Larry Johnson: Most Americans Do Not Understand that Palestine is Not a Mythical Creation

by Larry Johnson [9-20-2025] Larry C. Johnson(bio).

I am writing this to inform some friends who believe, wrongly, that there is no such thing as Palestinians and that the people being genocided by the Zionists are nothing more than interlopers.

Prior to 1947, the territory now occupied by Israel and the Gaza Strip was commonly called Palestine. This designation was used during various historical periods, including the Ottoman rule and the British Mandate period (1920–1948). The British Mandate for Palestine was established after World War I and lasted until 1948, during which time the region was officially administered under that name. The term, Palestine, historically referred to the geographic area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and was used in various forms dating back to ancient times, including Roman, Byzantine, and early Islamic periods.

The earliest recorded historical reference to Palestine dates back to around 1150 BCE in ancient Egyptian inscriptions during the reign of Ramesses III. The name, Peleset, (transliterated as P-r-s-t) was used to describe a group of people, likely the Philistines, who lived along the southern coast of the region. The first clear use of the term, Palestine, to refer to the broader region was by the ancient Greek historian, Herodotus, in the 5th century BCE. In his work, The Histories, he described a “district of Syria,” called Palaistínē, which included the area between Phoenicia and Egypt, incorporating the Judean mountains and the Jordan Rift Valley.

Thus, while the name’s roots trace back to ancient Egyptian references to coastal peoples, the geographical concept of Palestine as a region appears clearly in Greek literature from the 5th century BCE.

Overview of the 1922 Census of Palestine

The 1922 Census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandatory authorities on October 23, 1922, was the first comprehensive population survey under the Mandate. It provides a snapshot of the demographic composition of Palestine at the onset of British administration, following the collapse of Ottoman rule and the establishment of the Mandate by the League of Nations. The census recorded the population by religion, as this was the primary demographic identifier used at the time, reflecting the socio-political context of the region. It covered all inhabitants of the territory defined as Palestine, including urban and rural areas, but excluded some nomadic populations due to enumeration challenges.

Population Composition by Religion

According to the 1922 Census, the total population of Palestine was 757,182. The breakdown by religious affiliation, as reported in the official census document (Census of Palestine 1922, published by the British Mandatory Government), is as follows:

As you can see, the majority were Arab Muslims, predominantly Sunni, living across urban centers (e.g., Jerusalem, Jaffa, Hebron) and rural villages. This group formed the largest demographic, reflecting the historical Ottoman-era population. The Jewish population included both longstanding Sephardic and Mizrahi communities (e.g., in Jerusalem and Safed) and newer Zionist immigrants arriving during the late Ottoman period and early British Mandate, particularly under the Second and Third Aliyahs (1904–1914, 1919–1923). About 40% lived in Jerusalem and Jaffa districts. And the Christians consisted of mainly Arab Christians (Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant denominations), with significant communities in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth. A small number of European Christians (e.g., clergy, missionaries) were also included.

The next census was in 1931 and, like in 1922, was conducted by the British Mandatory authorities on November 18, 1931. It aimed to provide an updated demographic profile of Palestine amid significant political and social changes, including increased Jewish immigration during the Third and Fourth Aliyahs (1919–1923, 1924–1929) and growing Arab-Jewish tensions over land and national aspirations. Like the 1922 Census, it primarily categorized the population by religion, reflecting the era’s socio-political focus on communal identities. The census covered all settled inhabitants of Mandatory Palestine but faced challenges in fully enumerating nomadic populations, particularly Bedouins.

According to the official Census of Palestine 1931, published by the British Mandatory Government, the total population of Palestine was 1,035,821. The breakdown by religious affiliation is as follows:

Events in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union were the catalyst behind the doubling of the Jewish population in Palestine — not Judea and Samaria. The Muslims and Christians who inhabited Palestine prior to World War II were not refugees from some other country… Palestine was their historical home.

Keep these points in mind in the coming weeks as Donald Trump’s administration tries to make the case that the Palestinians have no legal claim to the territory they and their ancestors have lived in for centuries. Stop the genocide.

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