New Generation Scroll International

31/01/2024

Nigeria Per capita outlook shows economic recovery despite Naira/dollar rate

31/01/2024

Nigeria economy to grow by 5% in 2024
New Generation Scroll International Magazine

20/01/2024

Nigeria marks armed forces remembrance day
On Monday 15th January 2024, Nigeria government and people of Nigeria marked armed forces remembrance day at Eagle Square Abuja to remember the gallantry, sacrifices and patriotism of Nigeria armed forces. By morning the president Bola Tinubu was on ground to mark the occasion and to appreciate the heroism of soldiers who have defended the territorial integrity of Nigeria and contributed to United Nations peace keeping operations, Ecomog peace keeping missions in West Africa among others. Service chiefs and head of Agencies were on ground in solidarity with the armed forces. Department of State Services medical team and military Health Maintenance Organization were on ground to provide medical support using state-of-the-art mobile clinic.
According to the address by the president and Commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Nigerians appreciate the contribution of the Nigerian armed forces, their leadership roles and strengthening of democratic institutions since independence in 1960 from Great Britain and since becoming a full Republic in 1963.
The venue was a beehive of activities and it ended peacefully.
Up Nigeria armed forces.

25/12/2023

Sending a package of love, peace and joy to you all this Christmas...from
Gift Nlemchukwu

24/12/2023

At Lagos Country Club in 2020 when I received "Merit Recognition award for Grassroots Mobilization in Africa & People of African descent.' Wishing you all the best compliments of the season.

12/11/2023

Proposed map for Palestine

Free Palestine! Pro-Palestine! It's time for action.
One cannot leave the burden of creating Palestinian State to Israel alone. The reason are as follows:
1. Syria was created in 1946 and carved out its map and didn't think of Palestine.
2. Iraq was created 92 years ago, they didn't border about Palestine.
3. Iran declared itself independent 44 years ago and never bothered about Palestine.
4. Lebanon became a state 33 years ago and still forgot about Palestine.
5. Egypt in Africa having passed through Roman and British occupation like many kingdoms regained independence 101 years ago in 1922 and carved out its Map but did not bother about Palestine.
6. Jordan also became Independent and carved out its map.
What was left of Egypt in 1922, Jordan and Syria in 1946 is the remaining portion which is a very small portion and was declared the State of Israel by United Nations in 1948.
Where is the State of Palestine? No land was specifically allocated to Palestine. Instead, people blatantly denied the existence of a great nation like Israel and called it Palestine. That sounds like a mischief. So, Samaria, Jericho, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Judah, Hebron will be called Palestine in their minds? Which means that Israel has been obliterated and expunged from the world map. That is crazy to say the Least. It might not have gone well with people outside the middle east especially African people, Some Europeans, Americans and Australians. In order words, king David who ruled Judah and Israel with capital in Jerusalem 1000BC was a king of Palestine, and Jesus Christ of Nazareth is from Palestine, Jacob also known as Israel whose grandfather is Abraham is now from Palestine? What a history? What a tall order for Palestine! Anyway, it's already too late because UN has correctly and already declared the remaining part Israel.

All the Arabs countries support Palestine. That's fine, but they have to do something, not just show disgust or envy to Israel because it's written that Jews are the chosen tribe. They are more than that. Arabs and Asian tigers are also big players in global system of things and I respect them for that.
Arab countries are rich with vast land and mineral resources and can easily created a State of Palestine if they wanted, which will be endorsed by United Nations. Asia particularly the middle East is so vast that creating a state of Palestine wont be a problem.
They have shown love to Palestine and to their Muslim brothers in Palestine but it should not end there; its time for action. I myself, I am not just a peacemaker, I fight if need be as a civil society and we win because we fight a good cause and we do know that the elite segment of the Middle east understands what is at stake.
Attached is a proposed map for Palestine involving 7 countries each to contribute a small peace of land. They include:
1. Lebanon
2. Syria
3. Israel
4 Jordan
5. Saudi Arabia
6. Iraq
7. Iran
Gaza is out of it for now. But whereby Gaza is the Preferred location and it's acceptable to Israel, then the other countries should prevail on Egypt to give up a certain portion of Sanai Peninsula because Gaza is too small to be a country. In that regard, West Bank should be out of it and the map not applicable. In addition, Palestine people should be firm if they really desire an independent state and be ready to accept options offered to them in the future.

