As "anti-Zionists" question the legitimacy of the Jewish state, they ignore a far more compelling case study in artificial borders, sectarian division, and national failure.
So, the Arab population of the Palestine mandate grew from 1.2 million in 1948 to 2.8 million (Judea/Samaria aka West Bank) plus 2.2 million (Gaza) plus 2.1 million (Israeli Arab citizens), totaling 7.1 million. (WORST GENOCIDE EVER). The Jewish population is roughly the same, so not less than 50%, although the point is still valid. Note that very few Israelis have any interest in governing the Gaza hellhole, so subtracting that demographic means there is still a substantial Jewish majority even if Judea//Samaria is fully annexed, which again few support (partial annexation of Area C more viable).
Israel should annex Area C. Rather than wait for the West's permission, act like you won the war (which you did), and let the chips fall where they may. As for the PA-governed areas of Judea/Samaria, perhaps a case by case approach? Let each city vote on whether they want Israeli or PA governance. Of course the PA would do everything in its power to prevent such a vote, but at least they could then be embarrassed about it and Israel could say, "Well, we tried!"
Bennet has been calling for this for years, but I think it is too politically toxic. A combination of Area C annexation (and automatic Israeli citizenship for its 300,000 Arab residents) with local /tribal governance of the remaining areas A/B regions as per the Mordechai Kedar plan would make so much sense…. Unfortunately common sense is sorely lacking in political leadership.
The Kedar plan makes sense, as long as each Arab who wishes to become an Israeli citizen signs a loyalty oath which explicitly provides that terror support nullifies citizenship. No need to add fifth columnists - there's already a big enough supply!
Actually Israel should take back Gaza, before Sharon handed it over to the rot that lives there now, it was an amazing place, kinda like Cali on the Med, and that is what Israel should do with it now, its time to stop being moderate of nice, there is and will never be a two state solution, Iran is and always will be a problem until they are obliterated, Qatar is a silent galloping cancer on this earth as they are the soul killer strangling western society, arab and muslim money has become the biggest corruption of humanity and is bringing it to the point of total annihilation and they need to be stopped from further damaging of every country they are currently colonizing, reclaim your children or you will lose them forever as GOD himself is back and he is bringing war to this planet, He is done with playing nice and watching man destroy HIS creation!
B****cks to Anti-Zionism. This hate-filled hypocrisy was Debunked years ago. Just keep telling it how it is. F*** the Anti-Semites. Iran is a police state, The UAE has just killed half a million in Sudan. Egypt is an Autocracy. Afghanistan is unbearable. Iraq and Syria and Lebanon are in permanent Civil War. And Christians have no rights and are murdered regularly in all these countries. There are No marches or Hate Speech in The West about any of this, so F*** the hypocrisy. Am Israel Chai. We watch the whole of the Muslim world for The West, and we are loved mightily where it matters because of this. Israel, please stay strong, for the sake of The West.
Lebanon is a failed state. The existence of Hezbollah, a non-state actor that is armed, refutes any notion of sovereignty that presupposes a monopoly on the use of force. The question, however, is what to do about it. I would like to see some reasonable and viable options. Even one would do!
An interesting argument, but the author forgets a component in his narrative. If it were necessary for a state to survive that only one ethnic group absolutely had to have the upper hand, then Switzerland would not exist, nor the European Union, and certainly not the United States. What is missing from the narrative are the facts regarding prosperity and progress. Only when these decline do the various population groups fall back into older identities. As is visible in the US nowadays: the large 'middle class' society of the 1960s and 70s has fallen apart, and polarization and fragmentation in the country have only increased since then.
I think there’s a far more compelling and fundamental narrative element that is missing: Islam as a supercessionist, replacement and supremacist way of looking at the world. The belief that Islam is destined to conquer and that all infidels are destined to second class citizenship (albeit, this is expressed using Western concepts rather than Islamic ones) creates a context of perpetual conflict.
Simply put, the Muslims simply do not accept the concept of equal rights for non-Muslims, let alone any right of non-Muslims to self-determination in any land that is (or once was) conquered by the armies of Islam.
So I think that the comparison to a post-Westphalian Europe is inapt. Only after Islam has such an internal reckoning will things have a chance at change.
The victors of WW1 were the French and the British. Ottoman Empire were destroyed. They owned everything from the Balkans to the Middle East. Ottomans ruled their empire by absorbing the population and did not impose their will.
