October 7th was a day of mourning for Israel and the entire Jewish People. The massacre of civilians did not provoke, as expected, a feeling of solidarity towards Israel, but rather a flood of accusations. A worrying trend has been noticed in which historical events and important facts […]

October 7th was a day of mourning for Israel and the entire Jewish People.

The massacre of civilians did not provoke, as expected, a feeling of solidarity towards Israel, but rather a flood of accusations. A worrying trend has been noticed in which important historical events and facts are disregarded or “forgotten”. An alarming number of Western academics, students, artists, journalists, politicians and activists have minimized, justified or, in extreme cases, glorified acts of violence, including murder, sexual assault and kidnapping of individuals – of men and women and even vulnerable groups. , such as babies, people with disabilities, the elderly and the sick. Among these, there are those who, paradoxically, identify themselves as “humanitarians”, but support a rhetoric that promotes the genocide of the Jewish People.

We watched with horror as the deans of three renowned colleges in the United States – Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania – had difficulty condemning and classifying as harassment the cries of “genocide against the Jews” heard openly in their offices. fields College students. And they responded that it “depended on the context” when questioned at a hearing before the American Congress.

It is imperative to recognize that regardless of one's position on possible solutions to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, such as two-state creation or other peace initiatives, it is essential that there be an understanding of the historical context and complexities of the current scenario. . We need to use the correct definitions of concepts, words and facts. Facts do not “depend on the context” and words used wrongly and with bad intentions can only inflame hatred against Jews and Israel.

As Daniel Patrick Moynihan, US ambassador and senator, said, while everyone is entitled to their opinions, people are not entitled to their own facts. No honest discussion about the Arab-Israeli conflict can take place if it is based on misinformation and a denial of basic historical facts. History ends up being distorted by anti-Semitic narratives.

It is therefore crucial to highlight several key facts that contribute to an understanding of the situation and that are essential for a constructive discussion.

Since when have Jews been in the Land of Israel?

One of the myths perpetuated by anti-Semites is the assertion that the Jewish People have no connection with the Land of Israel, when all historiography and archaeological findings point to the fact that Jews are the indigenous inhabitants of that land. The bond between the Jewish People and their land is ancient, predating the emergence of Christianity and Islam. It dates back to the era of the Patriarchs of the Jewish People, around the 18th century before the Common Era, and is described in the Tanakh – the Hebrew Bible, which consists of the Five Books of the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings.

A recurring theme throughout Tanakh is the notion that the Land of Israel, Eretz Israel, is G-d's eternal gift to the Jewish People. The Torah contains numerous instances in which G‑d reaffirms this promise to the three Patriarchs. In the book of Genesis, G-d promises the Land of Israel, then called Canaan, to Avraham and his descendants. This promise is repeated to his son, Isaac, and grandson, Jacob.

In 1738 BC, the patriarch Avraham settles in the Land of Israel. His son Isaac, the second Patriarch, was born in this territory, never having left it. Isaac's son, Jacob, also called Israel, the third and last Patriarch of the Jewish People, is also born in this land. Unlike his father Isaac, Jacob was compelled to leave Canaan due to a regional famine. He moved with his family to Egypt, where the Jewish People would remain for 210 years. The Torah recounts the Exodus of the Jewish People from Egypt around the 13th century BCE, led by Moses, and their 40-year journey through the desert toward the Promised Land. After the death of Moses, his disciple Joshua leads the Jewish People to the Land of Israel.

The first books that make up the Prophets – Joshua, Judges and Kings – report how the Jewish People conquered the Land of Israel, establishing themselves there as a nation. The Books of Joshua and Judges detail the wars waged and won against the people who inhabited the region. The Book of Samuel records that King David founded and named the city of Jerusalem, establishing it as the capital of Israel, where he reigned for 33 years. The Book of Kings tells that King Solomon, son of King David, built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and that the Land of Israel was divided into two kingdoms – the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah.