Let's go the proposed map:

Starting from Al Hulway desert in Lebanon, then passing through Mount Hermon in Syria, and bordering Israel to the left, one takes the longitudinal line passing through Qafat desert to the right, and continues with the longitudinal line up to Irbid city in the kingdom of Jordan; then taking a small portion of Amman the capital of Jordan, and a small portion of West bank in Israel, the line passes through Al Jafilah desert again in Jordan, then hitting Al Hijaz desert in Saudi Arabia and terminates at the Gulf of Aqaba- A small portion of land carved out from Saudi Arabia will be broken into two: a small portion to the south to be given to Jordan up to the Red sea and a small portion to Palestine to the Gulf of Aqaba.

Finally, Iraq to give a small portion of Syrian desert to Jordan to compensate Jordan, while Iran to give a small portion of Kermanshah desert to Iraq to contribute and that completes the cycle.
By doing that, all the seven countries have unified to create a good State of Palestine. Palestine or Philistia was found scattered in the ancient Middle East Asian maps such as Canaan, Phoenicia and Mesopotamia without clearly defined boundaries then.
The proposed Map is contiguous and will have a beautiful landscape and economically viable. In addition, there will be peace in the Middle East and in Jerusalem.
Looks like a dream but that's what we do, and it's our good wish to the innocent People of Palestine even though I, like many others, am disgusted by worsening humanitarian crises in Gaza and Israel and by all the terrible counter attacks since Oct 7, 2023.

Note that Israel is in the same longitudinal line with Sinop Port in Turkey by the Black sea, and passes through Kharkiv to the East which divides Asia and Europe. The longitudinal line the Greenwich Meridian passing through London divides West and the East hemisphere. Thus, Israel is in the border of Eastern Europe, in the border of Asia and in the border of Africa by Suez Gulf up to the red sea. So, it's not strictly a Middle East country as it's partly in Europe and partly in Asia. Therefore, one should not expect them to share the same values, language and cultural affiliation with Middle east and Asia countries even though there could be similarities.

God bless the peace-loving people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other countries as it spearheads this onerous task. I look forward to a fruitful deliberations of Arab countries with solidarity from Israel as they deliberate on this issue. As men of good will, we know that violence alone is not enough to solve problems.
And to start with, we all need to recognize the fact that creating a Palestine state or a 2-state solution should be our collective responsibility, not that of Israel alone. And Palestine must first be free in their minds as freedom begins from the mind, recognizing that whether they live in the north or south, that the world recognizes them as a people irrespective of their location and nationality; they too must recognize themselves as a people and be proud of their identity.

Chukwuemeka DD Ogbodo
Columnist Reflections and Insights
New Generation Scroll International and
International President of African Youth Forum International

10/11/2023

The UN and the world was right after all in choosing the locations where Israel is situated today for Israeli state because that has always been their homeland, particularly the Jews. Do you agree with the statement? Read, like and share.

