The fact that something unjust happened to my grandparents or they were unjustly deprived of something does not automatically mean that I am owed anything.
That is a brilliant approach Dr. Pessin. Instead of focusing on history - an approach that inevitably turns into a duel of cherry-picked grievances - you have laid bare the logical fallacies that underlie the entire movement.
One of my ancestors was a (Christian) Huguenot fleeing Catholic persecution in France to settle in the US. I am sure someone must have ‘occupied' the land her family left behind. To whom should I send the bill, the Pope or the French President? And . . . do I owe something to the surviving Cherokees because she ended up in north Georgia? Thanks, Dr. Pessin, for describing the rabbit hole so thoroughly. I wish I thought your reasoning would be thoughtfully considered by those who have twisted history so completely.
Yes. Interestingly there are American Indians and Canadian native people (there are different groups) that have expressed support for Israel and specifically recognised that Israel is in facts an example of decolonisation.
However the Canadian government is currently emphasizing the natives to an unhealthy degree. Trudeau is supporting a false narrative about supposed mass graves of native children. No graves have been found. That doesn’t stop Trudeau.
I agree. And so important that this was spelled out. It is THE argument against reparations, except to those who were actually harmed. Regardless of what happened to your ancestors, get over it. Pick yourselves up and figure out how to make a better life. That’s your job. Period.
I like your essay. I want to expand on something which I think is lost whenever we talk about the Arabs. There have been many, perhaps, innumerable, upheavals, displacements, massacres tragedies throughout history. The cycle of upheaval and suffering is a manifestation of the Darwinian forces of evolution. When i exercise, i inherently cause injury to my muscles and bones which are then healed and then provide the basis for further growth. For whatever reason, Nature set up a system that suffering is part of progress. We Jews embody that truth: our displacements, our tragedies, have only served to move us forward. While it sounds ghastly to simply look at the horrors of what we've gone through with a shrug of 'that's the cost of doing business', it's the only thing that makes sense to me. (It's also described that way in the Bible but that's for a different time. ) What we have with the Arab story of suffering is not really about suffering; it's about hatred of Jews and the weaponization of suffering as a tool to destroy the Jews. No offense to lawyers, but lawyers are really good at finding other people's suffering as a way to make money. The Jew haters of the world have seized upon Arab suffering as a way to kill Jews. Why did they wish to kill Jews? I personally think it's jealousy; when you're jealous of something and you don't want to work on yourself to attain what the object of your jealousy has then the easiest thing to do is to kill and erase that what you're jealous of. 99% if not 100% of all antisemitism has been a reenactment of the Cane and Abel story in Genesis Abel had something that Kane was deeply jealous of and instead of working on himself and improving himself. It was just easier to kill Abel. It's just easier to hate and kills Jews than it is to work on themselves. The truth is that I have tremendous compassion for the Arabs and the hordes that want to kill me and my children; they live pathetic lives of inner suffering and they seemed trapped inside the shadows of their fears.
An aunt by marriage, an uncle, and a good family friend — Greeks — all fled Turkey during “the exchange of populations.” None spent their lives plotting, funding, or abetting terrorist attacks against Turks. They lived productive, charitable lives. They were loving and beloved.
There’s something terribly stupid, dull-witted, within people who spend their years craving revenge. They’ve nothing better to offer the world.
Very thorough & thoughtful. Resolution of the claims of Jews expelled from Muslim countries is likely the best solution to Palestinian refugee problem. Israel could demand X in satisfaction of those claims in exchange for Y to satisfy Palestinians’ collective right of return. Israel should make the offer publicly saying they WILL meet PA to negotiate only AFTER the PA presents a counteroffer addressing both parts: Jews and Palestinians.
What a truly wonderful piece you have presented! Heartfelt and searingly true! The story of the Palestinians, is a story that keeps on giving! There is no end to their refugee status or the wrongs that have been done to them! They are the only set of refugees that are protected and labelled as refugees for three generations and more. This is a crime against Israel and crime against Palestinians.
Excellent article. This can also pertain to the ongoing discussion in the US of restitution for descendants of slaves. My step mother’s ancestor was an abolitionist who fought and died in the civil war. Should she be compensated too? Dr. Pessin presents an excellent, common sense, argument.
I actually like the “get over it” — I guess in light of the epidemic that embraces victimhood these days. The world, each country, each individual needs to adopt that attitude in order to eradicate this “poor me” attitude.
So, so true. Victims abound: the kids on the college campuses, the teenage who videotaped herself crying in her car because the bank teller got her pronouns wrong, etc. etc. etc -- it really is an epidemic. It's as if they are looking for a fight but there aren't any really good fights left (not that everything's perfect but civil rights, women's rights and gay rights are well on their way. What's a victim to do?
Well put. Guilt is not hereditary. Can you imagine how productive a Palestinian society would be which had focused on building positive things instead of obsessing about killing Jews and bitching about the past? All the bad things happening to the Palestinians are because of their own actions and the actions of the evil-minded, ill-intentioned people who spawned them.
There is an evil rot at the heart of Fakestinian society. Why invent linguistic falsehoods? The poisonous Jew Hatred the entire society obsesses over is condemnation enough.
I was always confused as to why antisemitism was so pervasive and persistent. Thanks to the Zionists on Substack I finally have the understanding I was missing.
That is a brilliant approach Dr. Pessin. Instead of focusing on history - an approach that inevitably turns into a duel of cherry-picked grievances - you have laid bare the logical fallacies that underlie the entire movement.
“Cherry-picked gruevsnces” is great!!!
“Grievances”
What do you suggest, Bernie?