Under Kings Saul, David and Solomon, the entire Land of Israel was united into a single Jewish kingdom. After the death of King Solomon (935 or 928 BC), the 12 tribes of Israel divided into two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Israel, to the north, with its capital Samaria (Shomron, in Hebrew), and the Kingdom of Judah (Yehudah) to the south, with its capital in Jerusalem.

Both kingdoms eventually fell to enemies and the People of Israel were exiled from the Land of Israel. The Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BC, with the majority of its inhabitants exiled. However, the Kingdom of Judah remained under Jewish rule until 586 BC, when it was conquered by the Babylonian Empire. Victorious, the Babylonians took 40 Jews into exile. Part will return to Eretz Israel after Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon. The emperor authorizes the return of the Jews. They will regain control over the Land of Israel in the 2nd century BC.

The fact that the Jewish People are the indigenous people of the Land of Israel is not only a matter of religious faith – both Jewish and Christian – but is also a historically indisputable fact. The historical and archaeological evidence is overwhelming.

The Jewish presence in the Land of Israel is a fundamental pillar of Christianity, as Jesus was a Jew who was born and lived in Judah, as were his disciples.

Judaism and the Land of Israel

In Hebrew, the Land of Israel is called Eretz Israel. It is also known as Eretz Hakodesh, “the Holy Land”, because this land is sacred, so designated by G-d. A recurring theme throughout the Torah is the notion that the Land of Israel is the “Promised Land” – G-d's eternal gift to the Jewish People.

Because the Land is sacred, many of the Torah's commandments can only be fully observed within the Land of Israel. And when we pray to Amide, the central prayer of Judaism, we pray facing Jerusalem.

For the past two thousand years, Jews around the world have prayed at least three times a day, beseeching God to free them from exile and lead them back to the Land of Israel. At the end of each important Jewish religious celebration, such as the Yom Kippur fast and the seder de Passover, we proclaim: “Next year in Jerusalem” – Bashaná haba'á b'Yerushalayim. For two thousand years, there was not a single day when the Jewish People forgot the Land of Israel. And over the centuries, whenever possible, Jews returned to their homeland.

Where does the name “Palestine” come from?

The origin of the name “Palestine” dates back to the Roman conquest of the Land of Israel, in the first century before the Common Era. The First Great Jewish Revolt against Roman rule broke out in 66 CE, culminating in the Roman conquest of Jerusalem in 70 CE and the destruction of the Second Temple. This event marked the beginning of the Second Diaspora.

In 132 CE, the Second Great Jewish Revolt against the Romans began, led by Bar Kochba. Two years later, Betar, the insurgents' last stronghold, was razed to the ground by the Romans. Despite the failure of the revolt, with almost 600 Jews killed and thousands more taken by Rome as slaves, it is a mistake to think that all Jews were exiled after this revolt. This is because a significant portion of the Jewish population remained in the Land of Israel. There are archaeological remains of synagogues dating back to that period.

To punish the Jews for their rebellion and erase the connection between them and their land, the Romans renamed the region, previously known as “Judea” or “Judah”, to “Provincia Syria Palaestina”. The new name was chosen in reference to the Philistines, ancient inhabitants of the coast and great enemies of the People of Israel, mainly during the reign of King David, in an attempt to minimize the region's Jewish identity.

Over the course of almost two thousand years, the region and the Jews who remained there were conquered by several empires, until the declaration of the modern State of Israel in 1948.

When did Muslims arrive in the Land of Israel?

The beginning of Islam is marked in the year 610 CE, after the first revelation of the prophet Muhammad, at the age of 40. As Islam grows stronger in Arabia, Muslim armies begin to conquer the Middle East.

In 636 CE, after nearly 500 years of Roman rule, the Land of Israel, then part of the Byzantine Empire,1, was conquered by Muslim armies. For four centuries, the caliphs ruled the region.