French and the British carved out the Middle East for themselves. French carved out Lebanon and Syria đŸ‡¸đŸ‡¾
Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Britain and France divided the Middle East into spheres of influence based on the secret 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement.
In July 1920, French troops ousted the short-lived Arab Kingdom of Syria and imposed military rule over the region. The League of Nations formally awarded France the mandate for Syria and Lebanon in 1923.
Geographic Expansion: To ensure the economic viability and political dominance of the Maronite Christian community—a group with long-standing cultural ties to France—the French expanded the borders of the historic, semi-autonomous Mount Lebanon.
Constitutional Rule: The French established a new constitution in 1926, which attempted to balance the newly expanded, multi-confessional population by providing equitable representation in public offices.
Under French administration, Beirut flourished as a major Mediterranean trade hub. The French also invested in roads, urban planning, public utilities, and the modernization of infrastructure.
The State of Greater Lebanon: In 1920, France created "Greater Lebanon," annexing coastal cities (Beirut, Tripoli), the Bekaa Valley, and other surrounding districts, forming the foundation of the modern Lebanese borders.
Declaration: As nationalist sentiment grew in the 1930s and 1940s, movements for full autonomy gained traction. With France weakened during World War II, Free French and British forces occupied Lebanon. In late 1941, the French proclaimed Lebanon's independence.
Independence Day: Tensions culminated in November 1943 when French authorities arrested the newly elected Lebanese president and cabinet for trying to strip away French oversight. Following widespread domestic uprisings and international pressure from the British, the French backed down and transferred power.
Troop Withdrawal: Although independence was declared on November 22, 1943, foreign troops were not entirely withdrawn until 1946.
This is an excellent summary which helps to explain the origin / basis of the region today. We all know the world does not really care about Lebanon which is in such a mess.
The creation of the new countries in the wake of the Ottoman collapse in WW1, led to the British giving 78% of its mandated palestine to Jordan, previously known as Transjordan when it was created in 1922. This in my opinion, is the second state of any two state solution.
A fundamental problem occurred when the Arab refugees of the 1948 and 1967 wars were given refugee status by the UN, that could pass to subsequent generations, something not afforded to any other refugees. This has not helped their cause, and has been a thorn in the side of all countries of the region, ever since.
Israel, the only Jewish state, reborn in its original homeland, is cut from the same Ottoman cloth as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Jordan. What it has accomplished in 78 years, whilst experiencing constant attempts by the Arabs to destroy it, is formidable.
Lebanon could have been the same if only the Maronite Christians had been able to enjoy ‘Lebanism’, a determination to forge its own future as a Christian led nation.
What is often described as a strategic alliance is increasingly being seen through a different lens. Supporters frame it as essential for security and stability. Critics, however, see an imbalance one where the United States carries significant financial, military, and diplomatic weight, while Israel retains full autonomy in its decisions, even when those decisions conflict with American interests.
This raises a difficult but necessary question about the nature of partnership.
A true alliance is built on alignment, accountability, and mutual consideration. It cannot function effectively if one side expects unwavering support while selectively disregarding the concerns of the other.
You cannot claim complete independence while benefiting from extraordinary levels of external support.
You cannot reject influence when it is inconvenient, and rely on it when it is advantageous.
If this contradiction continues unresolved, it risks eroding public trust, weakening strategic clarity, and turning what is meant to be a partnership into a point of growing tension.
The path forward requires transparency, recalibration, and a clearer definition of mutual expectations. because sustainable alliances are not built on imbalance, but on shared responsibility and respect.
Starting at the beginning, after the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire, after WWI, Arab violence stopped only the Jewish homeland from being established.
It starts with the British caving to Arab violence.
Never existed before: Iraq, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, all were made up after WWI, their right to self-determination is never questioned. Only Israel's right to exist in their historic homeland is challenged.
Perhaps all Nation States were a mistake, then. Well, there are many who don't believe in Nation States and borders. I think one World Govt is what is planned đŸ¤¬
This is cold, factual presentation and background for those that pose the question of legitimacy with answer left to a reader . Very interesting reading .
Yes, the British and French subdivided the region after WWI. However, I personally don't buy the premise that Israel "was a mistake." Ancient Israel existed before there was a Britain or a France as we know them today in the Roman form of Britannia and Gaul, respectively. As to Lebanon, I remember reading about the "Cedars of Lebanon" in my Bible during the original building of the Temple.
