Mosaic view of Gaza in the Church of St Stephen, Um ar-Rasas, Jordan. It was constructed in 756CE by the mosaics artists Stauranchius & Euremius,

Mosaic view of Gaza in the Church of St Stephen, Um ar-Rasas, Jordan. It was constructed in 756CE by the mosaics artists Stauranchius & Euremius, 120 years AFTER the Islamic conquests. 

William Dalrymple

@DalrympleWill

 

Just come across this mosaic view of Gaza in the Church of St Stephen, Um ar-Rasas, Jordan. It was constructed in 756CE by the mosaics artists Stauranchius & Euremius, 120 years AFTER the Islamic conquests. 

 

The people were still using Greek, still building churches (there are 16 in Um ar-Rasas alone). This is important evidence the continuities of population in this region, masked by changes of language and religion. 

 

The idea that the Arabs swept in and kicked out or forcibly converted the population of Palestine is unhistorical nonsense: the population of Palestine was majority Christian until the time of the Crusades. They took two hundred years to use Arabic as their main language. Six hundred to convert to Islam.

 https://x.com/DalrympleWill/status/2106702614372991396/photo/1

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In perspective... the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms..

A gold cup at the National Museum of Iran, from the first half of the 1st millennium BC

 

1776 Declaration of Independence USA National Archives

 

Cedar Tree of Lebanon

1920 With the end of World War I and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Allies give France a mandate over Greater Syria... France divides Greater Syria into Syria and Lebanon 

1948 End of the Nazi Holocaust & the emergence of The United Nations, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and international law...

United Nations 

Preamble

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms... READ MORE https://www.unonline.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.html

 

 Golden Rule Thinking 

 FREEDOM OF & FROM RELIGION

 

Jesus Christ in Palestine AD 28-29 ancient mosaic from Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire

Palestine - A crossroads for religion, culture, commerce, and politics, Palestine was among the earliest regions to see human habitation, agricultural communities and civilization.

Iran 559 BC 

America 1776 AD

Lebanon 1920 AD

Israel 1948 AD

Hezboullah 1982 AD

Speaking to the world's leaders, the pope said, "Stop! It is time for peace! Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned, and deadly actions are decided!" However, all the world's people also have a duty to reject the violence in their own hearts and minds, and help build a kingdom of peace each and every day in one's own home, school and community, he said. "Let us believe once again in love, moderation and good politics," he said, urging people to learn more and "get personally involved" in being part of "the mosaic of peace!"

Pope Leo XIV prays during an evening prayer vigil for peace in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican April 11, 2026. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Carol Glatz

April 11, 2026

Pope Leo XIV called for a prayer vigil April 11 to tell the whole world it is possible for all people of all religions and ethnicities to live together and that "we want to be united as brothers and sisters, united in a world of peace."

"Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life," he said during the special vigil for peace in St. Peter's Basilica.

"Those who pray are aware of their own limitations; they do not kill or threaten with death," he said. "Instead, death enslaves those who have turned their backs on the living God, turning themselves and their own power into a mute, blind and deaf idol, to which they sacrifice every value, demanding that the whole world bend its knee."

"Let us listen to the voices of children," who write to him all the time, recounting "all the horror and inhumanity of actions that some adults boast of with pride," he said. 

The vigil, which drew thousands of people inside and outside the basilica, featured the recitation of the glorious mysteries of the rosary. Before each mystery was recited, women wearing traditional dress from countries representing the different continents of the world lit small lamps from a flame from the Lamp of Peace from Assisi that was placed below a statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace.

Prayer can move mountains, he said in his remarks in Italian. "War divides; hope unites. Arrogance tramples upon others; love lifts up. Idolatry blinds us; the living God enlightens."

It just takes a tiny bit of faith "to face this dramatic hour in history together," he said....READ MORE  

https://www.usccb.org/news/2026/pope-decries-horror-inhumanity-some-adults-boast-pride 

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Old Photos & maps of Gaza ... An ancient place where people have lived longer than recorded history: It is often forgotten that Gaza was once the richest port in the Eastern Mediterranean, super wealthy from the export of Arabian incense and Indian spices.

Palestinian Sheikh from Gaza, 1870 (Photo by Félix Bonfils, University of Pennsylvania Collection)

 

Gaza, Palestine circa c1900.

Early 1900's photo of watermelon vendors in Gaza, Palestine

Gaza in 1905, from the terrace of the Latin presbytery, next to the Catholic church of Gaza, recently bombed by the IDF

Gaza in 1922 Seen from Tell Harubah, the heart of ancient Gaza and occupied consistently since the Bronze Age

 

1920, Gaza, Palestine.

 

The ancient Byzantine Church of St Porphyrios, Gaza. Founded 425CE. Photographed by the Ecole Biblique 1922.  Bombed by the IDF 2024.

 

Gaza after surrender to the British after WWI.

 

Crusader-era oculus from the al-Umari mosque, Gaza Taken 1920

 

Crusader-era doorway from Gaza Photographed 1920 The trade connections of ancient Gaza From the exhibition Trésors sauvés de Gaza - 5000 ans d'histoire at L'Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris.

Palestine... Gaza pottery merchants taking wares to market...Circa 1930's

Palestine... Unloading a great fish-net, Gaza. 1937

 

Palestine.... A camel-load of tibbin going to Gaza... Circa 1930s

 

1939, Gaza, Palestine:  Palestinian mounted police on one of the city’s streets.

 

1935, Aircraft Hanno, Imperial Airways, Gaza, Palestine 🇵🇸   The airfield was constructed in 1917 and one of the first to be built in Palestine.

 

Gaza's beach 1943

 

Gaza - The Main Road 1947

The trade connections of ancient Gaza  It is often forgotten that Gaza was once the richest port in the Eastern Mediterranean, super wealthy from the export of Arabian incense and Indian spices.

Map of Mesopotamia - The Cradle of Civilization  

The trade connections of ancient Gaza mosaics- From the exhibition Trésors sauvés de Gaza - 5000 ans d'histoire at L'Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris

  

10 December 1948 

"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..."   https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights 

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Palestine refugees at Khan Yunus camp in Gaza, near the Egyptian border. Nearly 200,000 refugees, mostly women and children were placed in the Gaza area, of a total of some 750,000 in camps and assembly centres throughout Palestine UN Photo Dec 1 1948  https://www.un.org/en

 

Palestinian refugees  in Gaza   1948

 

An old man looks yearningly toward his home through the barbed wire fence of the "Rimal and Beach Camp" which is the home of 17,000 Arab refugees on the shores of the Mediterranean just outside Gaza City. 1956 photo by INS Charles Arnot

 

A Palestinian refugee woman cross-stitching traditional Palestinian embroidery, Gaza, 1967. © UNRWA Photo Archives.  https://www.unrwa.org/

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Before & After 

 

 

 

Gaza Airport destroyed by Israel in 2001

Beaches in Gaza's seaside before Oct. 7.  2023 (AFP_File)

 

Gaza-AlHusaynaMosque-Before-After-Jan2024-MOHAMMEDABED-AFP

We are adding "yellow blocks" as a weapon on genocide dot live, to categorize videos, and we are rolling out a yellow blocks app on

@gazamaps

to track the movement of the blocks over time.

 

Guardian Screenshot- go to link  https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2025/dec/17/how-israel-yellow-line-dividing-gaza-deadly-consequences-video-explainer

 

Visualizing Palestine  https://visualizingpalestine.org/visual/gaza-stripped/

 

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