Under Islamic rule, Jews and Christians could live in the Land of Israel with the status of dhimmis, that is, citizens considered protected, but of a lower class. As long as they recognized the supremacy of Islam and paid the required taxes, life and religious freedom were guaranteed. But they always lived at the mercy – or under the "protection" – of the ruler of the time, who could be benevolent or hostile towards them. In 717, new restrictions against non-Muslims were imposed, as well as heavy taxes, making life in the Holy Land difficult for Jews and forcing many to leave the region.

The many empires that conquered the Land of Israel

The Land of Israel is under Muslim rule until 1099, when it was invaded by the armies of the First Crusade2. Thousands of Jews and Muslims are killed by the Crusaders during the Christian occupation of the Land of Israel.

Over the next two centuries, Muslims and Christians fought over the region. But, at the end of the 13th century, Saladin the Great expelled the crusaders, putting an end to Christian rule in the region.

With the expulsion of all practicing Jews from the Iberian Peninsula at the end of the 15th century, a wave of Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel followed, which would increase after the Ottomans conquered the region in 1516. They open the doors of their Empire to the Jews, and an increasing number of Jews and converts take refuge in the Ottoman domains. According to Ottoman records there were thousands of Jews living in the villages of Galilee in the early 16th century, and by 1567 Jews constituted the majority of Safed's population.

In the early 19th century, new waves of Jewish immigrants returned to the Land of Israel. The local Jewish community doubled between 1808 and 1840.

We see, therefore, that it is wrong to say that the return of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel is a result of the Holocaust or the Zionist Movement started by Theodor Herzl. In reality, Jews have always lived in the land that today constitutes the State of Israel and Diaspora Jews have never given up on the dream of returning to their ancestral homeland.

Indeed, the restoration of the Jewish population in what became the State of Israel was a historical process that began centuries before the declaration of the modern Jewish State.

What was Israel before 1948?

Most of the territory that today comprises Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel was under Ottoman rule for four centuries. During the 1a World War (1914-1918), the Ottoman Empire, which encompassed much of the Middle East, including the Land of Israel, fought alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary against the Allies. When the war ended, France and England, victorious nations, divided the territory of the Ottoman Empire between them. France was given the mandate to govern Ottoman Syria, including Lebanon. Britain was given the mandate for Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) and then-Ottoman Palestine (which included not only Israel but also what is now Jordan).

In July 1922, the League of Nations officially established the United Kingdom as the representative in control of Palestine. Five years earlier, in November 1917, seeking Jewish support, the British government issued the Balfour Declaration, a document that became a historic landmark, written by the then Secretary of Foreign Affairs Arthur Balfour, which stated that London would welcome the creation of a “Jewish national home in Palestine”. At the same time, the British made a contradictory promise to the Arabs. They proposed that if they fought against the Turks, England would give them a “great independent Arab nation” under the rule of the Hashemite family.

The Balfour Declaration was endorsed by the newly created League of Nations – the precursor to the United Nations. In the mandate document, the League of Nations recognized “the historic connection of the Jewish People with Palestine,” calling on them to “reconstitute” the national home of the Jewish People. In other words, the League of Nations recognized a pre-existing Jewish right to the Land of Israel, which indicated that the organization was not “creating” that right.

At the time, the land was inhabited by a Jewish minority and an Arab majority, as well as other smaller ethnic groups. There were some Jewish families whose origins could be traced back to the Second Temple period.

Between the 1920s and 1940s, the number of Jews arriving there grew, fleeing persecution in Europe. In fact, Jews only became a majority in the Land of Israel after the Holocaust. During this terrible time in human history, Jews were desperate to leave Europe, but countries had closed their borders to Jewish refugees. Nor could they go to Eretz Israel, as the British had imposed, since 1939, severe restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine under British Mandate. If they had had somewhere to go, the Holocaust might not have claimed the lives of six million Jews.