Israel as oldest democracy in the world

The kingdom of Israel as it is today in modern history is over 4,000 years and not 3,000 as captured by Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel in a recent speech made after October 7th 2023 deadly attack on Israel by Hamas militants in southern Israel. It’s also not true that Israel has lasted for only 75 years counting from 1948 when it started as a modern democratic state.
Ancient History and archeological evidence show that Israeli kingdom and democracy is not only 3,000 years like Netanyahu said but even over 4000 years far and above most ancient democracies in the world. Scholars and public officers from the Middle East have ostensibly almost distorted and buried history by wittingly or unwittingly releasing wrong historical figures to the public. But to crosscheck the information on Israeli history, refer to modern encyclopedias and the Bible.
Here are the facts based on known and well documented history with references: it has nothing to do with the present Israeli – Hamas war, but it has become relevant to bring it to the fore for record purposes:
Ancient history: Abraham inhabited Canaan lying between modern day Philistine and Syria.
We were told that Abraham lived among his people in Canaan before God instructed him to move to the city of Ur. True or false? True. Abraham lived in the city of Ur about 2000BC (where BC means before Christ). Archeological excavations showed that Ur was found buried in the present day Iraq. Ur is lying in the Al Hajarah desert known as Tall al Muqayyar. It was called Ur of the Chaldea. It was inhabited by the Chaldeans and became a magnificent city. Ur was also recorded to be close to the city of S***m and Gomorrah where Lot lived which was also destroyed because of homosexuality and other forms of sexual immorality including Lesbianism and Be******ty. (Encarta Dictionary and Encyclopedia, 2009)
Bible recorded that Canaan to be the home town of Abraham as he Instructed Hegazi his servant to pick a wife for Isaac from Canaan his home town. True or false? True. Abraham is the father of Jacob whose other name is Israel. Names of Jacob children are found in the present day Israel.
Abraham was 175 years when he died and had married Keturah after the death of Sarah. He was buried in Hebron his home-town found in the present day West bank in Israel. Hebron then was part of Canaan or lying in the same place.
For more about Canaan, read the excerpt from Encyclopedia Britannica
(Biblically, Canaanites are identified in Genesis as descendants of Canaan, a son of Ham and grandson of Noah. Under the leadership of King David (10th century BC), the Israelites were finally able to break the Philistine power and at the same time to vanquish the native Canaanites, taking the city of Jerusalem. Thereafter Canaan became, for all practical purposes, the Land of Israel….Modern knowledge of Canaan's history and culture is derived from both archeological excavations and from literary sources. Excavations, mainly in the 20th century, have unearthed the remains of many important Canaanite cities, including Bet Sheʾan, Gezer, Hazor, Jericho, Jerusalem, Lachish, Megiddo, and Shechem. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010)
Noah is the hero of the biblical Flood story in the Old Testament book of Genesis, the originator of vineyard cultivation, and, as the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the representative head of a Semitic genealogical line. A synthesis of at least three biblical source traditions, Noah is the image of the righteous man made party to a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, in which nature's future protection against catastrophe is assured. Noah appears in Genesis 5:29 as the son of Lamech and ninth in descent from Adam.) (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010)
The above reference indicates that the area called Canaan harbors Jericho, Jerusalem and other surrounding Israeli cities.

Around about 1900 BC, Jacob children migrated to Egypt from Canaan during the famous famine as predicted by Joseph son of Jacob who was in the House of Potiphar in Egypt, leaving their kinsmen is Canaan behind. Other Israelites later joined them in Goshen Egypt. 500 years, they sojourned in Egypt residing mostly in the city of Goshen. Around 1500 BC, they moved out of Egypt after 500 years of sojourn in what is popularly known as Exodus and returned to Canaan, now known as Israel or the Promised Land. They were Jews like their father Abraham who inhabited Hebron. God changed the name of Jacob to Israel, which means that Jacob bears the name of his town.
King David ruled Judah and Israel around 1,000BC for 40 years with capital in Jerusalem. Where is Jerusalem? Still the capital of Israel. Israeli Army fought Syria, Babylon and Egypt at different times. Israel had a well-organized national army with platoon and battalion commanders and sophisticated weapons. David fought and defeated Goliath of Gath (Gaza) a Philistine around 1,000BC before his reign. He was conscripted into the Jewish army and king Saul became envious of him at a point and sought to kill him. Where are the Philistines today? Still in Gaza. The area was called Syria-Palestine because it is lying between Syria (Damascus) and Palestine (Gaza area). It was the name given to it by the roman emperors.
Other historical facts to support the above data:
846BC the Prophesy of Jeremiah
400BC prophesy of Malachi. Not much prophesy after Malachi until Jesus Christ was born in Israel.
0 – 6BC Birth and Prophesy of Jesus Christ of Nazareth in Israel. Jesus is from Bethlehem of Judea but was born in Nazareth. The parents came to Jerusalem for certain feasts. All these places are in Israel. True or false? True. They later took him to Egypt a neighboring city to Israel in order to protect him from King Herod who was looking for a new born king to slaughter.
Palestinians or the Philistines and other nations that invaded Israel including the Syrians or Assyrians, Babylon, the Egyptians, Persian rule, Alexander the Great (from Macedonia) during the Hellenistic period and growth of Greek philosophy, the Romans during the time of Jesus and reign of king Herod and Pontius Pilate the Roman Governor never was able to pursue them completely out of these cities. They only took some Israelites captive, dominated and occupied the territory for a period, then Israelites in diaspora will return and inhabit the cities again after some years, rebuild the walls and the Temple and live a normal life. It was not only Israel that was ruled by colonialists or ancient war lords because their military adventurism was usually extended beyond their borders and stretching far into distant countries. Military adventurism of Rome extended to Britain and to Egypt at some point. Recall that prophesy of Jeremiah concerning Judah came while he was in exile in Babylon, while some Israelites remained in Israel. Apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome as the administrative region for Israel then under the roman emperor.
2023AD (where 2023AD means 2023 years After Death, signaling the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth) which is the current world calendar, not arguable.

