipedia