On the Radical Anti-Zionist, Max Blumenthal (a Fellow Who's so Extreme that Even Wikipedia Finds Him to Be Unpalatable), Excusing the Cruelty of October 6th By Reminding Us that the Conflict Didn't Begin There (Insinuating of Course that Israel Was the Straight-Up Villainess) - Max is actually correct in one respect. The conflict DID start earlier. He just has the timeline fucked up and the protagonist/antagonist dynamic reversed. The conflict didn't begin in the 19th Century. It started in the 7th Century when the Mohammedans gave up on converting people and instead turned to conquering large swaths of the known world (North Africa, the Levant, Persia, Spain, and huge chunks of the Indian Subcontinent) and yes, part of it was the Holy Land which at the time was largely populated by Christians, pagans, and Jews. Got it?

   As to what happened to the Christian, pagans, and Jews once the Mohammedans took control of territory, guess what, the choices were limited, you could either convert, pay the jizzya and live like a second, third, or fourth class citizen, or resist the whole damn thing and get slaughtered for your trouble. Not that Mr. Blumenthal will be moved and/or persuaded by such an historical analysis because he's been drenched by incessant indoctrination but perhaps it can dissuade a few of his more casual consumers, therefore I share.