Let’s do the mathematics:

2000 - 1900 BC Jacob family moved to Egypt from Canaan (Hebron, Jerusalem and environs)
2023AD since Jesus period
Total: 2000 + 2023 = 4023 years old is the modern democracy of Israel
Going back to ancient time, Abraham lived with his people before migrating to the city of Ur (also see Encarta Encyclopedia, 2009) let's consider the time of Noah who was yelling and warning people about the coming great flood say 1000 years before Abraham
4,023 + 1,000 Total 5,023 years+ is the democracy of Israel
That is the actual age of Israel kingdom and modern Democracy, not 3,000 years. The kingdom of Israel or Canaan as it was called existed before Abraham and he had a father and a grandfather. His story can be found in the Bible (Book of Genesis) Moreover, the history of Abraham and his children and grandchildren such as Isaac and Jacob as well as their migration to Egypt are very popular and are known to a lot of people.
Israeli Republican state of 1948 is just normal like most countries (That is 75 years old). Other Countries including Russia federation is only 32 years old.

Independence days of countries showing when they became a republic:

Israel Republican State 1948 (75 years old) Established by United Nations
Russia Federation 1991 (32 years old) from USSR
USSR Union of States 1917; defunct first Republican constitution 1927 (105 years)
Ukraine 1993 (30 years old) also from USSR
Nigeria 1963 (60 years old) from Great Britain GB
Ghana 1961 (62 years old) from GB
Ireland 6/12/1921 (102 years) old from GB
USA 4/7/1776 USA (247years) from GB
Liberia in West Africa 26/7/1847 (176 years) from USA
RSA 31/5/1961 (62 years old) from GB
RSA 27th April 1994 (29 years old) End of Apartheid in South Africa
Iraq 3/10/1932 (91 years old) From GB
Iran 11/2/1979 (44 years old) from Pahlavi Dynasty, un-colonized
Egypt 28/02/1922 (101 years) from GB, ancient kingdom but fell several times like Israel to foreign invaders such as Rome and Alexander the Great of Macedonia.
Algeria 5/7/1962 (61 years old) From France
Botswana 1966 (59 years) from GB
Lebanon 1943 (80 years) from France
Yemen 1990 (33 years old) from GB
Jordan 1946 (77 years) from GB
Kenya 1963 (60 years old) from GB
China 1947 Communist Party (74 years old); ancient kingdom ruled by emperors
North Korea 1945 (78 years) from Japan
Lesotho 1966 (57 years old) from GB
Zambia 1964 (59 years old) from GB

