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Palestine

Filastīn is Who I Am
Ancestry is the lineage or the descendants of an individual. It is the backbone that represents the person they are today and accounts for the cultural beliefs to which they follow. Being knowledgeable of one’s ancestry assists in understanding why one acts and thinks in a certain way. Living in a diverse city, many are exposed to the differences among people and this is due to the distinct family history of each person. My ancestral background defines the individual I embrace today.
“Filastīn” or “Filistīn” is Arabic for Palestine and is located at the heart of the Middle East. Palestine is in South-West Asia and to its north is Syria and Lebanon, to its south is the Gulf of Aqaba and the Sinai Peninsula, and to its east is Jordan. Its location is at the center of various linking routes that made it the melting pot for many religious and cultural influences, from Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Asia Minor. The exact date as to when Palestine was first inhibited has unfortunately not yet been established but can be dated back to 2000 B.C.E. when “West-Semitic tribal groups spoke Canaanite tongue” (Betlyon, 11). Ancient Palestine was once called the Land of Canaan where nomadic shepherds and traders migrated into. Phoenicians occupied the northern areas and the Philistines occupied the southern areas. “The word ‘Palestine’ originates from the word, Philistine,” and was later anglicized to, Palestine (Multiple Names, 2).

Palestine’s governmental body is made up of a president, prime minister, and legislative council. The President of the Palestinian National Authority is the most respected and highest-ranking political position in that government. “The president is Mahmoud Abbas and was elected
directly by the Palestinian National Authority and took office on January 15, 2005” (Milton, 67). His appointed prime minister is Ismail Haniya, whom he shares his power with. The Palestinian Legislative Council is “a unicameral body with 132 members...