From the River to the Sea, the Jews reign supreme.

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.

Israeli flags hang in Jerusalem, the Jews’ indigenous capital. (photo: Cole Keister/Unsplash)

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The notion that the Jewish People are somehow “settlers” or “colonizers” in the land of Israel is one of the greatest ironies in modern discourse — akin to accusing an oak tree of trespassing in the forest where it first took root.

If indigeneity means having an unbroken historical, cultural, and spiritual connection to a land, then few peoples on Earth have a stronger case than the Jews when it comes to Israel.

From religious texts and archaeological evidence, to genetic studies and historical records, the proof of Jewish nativity is overwhelming. Meanwhile, everyone else who claims the land is, quite literally, a later arrival.

So let’s embark on a journey — part intellectual excavation, part historical detective work — into the depths of Jewish indigeneity, dismantling revisionist narratives with the precision of a Talmudic scholar wielding an argument.

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The Biblical and Religious Case: More than a Covenant

For those who dismiss religious texts as mere mythology, let’s remember that virtually every ancient civilization’s claims to land and heritage are rooted in such narratives. Yet few hold up under scrutiny as well as the Jewish claim to Israel.

The Torah, composed over 3,000 years ago, describes in great detail not only the Jewish People’s deep connection to the land but also their continual return to it, despite repeated expulsions.

Abraham’s Purchase of Hebron

Long before nation-states existed, Abraham made the first real estate transaction in recorded history, purchasing the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron from Ephron the Hittite (Genesis 23).

Unlike conquerors who seize land by force, the Jewish patriarchs had receipts. If ownership could be traced through Zillow, Hebron would have “Abraham’s Ancestral Holdings” in its listing.

The Exodus and Joshua’s Conquest

While some revisionists claim that the Israelites were never in Egypt, the Merneptah Stele (circa 1208 BCE) explicitly references Israel as a people in Canaan, debunking such theories. The Bible describes the conquest and settlement of the land, with tribes receiving specific territories, reinforcing their deep-rooted connection.

The Babylonian Exile and Return

Unlike true colonizers who forget their homeland once they leave, Jews in Babylon literally wept for Zion (Psalm 137:5) and returned under Persian rule to rebuild Jerusalem. Colonizers don’t tend to cry about missing their ancestral homeland while sitting by foreign rivers.

Talmudic and Rabbinic Law

Halakha (Jewish law) is built around the land of Israel, with agricultural commandments that only apply within its borders. This is unique; no other faith tradition has such a geographically bound legal framework.

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The Archaeological Record: Digging Up the Truth

If ancient texts aren’t enough, archaeology provides ample physical evidence of Jewish indigeneity. Every shovel that hits the ground in Israel uncovers another chapter of Jewish history.

The Tel Dan Stele (9th century BCE)

This inscription, found in northern Israel, refers to the “House of David,” confirming the existence of a Jewish monarchy, as described in the Bible.

The City of David Excavations

Archaeological digs in Jerusalem have uncovered the remnants of King David’s palace, First Temple period seals, and Hezekiah’s Tunnel, all attesting to Jewish presence in the capital for over 3,000 years.

The Dead Sea Scrolls (3rd century BCE – 1st century CE)

Found in Qumran, these texts not only include almost the entire Hebrew Bible, but also detail Jewish laws and beliefs in the land during the Second Temple period. Try finding similar ancient Arabic manuscripts in Israel that predate the 7th-century Islamic conquests — you won’t.

The Bar Kokhba Revolt Coins (132–135 CE)

During the Jewish revolt against Rome, the rebels minted their own coins with inscriptions like “For the Freedom of Jerusalem.” It’s rare for colonizers to inscribe their rebellion against foreign occupiers on currency.

The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibited at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem

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The Genetic and Historical Record: DNA doesn’t lie.

The story of the Jewish People is written not just in historical texts, but in their very DNA. Unlike many populations whose origins are obscured by centuries of migration and assimilation, Jews have retained a genetic signature that firmly ties them to the Levant.

Their genetic markers do not just tell a story of exile and return but reinforce the deep connection to their ancestral homeland. Science, it turns out, has given us yet another testament to the historical truth long preserved in Jewish memory and tradition.

Jewish Genetic Continuity

Modern genetic studies have demonstrated that Jews — whether Ashkenazi, Sephardi, or Mizrahi — share common Middle Eastern ancestry, distinct from their host populations in Europe or North Africa. The Kohanim (priestly) genetic marker, found across Jewish communities, links back to an ancient Israelite priestly caste.

The Roman Exile and Jewish Diaspora

After the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE, they forcibly removed much of the Jewish population, but not all. Jewish communities continued to live in the Galilee and along the Mediterranean coast.

Notably, Emperor Hadrian attempted to erase Jewish ties by renaming Judea as “Palestina,” a term meant to sever Jewish identity from the land — a branding exercise not unlike today’s historical revisionism.

Jewish Presence in the Land During Islamic and Crusader Periods

Despite waves of conquest — Byzantine, Islamic, Crusader, Mamluk, Ottoman — Jewish communities persisted in places like Safed, Hebron, and Jerusalem, long before the modern Zionist movement began. The so-called “return” was in fact a continuous presence punctuated by forced removals.

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The Real Colonizers

The term “colonizer” is often misapplied in discussions about Israel. If we are to use the term accurately, it should refer to those who arrived later, imposed their culture and governance, and displaced the indigenous Jewish population.

History is filled with examples of foreign rulers and invaders who took control of the land while Jews maintained a continuous — if at times diminished — presence. Understanding who the real outsiders were is essential to clarifying the historical record.

The Arab Conquest (7th century CE)

The arrival of Arab-Muslim armies in the 600s was a classic colonial endeavor. They imposed language, religion, and governance over indigenous populations, including Jews and Samaritans.

Ottoman Rule (1517–1917)

A foreign empire based in Turkey controlled the land for centuries, treating it as a neglected province. When Mark Twain visited in 1867, he described Palestine as “a desolate country” with hardly any inhabitants.

The British Mandate (1917–1948)

Yet another foreign power, Britain, controlled the land after World War I, drawing arbitrary borders and restricting Jewish immigration just as the Holocaust began.

The Invention of a ‘Palestinian’ Identity

Before the 20th century, even local Arabs did not identify as “Palestinians.” The term was primarily used for Jews living under the British Mandate; for example, the “Palestine Post” newspaper was Jewish. The modern Palestinian national identity only crystallized in response to Jewish self-determination.

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Indigenous identity is not determined by sociopolitical trends; it is cultivated by history, culture, archaeology, and genetics. By all these measures, Jews are not only native to Israel, but are the only people with an uninterrupted claim to it.

Everyone else — whether Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, or Ottomans — came later, often by conquest, occupation, or migration.

So the next time someone argues that Jews are “colonizers” in Israel, remind them: Colonizers don’t return to their homeland after 2,000 years with the same language, the same prayers, and the same historical attributes.

That is not colonization; it is history’s greatest act of indigenous perseverance.

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