Of all the 22 countries sampled, only 7 is older than Israeli democratic republic established 1948 or 31%. Statistically therefore, Israel is older than most modern democratic republics in the world.
Having said that, let Palestinians acquire more individual land commercially from Palestine, from Israel, from Egypt, from Jordan and from all the surrounding countries, build homes, establish factories and other businesses like the Lebanese, enjoy their lives and stop fomenting trouble. They are the ones that normally start the fight before it escalates. They should not harbor militants who have their own ideology and agenda. But if the militants bulldoze their way, let them be mindful of the fact that Militants are independent organizations and if one gives them a chance they will overrun the national army and take over. That was the case in the past and it still happens. That’s why Israel has to defend itself vigorously. Israel is not a visitor to Israel or Canaan or Hebron or Jerusalem or Syria–Palestine axis as it was called when it came under foreign rule. It’s their ancient home land. In fact, the Promised Land, the land of pilgrimage. So, what are we talking about?
In conclusion, to establish an independent republican state of Palestine like other countries mentioned above with clearly defined boundary most likely in Gaza will require United Nations intervention or a treaty between Israel (includes Jews, Arabs, Christian, Judaist, and Muslim Israelis as a sovereign State) and Palestine (includes Arab, Judaist, Christian and Muslim Palestinians). It should not be a religious partition, it won’t work. Who says that Palestine belong to Muslims only? Let a section of the society not capitalize on the Palestinian freedom struggle to claim the area for themselves alone. What about the Christians and Judaist of Palestine? Uuh! Will they not agitate for their own state, giving rise to ‘free-Palestine’ part II?
It’s important to note that any treaty between Palestine and Israel on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in Gaza from now on should involve Egypt, because Israel gave up the Sinai Peninsula in 1979 in exchange for Gaza strip. If Israel are pressured into giving up Gaza through coordinated attack by Arab countries in the Middle East to another Arab state, then Israel have to reclaim Sinai. Otherwise, let Egypt give a portion of Sinai to Palestine while Israel retains Gaza. Alternative is for Palestine to give up Gaza, retain only a section of West bank while Jordan gives a portion of land to Palestine. Israel can’t lose both ways after all the victories in battle. The Arabs countries should not leave the care and liberation of Palestinians to Israel alone. Fighting or pressurizing Israel alone is no longer enough to show seriousness in the deafening clamor for an independent Palestinian state. But if Israel like I said before is still willing to give up Gaza, let Palestinians remain in Gaza, forget about West bank and acquire more land in the Sinai peninsula with the consent of Egypt or Egyptians. That will serve as their homeland while any of them can settle anywhere else in the Middle East, and retain their identity as Palestinians. No need to crisscross from Gaza to West Bank complaining of occupation.
But if they all chose to live together as one country, fine. It’s all up to them. What is important in a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural states is religious tolerance, equity, free trade, civil rights, loyalty and patriotism. That’s the true path to nationhood, not violence, tribalism and clannish bigotry. It’s a craft. It’s called Statescraft. Until then, let them live peacefully with their neighbors. I wish both Israel and Palestine peaceful co-habitation. Shalom.
But as to the actual age of Israeli kingdom and modern democracy in Israel including area formerly known as Canaan, it's over 5,000 years hence, one of the oldest democracies in the world. So, all the shout about occupation 'occupied territory' is fallacy and holds no water. They are never going to go anywhere and should not move an inch for anybody except for compromise so that peace will reign.
Written by: Chukwuemeka DD Ogbodo, Author and Columnist
Reflections & Insights:
New Generation Scroll International, Vol 8 No 4, Oct – Dec 2023.

References:
1. Encarta Encyclopedia and Dictionary, 2009
2. Canaan, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010
3. Ur, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010
4. Ur, Encarta Encyclopedia 2009
5. Hebron, Encarta Encyclopedia, 2009
6. The Holy Bible, Book of Genesis,
7. Chukwuemeka DD Ogbodo, (2018) ‘Twilight of Hope In the longest African Night, Dezems Publishers, Lagos

