Hear ISIL and Share 'Israel's Statehood Is Lasting'

There is a growing controversy on the Internet due to President Barak Obama's use of the acronym ISIL in referring to the brutal terrorist organization most commonly referred to as ISIS. Some are proposing that Mr. Obama is intentionally denigrating Israel by using ISIL, which stands for “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant" rather than ISIS, which stands for "“Islamic State in Iraq and Syria." Al-Jeezera, the Islamic broadcasting arm of most Arab Muslims, solely uses ISIL in their media broadcasts.

The word 'levant' comes from the French language and means "rising." In ancient history, the word was used to refer to the lands where "the rising of the sun" occurred, or more generally, the eastern lands. However, it is a word that Muslims have historically used to refer to the land bridge between Africa and Europe (see map). Most Muslims believe the Jews have no rights to Levant land and refuse to recognize Israel as a state. ISIL is an acronym that some believe calls into question Israel's right to exist as an independent state.

The southern part of the Levant was once called the land of  Canaan, and the people who lived their were known as the Canaanites. When the Jews conquered Canaan after leaving their Egyptian captivity under the leadership of Moses and Joshua,  the land became known as "the land of Israel" (eretz Israel). Israel stretched from  Dan to Beersheba during Old Testament times, about 150 miles north and south along the Levant landbridge. When Rome defeated the Jews during the Jewish Wars of the 1st Century AD, the Romans renamed the region Palestina, after Israel’s most bitter enemy (the Philistines), to humiliate the Jews. The word Palestine comes from the Latin Palestina which means “land of the Philistines.”

So, it seems throughout history, Israel has been slighted by their enemies. It very well could be that ISIL is a slight against Israel. However, the prestigious Journal of Levantine Studies is published by Jews in Jerusalem, so one cannot be dogmatic that the word "Levant" is an insult to the Jews themselves.

Regardless, for those who believe ISIL is an insult to Israel, I propose every time ISIL is used to refer to the Caliphate that radical Muslims are attempting to establish, we should share with others- -

ISRAEL'S STATEHOOD IS LASTING!