Anyone considering or declaring Israel as either a mistake or not being legitimate, is both a nut job and is completely ignorant of human history, as it is the only state or place on earth that was actually created by GOD Himself, no other country on earth had GOD's hand in its making, it was created from and by His word entirely and handed down to the farther of all the Jews in Abraham, and then returned to them by HIM again in the story of Moses and the exodus to complete HIS covenant with the Jewish people!
So no matter how anyone can cut it or lie and cheat to alter or obfuscate it and its existence, not one inch of any of the lands that were dedicated by our creator to Abraham, is the property of any arab or non Jew anywhere in the middle east, not one inch of it belongs to anyone other than the Jews and this will not change, GOD is not man, GOD does not change HIS mind, to say this is to deny his omnipresence and the simple fact that HE is all knowing and knows everything from inception to its end, GOD would not have made such a covenant had HE not already known its outcome, to deny this is to deny GOD Himself, GOD has allowed man free reign over earth as long as it does not break or go against HIS word, empires of evil such as the Romans and islam continue to defy GOD's will and always end up on the wrong side of history.
We are about to come full circle and every word written by the actual genuine prophets, not that wanker filthy pedophile follower of Baal, is about to be fulfilled, Hashem is back and HE has come with a vengeance in HIS heart, human kind has sown a bad seed and HE is angry, isalm has survived under a cult of deception and brutality never condoned by HIM and will suffer GOD's wrath in its entirety, Christianity has been misinterpreted over the years and will receive HIS grace and forgiveness as its intent was not malevolent, but as for the rest, they have already condemned themselves and purgatory awaits them all. May GOD have mercy on all of our souls as we are all going to need it, but you can bet on this, From beyond the Jordan river to the Mediterranean sea, and from the Nile and the Sinai to the land now occupied by the Turks, GOD Himself is coming to set those lands free and to return them to the Jewish descendants of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, and there is going to be a lot of bloodshed when HE comes to do this as HE is going to annihilate completely those who stand against the people of HIS covenant, and as stated by the prophets, there will be no mercy shown as he decimates islam and its followers as well as those in the rest of the world that stood against Israel and HIS people.
Brilliant historical explanation. Thank you.
So, the Arab population of the Palestine mandate grew from 1.2 million in 1948 to 2.8 million (Judea/Samaria aka West Bank) plus 2.2 million (Gaza) plus 2.1 million (Israeli Arab citizens), totaling 7.1 million. (WORST GENOCIDE EVER). The Jewish population is roughly the same, so not less than 50%, although the point is still valid. Note that very few Israelis have any interest in governing the Gaza hellhole, so subtracting that demographic means there is still a substantial Jewish majority even if Judea//Samaria is fully annexed, which again few support (partial annexation of Area C more viable).
Israel should annex Area C. Rather than wait for the West's permission, act like you won the war (which you did), and let the chips fall where they may. As for the PA-governed areas of Judea/Samaria, perhaps a case by case approach? Let each city vote on whether they want Israeli or PA governance. Of course the PA would do everything in its power to prevent such a vote, but at least they could then be embarrassed about it and Israel could say, "Well, we tried!"
Bennet has been calling for this for years, but I think it is too politically toxic. A combination of Area C annexation (and automatic Israeli citizenship for its 300,000 Arab residents) with local /tribal governance of the remaining areas A/B regions as per the Mordechai Kedar plan would make so much sense…. Unfortunately common sense is sorely lacking in political leadership.
The Kedar plan makes sense, as long as each Arab who wishes to become an Israeli citizen signs a loyalty oath which explicitly provides that terror support nullifies citizenship. No need to add fifth columnists - there's already a big enough supply!
Sounds good to me Gary.
Actually Israel should take back Gaza, before Sharon handed it over to the rot that lives there now, it was an amazing place, kinda like Cali on the Med, and that is what Israel should do with it now, its time to stop being moderate of nice, there is and will never be a two state solution, Iran is and always will be a problem until they are obliterated, Qatar is a silent galloping cancer on this earth as they are the soul killer strangling western society, arab and muslim money has become the biggest corruption of humanity and is bringing it to the point of total annihilation and they need to be stopped from further damaging of every country they are currently colonizing, reclaim your children or you will lose them forever as GOD himself is back and he is bringing war to this planet, He is done with playing nice and watching man destroy HIS creation!