09/11/2023

Israel as oldest democracy in the world

The kingdom of Israel as it is today in modern history is over 4,000 years and not 3,000 as captured by Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel in a recent speech made after October 7th 2023 deadly attack on Israel by Hamas militants in southern Israel. It’s also not true that Israel has lasted for only 75 years counting from 1948 when it started as a modern democratic state.
Ancient History and archeological evidence show that Israeli kingdom and democracy is not only 3,000 years like Netanyahu said but even over 4000 years far and above most ancient democracies in the world. Scholars and public officers from the Middle East have ostensibly almost distorted and buried history by wittingly or unwittingly releasing wrong historical figures to the public. But to crosscheck the information on Israeli history, refer to modern encyclopedias and the Bible.
Here are the facts based on known and well documented history with references: it has nothing to do with the present Israeli – Hamas war, but it has become relevant to bring it to the fore for record purposes:
Ancient history: Abraham inhabited Canaan lying between modern day Philistine and Syria.
We were told that Abraham lived among his people in Canaan before God instructed him to move to the city of Ur. True or false? True. Abraham lived in the city of Ur about 2000BC (where BC means before Christ). Archeological excavations showed that Ur was found buried in the present day Iraq. Ur is lying in the Al Hajarah desert known as Tall al Muqayyar. It was called Ur of the Chaldea. It was inhabited by the Chaldeans and became a magnificent city. Ur was also recorded to be close to the city of S***m and Gomorrah where Lot lived which was also destroyed because of homosexuality and other forms of sexual immorality including Lesbianism and Be******ty. (Encarta Dictionary and Encyclopedia, 2009)
Bible recorded that Canaan to be the home town of Abraham as he Instructed Hegazi his servant to pick a wife for Isaac from Canaan his home town. True or false? True. Abraham is the father of Jacob whose other name is Israel. Names of Jacob children are found in the present day Israel.
Abraham was 175 years when he died and had married Keturah after the death of Sarah. He was buried in Hebron his home-town found in the present day West bank in Israel. Hebron then was part of Canaan or lying in the same place.
For more about Canaan, read the excerpt from Encyclopedia Britannica
(Biblically, Canaanites are identified in Genesis as descendants of Canaan, a son of Ham and grandson of Noah. Under the leadership of King David (10th century BC), the Israelites were finally able to break the Philistine power and at the same time to vanquish the native Canaanites, taking the city of Jerusalem. Thereafter Canaan became, for all practical purposes, the Land of Israel….Modern knowledge of Canaan's history and culture is derived from both archeological excavations and from literary sources. Excavations, mainly in the 20th century, have unearthed the remains of many important Canaanite cities, including Bet Sheʾan, Gezer, Hazor, Jericho, Jerusalem, Lachish, Megiddo, and Shechem. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010)
Noah is the hero of the biblical Flood story in the Old Testament book of Genesis, the originator of vineyard cultivation, and, as the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the representative head of a Semitic genealogical line. A synthesis of at least three biblical source traditions, Noah is the image of the righteous man made party to a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, in which nature's future protection against catastrophe is assured. Noah appears in Genesis 5:29 as the son of Lamech and ninth in descent from Adam.) (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010)
The above reference indicates that the area called Canaan harbors Jericho, Jerusalem and other surrounding Israeli cities.

