Indigenous identity is not determined by sociopolitical trends; it is cultivated by history, culture, archaeology, and genetics. By all these measures, the Jews have an uninterrupted claim to Israel.
What's in a name? I propose we stop identifying ourselves as Jews or as "whites" and start identifying as Israelites or Judeans, thereby reinforcing our indigenous status.
To remove the religious component of "White" would be to subsume Jews, Moslems, and followers of any other religion under the "racial" category of White, so long as they were of European ancestry.
Historically, for Europeans and their colonial descendants — those who settled in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa — Christian was a defining attribute of their collective identity. They purposefully and consciously excluded followers of any other religion. It is only through the recent introduction of Critical Race Theory (CRT) that religious distinction has been blurred to encourage the condemnation as victimizers / oppressors anyone "non-racialized". Thus, Jews have been labeled as White, and not just White but the Whitest of the White, and therefore deserving the worst of the condemnation.
Turkey lies on the periphery of the Levant. The Republic of Albania lies in Southeast Europe. According to the classification of White vs. Jew, Muslims of either peoples are not Whites. Christian Albanians can claim to be White because they fulfill the definition.
That said, merely because they do not fall into the classification of white, does not make them any less worthy of respect or deny them their right to celebrate their religion, culture and heritage, so long as it is in keeping with universal laws, like not practicing honour killing or female genital mutilation.
"It is silly to demand land based on 2,000 year old roots."
According to this logic, Indigenous peoples world wide lose their rights to their traditional, ancestral homelands. Further, all the legal cases brought by them against governments that dispossessed them must be rejected, prior court decisions in their favour annulled, the monies rewarded them returned to the states' treasuries, and the lands recognized as theirs removed from them. Doubt if they would accept that.
Firstly, thank you for calling out the foul-mouthed DeMedia. He has no sense of appropriate boundaries. His slander of you is absolutely indefensible. Hopefully you shrugged him off as one would bird droppings on one's shoe.
You raise an very good ethical question. Granted that Indigenous lands were illegally appropriated, how to repair the damage. Do we return, replace, repair, make restitution? Truth and reconciliation committees are grappling with this issue.
Regarding the statement that Palestinians originate from the Levant, I defer to law and history supported by empirical evidence. Firstly, according tothe Geneva Genocide convention, there are four categories of protected peoples: Ethnicities, Religions, Races, and Nationalities. Those called Palestinian originate in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. How far back that origin goes has been subjected to scholarly study with some disturbing results. Suffice it to say, looking at the term "Palestinian," ethnically they are Arab. Their language is \Arabic and their culture with usual regional variation, likewise Arabic. Their religion is Islam. They do not constitute a race as they do not have unique physiological traits that distinguish them from all other peoples. As for a national identity, it is more appropriate to let them speak for themselves.
To cite the late senior PLO official Zuheir Mohsen . . . in the Dutch daily Trouw in 1977 . . .:
“The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct “Palestinian people” to oppose Zionism. Yes, the existence of a separate Palestinian identity exists only for tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan.”
— Zuheir Mohsen to James Dorsey, “Wij zijn alleen Palestijn om politieke reden”, Trouw, March 31, 1977.
His referral to the goal of the "Palestinian Movement" not to create a state but to eliminate an already existing sovereign one and to cleanse the land of the Jews per Surah 2:191 is echoed in the charters of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the PA. That is their raison d'etre.
There is more evidence to demonstrate that Palestinian is a recently invented identity created in 1964 and retroactively ascribed to the Judean, Samarian, and Gazan Arabs for politically expedient reasons.
While the foregoing arguments are routinely dismissed out of hand by SJW, Woke, Intersectorial, Progressives; nevertheless, intellectual integrity demands that they be scrutinized and their merit refuted when and where possible according to logic and evidence. I rest my case. Speaking of which, if I may, those supporting the claim that Israel is a colonial, settler, apartheid experiment would do well to examine the principle of international law "Uti possidetis juris" which governs disputed land claims such as the Israeli-Arab ones to Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.
I love brevity and I believe that I have never read such a concise and accurate description of the history of the Jews in their land as you have written here. I applaud your writing my friend. Unfortunately, there are many who will start screaming at the first paragraph. As I have volunteered many times in these discussions, I am a simple man. The only way to hold on to the land is to keep our shields bright and our intentions true. Also sharpen the swords occasionally. I am happy to have a reasonable discussion with anyone. But should someone become unreasonable, then the alternatives must be considered.