B****cks to Anti-Zionism. This hate-filled hypocrisy was Debunked years ago. Just keep telling it how it is. F*** the Anti-Semites. Iran is a police state, The UAE has just killed half a million in Sudan. Egypt is an Autocracy. Afghanistan is unbearable. Iraq and Syria and Lebanon are in permanent Civil War. And Christians have no rights and are murdered regularly in all these countries. There are No marches or Hate Speech in The West about any of this, so F*** the hypocrisy. Am Israel Chai. We watch the whole of the Muslim world for The West, and we are loved mightily where it matters because of this. Israel, please stay strong, for the sake of The West.
Lebanon is a failed state. The existence of Hezbollah, a non-state actor that is armed, refutes any notion of sovereignty that presupposes a monopoly on the use of force. The question, however, is what to do about it. I would like to see some reasonable and viable options. Even one would do!
An interesting argument, but the author forgets a component in his narrative. If it were necessary for a state to survive that only one ethnic group absolutely had to have the upper hand, then Switzerland would not exist, nor the European Union, and certainly not the United States. What is missing from the narrative are the facts regarding prosperity and progress. Only when these decline do the various population groups fall back into older identities. As is visible in the US nowadays: the large 'middle class' society of the 1960s and 70s has fallen apart, and polarization and fragmentation in the country have only increased since then.
I think there’s a far more compelling and fundamental narrative element that is missing: Islam as a supercessionist, replacement and supremacist way of looking at the world. The belief that Islam is destined to conquer and that all infidels are destined to second class citizenship (albeit, this is expressed using Western concepts rather than Islamic ones) creates a context of perpetual conflict.
Simply put, the Muslims simply do not accept the concept of equal rights for non-Muslims, let alone any right of non-Muslims to self-determination in any land that is (or once was) conquered by the armies of Islam.
So I think that the comparison to a post-Westphalian Europe is inapt. Only after Islam has such an internal reckoning will things have a chance at change.
The biggest lesson for nation builders is that imposing democracy to suit the whims of empires doesn't work out.
Hezbollah kicking the IDFs teeth in and them not getting enough support from their slaves in Washington suggests otherwise.
The victors of WW1 were the French and the British. Ottoman Empire were destroyed. They owned everything from the Balkans to the Middle East. Ottomans ruled their empire by absorbing the population and did not impose their will.
French and the British carved out the Middle East for themselves. French carved out Lebanon and Syria đŸ‡¸đŸ‡¾
Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Britain and France divided the Middle East into spheres of influence based on the secret 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement.
In July 1920, French troops ousted the short-lived Arab Kingdom of Syria and imposed military rule over the region. The League of Nations formally awarded France the mandate for Syria and Lebanon in 1923.
Geographic Expansion: To ensure the economic viability and political dominance of the Maronite Christian community—a group with long-standing cultural ties to France—the French expanded the borders of the historic, semi-autonomous Mount Lebanon.
Constitutional Rule: The French established a new constitution in 1926, which attempted to balance the newly expanded, multi-confessional population by providing equitable representation in public offices.
Under French administration, Beirut flourished as a major Mediterranean trade hub. The French also invested in roads, urban planning, public utilities, and the modernization of infrastructure.
The State of Greater Lebanon: In 1920, France created "Greater Lebanon," annexing coastal cities (Beirut, Tripoli), the Bekaa Valley, and other surrounding districts, forming the foundation of the modern Lebanese borders.
Declaration: As nationalist sentiment grew in the 1930s and 1940s, movements for full autonomy gained traction. With France weakened during World War II, Free French and British forces occupied Lebanon. In late 1941, the French proclaimed Lebanon's independence.
Independence Day: Tensions culminated in November 1943 when French authorities arrested the newly elected Lebanese president and cabinet for trying to strip away French oversight. Following widespread domestic uprisings and international pressure from the British, the French backed down and transferred power.
Troop Withdrawal: Although independence was declared on November 22, 1943, foreign troops were not entirely withdrawn until 1946.
This is an excellent summary which helps to explain the origin / basis of the region today. We all know the world does not really care about Lebanon which is in such a mess.
The creation of the new countries in the wake of the Ottoman collapse in WW1, led to the British giving 78% of its mandated palestine to Jordan, previously known as Transjordan when it was created in 1922. This in my opinion, is the second state of any two state solution.
A fundamental problem occurred when the Arab refugees of the 1948 and 1967 wars were given refugee status by the UN, that could pass to subsequent generations, something not afforded to any other refugees. This has not helped their cause, and has been a thorn in the side of all countries of the region, ever since.