Around about 1900 BC, Jacob children migrated to Egypt from Canaan during the famous famine as predicted by Joseph son of Jacob who was in the House of Potiphar in Egypt, leaving their kinsmen is Canaan behind. Other Israelites later joined them in Goshen Egypt. 500 years, they sojourned in Egypt residing mostly in the city of Goshen. Around 1500 BC, they moved out of Egypt after 500 years of sojourn in what is popularly known as Exodus and returned to Canaan, now known as Israel or the Promised Land. They were Jews like their father Abraham who inhabited Hebron. God changed the name of Jacob to Israel, which means that Jacob bears the name of his town.
King David ruled Judah and Israel around 1,000BC for 40 years with capital in Jerusalem. Where is Jerusalem? Still the capital of Israel. Israeli Army fought Syria, Babylon and Egypt at different times. Israel had a well-organized national army with platoon and battalion commanders and sophisticated weapons. David fought and defeated Goliath of Gath (Gaza) a Philistine around 1,000BC before his reign. He was conscripted into the Jewish army and king Saul became envious of him at a point and sought to kill him. Where are the Philistines today? Still in Gaza. The area was called Syria-Palestine because it is lying between Syria (Damascus) and Palestine (Gaza area). It was the name given to it by the roman emperors.
Other historical facts to support the above data:
846BC the Prophesy of Jeremiah
400BC prophesy of Malachi. Not much prophesy after Malachi until Jesus Christ was born in Israel.
0 – 6BC Birth and Prophesy of Jesus Christ of Nazareth in Israel. Jesus is from Bethlehem of Judea but was born in Nazareth. The parents came to Jerusalem for certain feasts. All these places are in Israel. True or false? True. They later took him to Egypt a neighboring city to Israel in order to protect him from King Herod who was looking for a new born king to slaughter.
Palestinians or the Philistines and other nations that invaded Israel including the Syrians or Assyrians, Babylon, the Egyptians, Persian rule, Alexander the Great (from Macedonia) during the Hellenistic period and growth of Greek philosophy, the Romans during the time of Jesus and reign of king Herod and Pontius Pilate the Roman Governor never was able to pursue them completely out of these cities. They only took some Israelites captive, dominated and occupied the territory for a period, then Israelites in diaspora will return and inhabit the cities again after some years, rebuild the walls and the Temple and live a normal life. It was not only Israel that was ruled by colonialists or ancient war lords because their military adventurism was usually extended beyond their borders and stretching far into distant countries. Military adventurism of Rome extended to Britain and to Egypt at some point. Recall that prophesy of Jeremiah concerning Judah came while he was in exile in Babylon, while some Israelites remained in Israel. Apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome as the administrative region for Israel then under the roman emperor.
2023AD (where 2023AD means 2023 years After Death, signaling the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth) which is the current world calendar, not arguable.

Let’s do the mathematics:

2000 - 1900 BC Jacob family moved to Egypt from Canaan (Hebron, Jerusalem and environs)
2023AD since Jesus period
Total: 2000 + 2023 = 4023 years old is the modern democracy of Israel
Going back to ancient time, Abraham lived with his people before migrating to the city of Ur (also see Encarta Encyclopedia, 2009) let's consider the time of Noah who was yelling and warning people about the coming great flood say 1000 years before Abraham
4,023 + 1,000 Total 5,023 years+ is the democracy of Israel
That is the actual age of Israel kingdom and modern Democracy, not 3,000 years. The kingdom of Israel or Canaan as it was called existed before Abraham and he had a father and a grandfather. His story can be found in the Bible (Book of Genesis) Moreover, the history of Abraham and his children and grandchildren such as Isaac and Jacob as well as their migration to Egypt are very popular and are known to a lot of people.
Israeli Republican state of 1948 is just normal like most countries (That is 75 years old). Other Countries including Russia federation is only 32 years old.

Independence days of countries showing when they became a republic:

Israel Republican State 1948 (75 years old) Established by United Nations
Russia Federation 1991 (32 years old) from USSR
USSR Union of States 1917; defunct first Republican constitution 1927 (105 years)
Ukraine 1993 (30 years old) also from USSR
Nigeria 1963 (60 years old) from Great Britain GB
Ghana 1961 (62 years old) from GB
Ireland 6/12/1921 (102 years) old from GB
USA 4/7/1776 USA (247years) from GB
Liberia in West Africa 26/7/1847 (176 years) from USA
RSA 31/5/1961 (62 years old) from GB
RSA 27th April 1994 (29 years old) End of Apartheid in South Africa
Iraq 3/10/1932 (91 years old) From GB
Iran 11/2/1979 (44 years old) from Pahlavi Dynasty, un-colonized
Egypt 28/02/1922 (101 years) from GB, ancient kingdom but fell several times like Israel to foreign invaders such as Rome and Alexander the Great of Macedonia.
Algeria 5/7/1962 (61 years old) From France
Botswana 1966 (59 years) from GB
Lebanon 1943 (80 years) from France
Yemen 1990 (33 years old) from GB
Jordan 1946 (77 years) from GB
Kenya 1963 (60 years old) from GB
China 1947 Communist Party (74 years old); ancient kingdom ruled by emperors
North Korea 1945 (78 years) from Japan
Lesotho 1966 (57 years old) from GB
Zambia 1964 (59 years old) from GB