What a great read. A summary of our history that cannot be erased. I’m in and out of the barn with lambing ewes while reading. Jacob’s sheep breed. Kept safely in the British isles for thousands of years. Conservation traced their DNA back to the Levant. And somewhere we have deeds to the land. I love it!
Good article. Thanks for the lists of different kinds of evidence.
But you left out an important one....It's worth noting that the Arch of Titus in Rome shows the Jews being led off as slaves by Romans, bearing the Menorah and the Table of Showbread from the Temple in Jerusalem. So there you have pictorial evidence of our presence in the land, going back almost 2000 years....and evidence provided by one of our conquerors.
The most startling disconnect ... Xtians, not two months ago celebrated the birth of a rabbi born in Judea/Summaria that had already had a flourishing Jewish community for a millennium. Either the guy was real or not.
Zionism is the Central Theme of the Bible,including the NT,which Churchians can't understand,not bring grounded in The Law,which eliminates most of Saul/Paul's gibberish.
From Genesis to tfe 12 gates of New Jerusalem,named for tfe Tribes of Israel,and in between tfe repeated promise that the Jew Haters will be desolated,but Israel will be cleansed and tfe people as well,and their sins forgiven.
That's what it's all about. And when God's outrage of making this tiny people a majestic light for tfe world is done,tfe world will finally KNOW He is God,that's the whole point!
Excellent post Joshua; one of the best repizes of Israel's history. Quite furor in the comments. All settled by the covenantal promises of G-d to Abraham et al. In perpetuity, as I read it.
But we don’t. In Gaza Hamas rules (thank you Biden/Trump) In Judea/Samaria Abbas is in the 21st year of his 4-year term, and if they ever do have an election they’ll elect Hamas for certain.
Thx for this summary. Although not related directly to Palestine, the Koran makes multiple references to Jews in today’s Saudi Arabia. The Arabs either chose to kill them, or hire them for their usefulness.
It all started in Judea thousands years ago. HASHEM ALMIGHTY promised Eretz Yisrael to Jews to be our homeland forever. HASHEM divided each tribe their share . We have to remember that two and half of twelve tribes have their land share on eastern side of Jordan River. David HaMelech was a King first in Hebron but he removed the capital to Jerusalem over 3000 years ago. David HaMelech bought Mount Moriah for the Temple because the Tabernacle (Mishkan) was only in the tent and David himself lived in cedar tree Palace. NOW we are living the “ End of Days “ in the Torah and Kabbalah. The final battle of evil and good is NOW , global revolution, global intifada 🙌🙏🔥The Third Temple and the Kingdom of Israel (Davidic Dynasty) are eternal and Sanhedrin is also in the Third Temple in Jerusalem Very Soon Baruch HaShem 🙌🙏🔥🇮🇱✡️❤️✡️🇮🇱HASHEM ALMIGHTY will destroy all the evil and also Satan himself away forever to eternity 🙌🙏🔥🇮🇱✡️❤️✡️🇮🇱🔥The final peace comes after Shechinah is dwelling in the Third Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem Very Soon Baruch HaShem 🙌🙏🔥With the Third Temple we can get our prayers to higher levels 🙌🙏🔥🇮🇱✡️❤️✡️🇮🇱🙌🙏
Hugely cherrypicked selection of incidents. As per usual no mention of the Biblical narrative of the foundation of the proto-state that became the Kingdom of Israel, probably because a story about a group of people committing genocide on an existing population because God tells them to is all too similar to current events. Doubtless there will be those who justify it as the Canaanite’s practiced human sacrifice which is absolutely never been used as a justification by an invading force to commit atrocities. Not to mention the supreme irony of committing a general massacre prevent a few deaths.
Once again I ask defenders of Israel to not fall back on dubious religious or blood and soil narratives to defend a state that has no need of them. Israel would be worth defending if Jews had arrived there at the same time as the Mayflower touched land at Plymouth Rock. ‘Indigenous’ is a meaningless concept and always has been.
What's in a name? I propose we stop identifying ourselves as Jews or as "whites" and start identifying as Israelites or Judeans, thereby reinforcing our indigenous status.
White: Those of Christian heritage and European ancestral origin
Jews: A religeo-ethnic entity of Jewish heritage and Levantine ancestral origin.
