Arabic countries versus Israel

The Arab nations are represented by 21 separate countries (see Table). There is only one Jewish nation with a tiny country, Israel. The combined territories of Arab countries is 650 fold greater than Israel(see map above comparing size of Israel versus those of Arab countries). Their population is 50 fold greater than Israel. The average per capita GDP in Arab countries is $3,700 versus $18,000 for Israel. This despite the fact that many Arab countries have world's richest oil resources.

Country	Government	Territory (sq km)	Population (2001 est.)	GDP (Billions)
ARAB Total	Mostly monarchies	13,486,861	292,400,267	$1,195.49
Israel	Democracy	20,770	5,938,093	$110.20
Arabs > Israel		649 fold	49 fold	11 fold
Algeria	Republic	2,381,740	31,736,053	$171.00
Bahrain	Monarchy	620	645,361	$10.10
Comoros	Republic	2,170	596,202	$0.42
Djibouti	Republic	22,000	460,700	$0.57
Egypt	Republic	1,001,450	69,536,644	$247.00
Iraq	In transition	437,072	23,331,985	$57.00
Jordan	Monarchy	89,213	5,153,378	$17.30
Kuwait	Monarchy	17,820	2,041,961	$29.30
Lebanon	Republic	10,400	3,627,774	$18.20
Libya	Dictatorship	1,759,540	5,240,599	$45.40
Mauritania	Republic	1,030,700	2,747,312	$5.40
Morocco	Monarchy	446,550	30,645,305	$105.00
Oman	Monarchy	212,460	2,622,198	$19.60
Qatar	Monarchy	11,437	769,152	$15.10
Saudi Arabia	Monarchy	1,960,582	22,757,092	$232.00
Somalia	None	637,657	7,488,773	$4.30
Sudan	Military regime	2,505,810	36,080,373	$35.70
Syria	Military regime	185,180	16,728,808	$50.90
Tunisia	Republic	163,610	9,705,102	$62.80
UAE	Emirates	82,880	2,407,460	$54.00
Yemen	Republic	527,970	18,078,035	$14.40
ARAB Total	Mostly monarchies	13,486,861	292,400,267	$1,195.49
Israel Total	Democracy	20,770	5,938,093	$110.20
Arabs > Israel		649 fold	49 fold	11 fold

Figures in the table were compiled from The World Fact Book.

Israel became a nation about 1300 BCE, two thousand years before the rise of Islam. The people of modern day Israel share the same language and culture shaped by the Jewish heritage and religion passed through generations starting with the founding father Abraham. Since the Jewish conquest in 1272 BCE, the Jews have had dominion over the land for one thousand years with a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years.

After the Romans conquered Jerusalem about 2,000 years ago, Jewish people were expelled and dispersed to the Diaspora, and the Land of Israel was ruled by Rome, by Islamic and Christian crusaders, by the Ottoman Empire, and by the British Empire.

Throughout centuries Jews prayed to return from the Diaspora to Israel. During the first half of the 20th century there were major waves of immigration of Jews back to Israel from the Arab countries and from Europe. In 1948 Jews reestablished their sovereignty over their ancient homeland with the establishment of the modern State of Israel.

It was only after the Jews re-inhabited their historic homeland of Judea and Samaria, that the myth of a Palestinian nation was created and marketed worldwide. Jews come from Judea, not Palestinians. There is no language known as Palestinian, or any Palestinian culture distinct from that of all the Arabs in the area. There has never been a land known as Palestine governed by Palestinians. Palestinians are Arabs indistinguishable from Arabs throughout the Middle East.

The area called Palestine included the territories of present day Israel and Jordan. Under Lausanne agreement of 1923 Turkey transferred all claims to Palestine to mandatory power Britain. In 1922 Britain allocated nearly 80% of Palestine to Transjordan. In 1947 UN partitioned this remaining land into two states, a second Arab state, Palestine, and Israel. The great majority of Arabs in greater Palestine and Israel share the same culture, language and religion. The Arabs in the area began identifying themselves as part of a Palestinian people in 1967, two decades after the establishment of the modern State of Israel. Virtually all the Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza in the West Bank of Jordan River have complete autonomy under the rule of the Palestinian Authority.

For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the Jordanians occupied Jerusalem (1948-1967), they never sought to make it their capital, and Arab leaders did not come to visit.

In the Jewish Bible, Jerusalem is mentioned over 669 times and Zion (which usually means Jerusalem, sometimes the Land of Israel) 154 times, or 823 times. The Christian Bible mentions Jerusalem 154 times and Zion 7 times. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran. Jerusalem is also not mentioned in the Palestinian Covenant.

King David established the city of Jerusalem as the capital of the whole Land of Israel. Mohammed never came to Jerusalem. Jerusalem remained under Turkish Ottoman Empire rule from 1517 to 1917, and under British rule from 1917 to 1948.