Of all the 22 countries sampled, only 7 is older than Israeli democratic republic established 1948 or 31%. Statistically therefore, Israel is older than most modern democratic republics in the world.
Having said that, let Palestinians acquire more individual land commercially from Palestine, from Israel, from Egypt, from Jordan and from all the surrounding countries, build homes, establish factories and other businesses like the Lebanese, enjoy their lives and stop fomenting trouble. They are the ones that normally start the fight before it escalates. They should not harbor militants who have their own ideology and agenda. But if the militants bulldoze their way, let them be mindful of the fact that Militants are independent organizations and if one gives them a chance they will overrun the national army and take over. That was the case in the past and it still happens. That’s why Israel has to defend itself vigorously. Israel is not a visitor to Israel or Canaan or Hebron or Jerusalem or Syria–Palestine axis as it was called when it came under foreign rule. It’s their ancient home land. In fact, the Promised Land, the land of pilgrimage. So, what are we talking about?
In conclusion, to establish an independent republican state of Palestine like other countries mentioned above with clearly defined boundary most likely in Gaza will require United Nations intervention or a treaty between Israel (includes Jews, Arabs, Christian, Judaist, and Muslim Israelis as a sovereign State) and Palestine (includes Arab, Judaist, Christian and Muslim Palestinians). It should not be a religious partition, it won’t work. Who says that Palestine belong to Muslims only? Let a section of the society not capitalize on the Palestinian freedom struggle to claim the area for themselves alone. What about the Christians and Judaist of Palestine? Uuh! Will they not agitate for their own state, giving rise to ‘free-Palestine’ part II?
It’s important to note that any treaty between Palestine and Israel on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in Gaza from now on should involve Egypt, because Israel gave up the Sinai Peninsula in 1979 in exchange for Gaza strip. If Israel are pressured into giving up Gaza through coordinated attack by Arab countries in the Middle East to another Arab state, then Israel have to reclaim Sinai. Otherwise, let Egypt give a portion of Sinai to Palestine while Israel retains Gaza. Alternative is for Palestine to give up Gaza, retain only a section of West bank while Jordan gives a portion of land to Palestine. Israel can’t lose both ways after all the victories in battle. The Arabs countries should not leave the care and liberation of Palestinians to Israel alone. Fighting or pressurizing Israel alone is no longer enough to show seriousness in the deafening clamor for an independent Palestinian state. But if Israel like I said before is still willing to give up Gaza, let Palestinians remain in Gaza, forget about West bank and acquire more land in the Sinai peninsula with the consent of Egypt or Egyptians. That will serve as their homeland while any of them can settle anywhere else in the Middle East, and retain their identity as Palestinians. No need to crisscross from Gaza to West Bank complaining of occupation.
But if they all chose to live together as one country, fine. It’s all up to them. What is important in a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural states is religious tolerance, equity, free trade, civil rights, loyalty and patriotism. That’s the true path to nationhood, not violence, tribalism and clannish bigotry. It’s a craft. It’s called Statescraft. Until then, let them live peacefully with their neighbors. I wish both Israel and Palestine peaceful co-habitation. Shalom.
But as to the actual age of Israeli kingdom and modern democracy in Israel including area formerly known as Canaan, it's over 5,000 years hence, one of the oldest democracies in the world. So, all the shout about occupation 'occupied territory' is fallacy and holds no water. They are never going to go anywhere and should not move an inch for anybody except for compromise so that peace will reign.
Written by: Chukwuemeka DD Ogbodo, Author and Columnist
Reflections & Insights:
New Generation Scroll International, Vol 8 No 4, Oct – Dec 2023.

References:
1. Encarta Encyclopedia and Dictionary, 2009
2. Canaan, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010
3. Ur, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010
4. Ur, Encarta Encyclopedia 2009
5. Hebron, Encarta Encyclopedia, 2009
6. The Holy Bible, Book of Genesis,
7. Chukwuemeka DD Ogbodo, (2018) ‘Twilight of Hope In the longest African Night, Dezems Publishers, Lagos