To remove the religious component of "White" would be to subsume Jews, Moslems, and followers of any other religion under the "racial" category of White, so long as they were of European ancestry.
Historically, for Europeans and their colonial descendants — those who settled in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa — Christian was a defining attribute of their collective identity. They purposefully and consciously excluded followers of any other religion. It is only through the recent introduction of Critical Race Theory (CRT) that religious distinction has been blurred to encourage the condemnation as victimizers / oppressors anyone "non-racialized". Thus, Jews have been labeled as White, and not just White but the Whitest of the White, and therefore deserving the worst of the condemnation.
Never a good idea to reveal your private sexual practices through projection onto others.
Turkey lies on the periphery of the Levant. The Republic of Albania lies in Southeast Europe. According to the classification of White vs. Jew, Muslims of either peoples are not Whites. Christian Albanians can claim to be White because they fulfill the definition.
That said, merely because they do not fall into the classification of white, does not make them any less worthy of respect or deny them their right to celebrate their religion, culture and heritage, so long as it is in keeping with universal laws, like not practicing honour killing or female genital mutilation.
"It is silly to demand land based on 2,000 year old roots."
According to this logic, Indigenous peoples world wide lose their rights to their traditional, ancestral homelands. Further, all the legal cases brought by them against governments that dispossessed them must be rejected, prior court decisions in their favour annulled, the monies rewarded them returned to the states' treasuries, and the lands recognized as theirs removed from them. Doubt if they would accept that.
Firstly, thank you for calling out the foul-mouthed DeMedia. He has no sense of appropriate boundaries. His slander of you is absolutely indefensible. Hopefully you shrugged him off as one would bird droppings on one's shoe.
You raise an very good ethical question. Granted that Indigenous lands were illegally appropriated, how to repair the damage. Do we return, replace, repair, make restitution? Truth and reconciliation committees are grappling with this issue.
Regarding the statement that Palestinians originate from the Levant, I defer to law and history supported by empirical evidence. Firstly, according tothe Geneva Genocide convention, there are four categories of protected peoples: Ethnicities, Religions, Races, and Nationalities. Those called Palestinian originate in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. How far back that origin goes has been subjected to scholarly study with some disturbing results. Suffice it to say, looking at the term "Palestinian," ethnically they are Arab. Their language is \Arabic and their culture with usual regional variation, likewise Arabic. Their religion is Islam. They do not constitute a race as they do not have unique physiological traits that distinguish them from all other peoples. As for a national identity, it is more appropriate to let them speak for themselves.
To cite the late senior PLO official Zuheir Mohsen . . . in the Dutch daily Trouw in 1977 . . .:
“The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct “Palestinian people” to oppose Zionism. Yes, the existence of a separate Palestinian identity exists only for tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan.”
— Zuheir Mohsen to James Dorsey, “Wij zijn alleen Palestijn om politieke reden”, Trouw, March 31, 1977.
His referral to the goal of the "Palestinian Movement" not to create a state but to eliminate an already existing sovereign one and to cleanse the land of the Jews per Surah 2:191 is echoed in the charters of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the PA. That is their raison d'etre.
There is more evidence to demonstrate that Palestinian is a recently invented identity created in 1964 and retroactively ascribed to the Judean, Samarian, and Gazan Arabs for politically expedient reasons.
While the foregoing arguments are routinely dismissed out of hand by SJW, Woke, Intersectorial, Progressives; nevertheless, intellectual integrity demands that they be scrutinized and their merit refuted when and where possible according to logic and evidence. I rest my case. Speaking of which, if I may, those supporting the claim that Israel is a colonial, settler, apartheid experiment would do well to examine the principle of international law "Uti possidetis juris" which governs disputed land claims such as the Israeli-Arab ones to Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.
I love brevity and I believe that I have never read such a concise and accurate description of the history of the Jews in their land as you have written here. I applaud your writing my friend. Unfortunately, there are many who will start screaming at the first paragraph. As I have volunteered many times in these discussions, I am a simple man. The only way to hold on to the land is to keep our shields bright and our intentions true. Also sharpen the swords occasionally. I am happy to have a reasonable discussion with anyone. But should someone become unreasonable, then the alternatives must be considered.
Not at all. Just do not want Israel to be caught napping again.
What a great read. A summary of our history that cannot be erased. I’m in and out of the barn with lambing ewes while reading. Jacob’s sheep breed. Kept safely in the British isles for thousands of years. Conservation traced their DNA back to the Levant. And somewhere we have deeds to the land. I love it!