Israel, the only Jewish state, reborn in its original homeland, is cut from the same Ottoman cloth as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Jordan. What it has accomplished in 78 years, whilst experiencing constant attempts by the Arabs to destroy it, is formidable.
Lebanon could have been the same if only the Maronite Christians had been able to enjoy ‘Lebanism’, a determination to forge its own future as a Christian led nation.
Correct, Syria claims Lebanon.
Evidently the French saw a benefit in creating "The Paris of the Middle East.
However, the President of Lebanon was supposed to be a Christian, the Prime Minister a Moslem, and a Druze holding another posistion.
What is often described as a strategic alliance is increasingly being seen through a different lens. Supporters frame it as essential for security and stability. Critics, however, see an imbalance one where the United States carries significant financial, military, and diplomatic weight, while Israel retains full autonomy in its decisions, even when those decisions conflict with American interests.
This raises a difficult but necessary question about the nature of partnership.
A true alliance is built on alignment, accountability, and mutual consideration. It cannot function effectively if one side expects unwavering support while selectively disregarding the concerns of the other.
You cannot claim complete independence while benefiting from extraordinary levels of external support.
You cannot reject influence when it is inconvenient, and rely on it when it is advantageous.
If this contradiction continues unresolved, it risks eroding public trust, weakening strategic clarity, and turning what is meant to be a partnership into a point of growing tension.
The path forward requires transparency, recalibration, and a clearer definition of mutual expectations. because sustainable alliances are not built on imbalance, but on shared responsibility and respect.
Starting at the beginning, after the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire, after WWI, Arab violence stopped only the Jewish homeland from being established.
It starts with the British caving to Arab violence.
Never existed before: Iraq, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, all were made up after WWI, their right to self-determination is never questioned. Only Israel's right to exist in their historic homeland is challenged.
Perhaps all Nation States were a mistake, then. Well, there are many who don't believe in Nation States and borders. I think one World Govt is what is planned đŸ¤¬
This is cold, factual presentation and background for those that pose the question of legitimacy with answer left to a reader . Very interesting reading .
Yes, the British and French subdivided the region after WWI. However, I personally don't buy the premise that Israel "was a mistake." Ancient Israel existed before there was a Britain or a France as we know them today in the Roman form of Britannia and Gaul, respectively. As to Lebanon, I remember reading about the "Cedars of Lebanon" in my Bible during the original building of the Temple.
Anyone considering or declaring Israel as either a mistake or not being legitimate, is both a nut job and is completely ignorant of human history, as it is the only state or place on earth that was actually created by GOD Himself, no other country on earth had GOD's hand in its making, it was created from and by His word entirely and handed down to the farther of all the Jews in Abraham, and then returned to them by HIM again in the story of Moses and the exodus to complete HIS covenant with the Jewish people!
So no matter how anyone can cut it or lie and cheat to alter or obfuscate it and its existence, not one inch of any of the lands that were dedicated by our creator to Abraham, is the property of any arab or non Jew anywhere in the middle east, not one inch of it belongs to anyone other than the Jews and this will not change, GOD is not man, GOD does not change HIS mind, to say this is to deny his omnipresence and the simple fact that HE is all knowing and knows everything from inception to its end, GOD would not have made such a covenant had HE not already known its outcome, to deny this is to deny GOD Himself, GOD has allowed man free reign over earth as long as it does not break or go against HIS word, empires of evil such as the Romans and islam continue to defy GOD's will and always end up on the wrong side of history.
We are about to come full circle and every word written by the actual genuine prophets, not that wanker filthy pedophile follower of Baal, is about to be fulfilled, Hashem is back and HE has come with a vengeance in HIS heart, human kind has sown a bad seed and HE is angry, isalm has survived under a cult of deception and brutality never condoned by HIM and will suffer GOD's wrath in its entirety, Christianity has been misinterpreted over the years and will receive HIS grace and forgiveness as its intent was not malevolent, but as for the rest, they have already condemned themselves and purgatory awaits them all. May GOD have mercy on all of our souls as we are all going to need it, but you can bet on this, From beyond the Jordan river to the Mediterranean sea, and from the Nile and the Sinai to the land now occupied by the Turks, GOD Himself is coming to set those lands free and to return them to the Jewish descendants of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, and there is going to be a lot of bloodshed when HE comes to do this as HE is going to annihilate completely those who stand against the people of HIS covenant, and as stated by the prophets, there will be no mercy shown as he decimates islam and its followers as well as those in the rest of the world that stood against Israel and HIS people.