Al-Monitor has a piece on the Khalidi Library in the old city of Jerusalem, which attempts to push the palestinian Arab narrative. As the librarian interviewed says, “The contents of the library negate the Zionist claim that this country was empty.”
Leaving aside the fact that we do not claim the country was empty, the piece inadvertently does the opposite of showing how the palestinians were here first.
Like the fact it mentions just how far back the manscripts go (spoiler alert: not very far):
A library in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem offers a rare glimpse into Palestinian history with its treasure trove of manuscripts dating back hundreds of years before the creation of Israel.
and like when it reminds us that the Arabs colonized the land, while acknowledging that the Western Wall (built almost 700 years earlier) is holy to the Jews:
From its main building, which overlooks the Western Wall — the holiest site where Jews can pray — warring sultans reportedly played a role in liberating Jerusalem from the Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries.
and of course the library’s very name is a reminder that the palestinian Arabs are not indigenous to the land, unlike the Jewish people.
Al-Khaldi (Arabic: الْخَالْدِي), also spelled Al Khalidi is the last name given to members of the tribe of Bani Khalid. The tribe traditionally claims descent from Khalid ibn al-Walid a senior companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and esteemed general who was crucial in the Islamic Conquest of Persia and Syria. This claim has been questioned by Arab genealogists who have suggested that the tribe may descend from his relatives from Banu Makhzum and not from Khalid himself, alternatively, they have largely been attributed to. The tribe has historically been powerful in the Arabian Peninsula, having ruled Southern Iraq, Kuwait, and Eastern Arabia after expelling Ottoman and Portuguese forces in 1670. After their conflict and fall to the Emirate of Diriyah, many Khalidis scattered to Iraq and the Levant, where many of them remain to this day.
On the positive side, at least this library has some content.