From the Sea to the River Hashem delivered
Good article. Thanks for the lists of different kinds of evidence.
But you left out an important one....It's worth noting that the Arch of Titus in Rome shows the Jews being led off as slaves by Romans, bearing the Menorah and the Table of Showbread from the Temple in Jerusalem. So there you have pictorial evidence of our presence in the land, going back almost 2000 years....and evidence provided by one of our conquerors.
The most startling disconnect ... Xtians, not two months ago celebrated the birth of a rabbi born in Judea/Summaria that had already had a flourishing Jewish community for a millennium. Either the guy was real or not.
Facts are meaningless to the Jew haters. Thankful the new U.S. government gets it. Get all the Arab colonizers out of Israel once and for all.
A wonderful article to keep as reference and send to those who need to be educated to the truth. Direct and filled with facts. Thank you Joshua.
papa j
Zionism is the Central Theme of the Bible,including the NT,which Churchians can't understand,not bring grounded in The Law,which eliminates most of Saul/Paul's gibberish.
From Genesis to tfe 12 gates of New Jerusalem,named for tfe Tribes of Israel,and in between tfe repeated promise that the Jew Haters will be desolated,but Israel will be cleansed and tfe people as well,and their sins forgiven.
That's what it's all about. And when God's outrage of making this tiny people a majestic light for tfe world is done,tfe world will finally KNOW He is God,that's the whole point!
Actually, Jesus Christ is the theme of the whole Bible, including the Old Testament, starting at Genesis 3:15.
Brilliant, as always! Spot on. Truth! Thank you!
Excellent post Joshua; one of the best repizes of Israel's history. Quite furor in the comments. All settled by the covenantal promises of G-d to Abraham et al. In perpetuity, as I read it.
But we don’t. In Gaza Hamas rules (thank you Biden/Trump) In Judea/Samaria Abbas is in the 21st year of his 4-year term, and if they ever do have an election they’ll elect Hamas for certain.
Thx for this summary. Although not related directly to Palestine, the Koran makes multiple references to Jews in today’s Saudi Arabia. The Arabs either chose to kill them, or hire them for their usefulness.
It all started in Judea thousands years ago. HASHEM ALMIGHTY promised Eretz Yisrael to Jews to be our homeland forever. HASHEM divided each tribe their share . We have to remember that two and half of twelve tribes have their land share on eastern side of Jordan River. David HaMelech was a King first in Hebron but he removed the capital to Jerusalem over 3000 years ago. David HaMelech bought Mount Moriah for the Temple because the Tabernacle (Mishkan) was only in the tent and David himself lived in cedar tree Palace. NOW we are living the “ End of Days “ in the Torah and Kabbalah. The final battle of evil and good is NOW , global revolution, global intifada 🙌🙏🔥The Third Temple and the Kingdom of Israel (Davidic Dynasty) are eternal and Sanhedrin is also in the Third Temple in Jerusalem Very Soon Baruch HaShem 🙌🙏🔥🇮🇱✡️❤️✡️🇮🇱HASHEM ALMIGHTY will destroy all the evil and also Satan himself away forever to eternity 🙌🙏🔥🇮🇱✡️❤️✡️🇮🇱🔥The final peace comes after Shechinah is dwelling in the Third Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem Very Soon Baruch HaShem 🙌🙏🔥With the Third Temple we can get our prayers to higher levels 🙌🙏🔥🇮🇱✡️❤️✡️🇮🇱🙌🙏
From the river to the sea is Israeli territory, some occupied by illegal Arab invaders, false named Palestinians!
Hugely cherrypicked selection of incidents. As per usual no mention of the Biblical narrative of the foundation of the proto-state that became the Kingdom of Israel, probably because a story about a group of people committing genocide on an existing population because God tells them to is all too similar to current events. Doubtless there will be those who justify it as the Canaanite’s practiced human sacrifice which is absolutely never been used as a justification by an invading force to commit atrocities. Not to mention the supreme irony of committing a general massacre prevent a few deaths.
Once again I ask defenders of Israel to not fall back on dubious religious or blood and soil narratives to defend a state that has no need of them. Israel would be worth defending if Jews had arrived there at the same time as the Mayflower touched land at Plymouth Rock. ‘Indigenous’ is a meaningless concept and always has been.