THE LAND OF ISRAEL IS NOT CALLED "PALESTINE" A visiting preacher smiled as he stood before a group of Jewish believers in Israel, and said enthusiastically, "I am so happy to finally be in Palestine". His audience was underwhelmed. Yet another well-meaning westerner who speaks (and thinks) carelessly. How many people realize where the name Palestine comes from, and how offensive it is to the Jews? For the short version, read this extract from Wikipedia: After the Bar-Kokhba revolt of the Judeans and the subsequent Roman repression and exile, the Romans renamed the entire district of Judea "Palaestina" as a mark of insult to their defeated enemies. This is because of their knowledge of the region's history and the fact that the Philistines and the Israelites were warring peoples. The land of Israel is NEVER called Palestine in the Bible. The word "Palestine" or "Palestina" only appears four times in the King James Version, in Exodus