One of my ancestors was a (Christian) Huguenot fleeing Catholic persecution in France to settle in the US. I am sure someone must have ‘occupied' the land her family left behind. To whom should I send the bill, the Pope or the French President? And . . . do I owe something to the surviving Cherokees because she ended up in north Georgia? Thanks, Dr. Pessin, for describing the rabbit hole so thoroughly. I wish I thought your reasoning would be thoughtfully considered by those who have twisted history so completely.
Yes. Interestingly there are American Indians and Canadian native people (there are different groups) that have expressed support for Israel and specifically recognised that Israel is in facts an example of decolonisation.
which groups, specifically?
I’ve not heard of it.
However the Canadian government is currently emphasizing the natives to an unhealthy degree. Trudeau is supporting a false narrative about supposed mass graves of native children. No graves have been found. That doesn’t stop Trudeau.
I agree. And so important that this was spelled out. It is THE argument against reparations, except to those who were actually harmed. Regardless of what happened to your ancestors, get over it. Pick yourselves up and figure out how to make a better life. That’s your job. Period.
I like your essay. I want to expand on something which I think is lost whenever we talk about the Arabs. There have been many, perhaps, innumerable, upheavals, displacements, massacres tragedies throughout history. The cycle of upheaval and suffering is a manifestation of the Darwinian forces of evolution. When i exercise, i inherently cause injury to my muscles and bones which are then healed and then provide the basis for further growth. For whatever reason, Nature set up a system that suffering is part of progress. We Jews embody that truth: our displacements, our tragedies, have only served to move us forward. While it sounds ghastly to simply look at the horrors of what we've gone through with a shrug of 'that's the cost of doing business', it's the only thing that makes sense to me. (It's also described that way in the Bible but that's for a different time. ) What we have with the Arab story of suffering is not really about suffering; it's about hatred of Jews and the weaponization of suffering as a tool to destroy the Jews. No offense to lawyers, but lawyers are really good at finding other people's suffering as a way to make money. The Jew haters of the world have seized upon Arab suffering as a way to kill Jews. Why did they wish to kill Jews? I personally think it's jealousy; when you're jealous of something and you don't want to work on yourself to attain what the object of your jealousy has then the easiest thing to do is to kill and erase that what you're jealous of. 99% if not 100% of all antisemitism has been a reenactment of the Cane and Abel story in Genesis Abel had something that Kane was deeply jealous of and instead of working on himself and improving himself. It was just easier to kill Abel. It's just easier to hate and kills Jews than it is to work on themselves. The truth is that I have tremendous compassion for the Arabs and the hordes that want to kill me and my children; they live pathetic lives of inner suffering and they seemed trapped inside the shadows of their fears.
Palestinians are experts on grievance and now they have a huge international stage.
An aunt by marriage, an uncle, and a good family friend — Greeks — all fled Turkey during “the exchange of populations.” None spent their lives plotting, funding, or abetting terrorist attacks against Turks. They lived productive, charitable lives. They were loving and beloved.
There’s something terribly stupid, dull-witted, within people who spend their years craving revenge. They’ve nothing better to offer the world.
As Bill Maher says, “history had been terrible to everyone.”
Very thorough & thoughtful. Resolution of the claims of Jews expelled from Muslim countries is likely the best solution to Palestinian refugee problem. Israel could demand X in satisfaction of those claims in exchange for Y to satisfy Palestinians’ collective right of return. Israel should make the offer publicly saying they WILL meet PA to negotiate only AFTER the PA presents a counteroffer addressing both parts: Jews and Palestinians.
What a truly wonderful piece you have presented! Heartfelt and searingly true! The story of the Palestinians, is a story that keeps on giving! There is no end to their refugee status or the wrongs that have been done to them! They are the only set of refugees that are protected and labelled as refugees for three generations and more. This is a crime against Israel and crime against Palestinians.
Excellent article. This can also pertain to the ongoing discussion in the US of restitution for descendants of slaves. My step mother’s ancestor was an abolitionist who fought and died in the civil war. Should she be compensated too? Dr. Pessin presents an excellent, common sense, argument.
This is a really good piece and a great thought experiment. The “get over it” in the headline is a little off-putting…
I actually like the “get over it” — I guess in light of the epidemic that embraces victimhood these days. The world, each country, each individual needs to adopt that attitude in order to eradicate this “poor me” attitude.
It’s that attitude that’s causing the problems. Good luck changing that.
It helps, maybe?, to express it to others. Perhaps here and there we plant seeds.
So, so true. Victims abound: the kids on the college campuses, the teenage who videotaped herself crying in her car because the bank teller got her pronouns wrong, etc. etc. etc -- it really is an epidemic. It's as if they are looking for a fight but there aren't any really good fights left (not that everything's perfect but civil rights, women's rights and gay rights are well on their way. What's a victim to do?
Well put. Guilt is not hereditary. Can you imagine how productive a Palestinian society would be which had focused on building positive things instead of obsessing about killing Jews and bitching about the past? All the bad things happening to the Palestinians are because of their own actions and the actions of the evil-minded, ill-intentioned people who spawned them.
There’s no word for “compromise” in Arabic. Cultural problem.
That is really stupid.
للتسوية
There is an evil rot at the heart of Fakestinian society. Why invent linguistic falsehoods? The poisonous Jew Hatred the entire society obsesses over is condemnation enough.
Brings to mind this entire bullshit reparations fallacy in the United States.
I was always confused as to why antisemitism was so pervasive and persistent. Thanks to the Zionists on Substack I finally have the understanding I was missing.
What if is endless.
What is is what matters.
The presence of strangers on Holy Land defiles it and requires their removal and cleansing the land of their defilement by God.
Maybe in other lands it might be racist to tell someone to go home but it is reality in Israel that they not only ought to go home, they must go home.
Hi everyone, meet the Volga Germans.