It is important to highlight that, from the fall of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah until the founding of the Modern State of Israel, there was no sovereign state in the territory that today constitutes the State of Israel – the territory has always been under the rule of large empires. There has never been an independent country called Palestine. As for the city of Jerusalem, it has never been the capital of any people or country other than the People of Israel.

What was the Partition?

In 1947, the UN voted to divide British Mandated Palestine into two independent states – one Jewish and one Arab – with Jerusalem becoming an international city. This decision led to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

Israel was conceived as a safe haven for Jews fleeing persecution, as well as a national home for Jews. For these, the Land of Israel was their ancestral home. However, the Arabs who lived in this territory also claimed ownership of the entire land and opposed the decision, rejecting the creation of a Jewish State. Partition was accepted by Jewish leaders but rejected by Arab leaders, and therefore an Arab state was never implemented. The Arab nations decided to “throw the Jews overboard” and waged war to eliminate the Jewish State.

Arab countries reject UN Partition and war begins

In 1948, when the British Mandate ended, Great Britain withdrew from what was then British Palestine, aware that a war was imminent.

The Arabs had rejected the United Nations Partition Plan which proposed dividing Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The day after Israel declared its independence, five Arab countries attacked and invaded the country. Against all expectations, Israel, with its newly formed army, defeated them.

At the request of Arab leaders, many of them left their homes, while others were forced to leave them. Since then, most Palestinian refugees and their descendants have lived in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as neighboring Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Those who remained in Israel became full citizens, with equal rights, and today represent 20% of the Israeli population.

Territorial Disputes

In 1949, the War of Independence of the newly founded State of Israel ended, and a ceasefire was agreed. Jordan occupies the area that became known as the West Bank and Egypt occupies Gaza – territories that would be part of the Arab state designed by the UN at Partition and today claimed by those who support the establishment of a Palestinian state. Jerusalem was divided between Israeli forces in the west and Jordanian forces in the east. The ancient city of Jerusalem remained under Jordanian rule; Israel was unable to recover it until the Six-Day War in 1967. Until then, Jews were prohibited from living in and entering the Old City of Jerusalem and from offering prayers in the Old City. Boiler – at the Western Wall.

At the end of the War of Independence, Israel ended up with more land than it would have been granted under the Partition Plan. As there was never a peace agreement between Israel and neighboring Arab countries, more wars and conflicts would occur in the following decades.

In the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel conquered East Jerusalem and the West Bank, as well as most of the Golan Heights, Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula.

In 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty and, by virtue of the agreement, Israel withdrew from the entire Sinai Peninsula.

Was Palestine a country before Israel?

In the entire history of the Middle East there has never been a country called Palestine, with Palestinian citizens. The State of Israel is located in a territory that has been conquered by many peoples throughout history: Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Muslim Arabs, Crusaders and Ottoman Turks.

Since the Kingdom of Israel and Judah, the territory in question never became an independent state until 1948, when the modern State of Israel was established. In medieval Europe, for example, “Palestine” referred to the territory occupied by Jews in Antiquity, and was also called “Holy Land” or “Promised Land”. It was not a region with defined borders.

Essentially, there was never a country with defined borders called “Palestine” before the British Mandate was established after WW1. The British chose the name “Palestine” in line with European Christian tradition, dating back to the Romans who renamed the land of Judah Palestine.

What is Gaza?

Gaza is a narrow strip of land situated between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea, with a short southern border with Egypt. Just 41 km long and 10 km wide, it has more than two million inhabitants, making it one of the most densely populated places on earth. The majority of those who live in Gaza are young, with practically 40% of the population being under 14 years old, and the average age of its inhabitants, in 2020, was just 18 years old.

Who governs Gaza?

After the 1948-49 war, Gaza was occupied by Egypt for 19 years.

Israel occupied Gaza in the Six-Day War in 1967, remaining there until 2005. In 2005, Israel decided to withdraw all its military and civilians from the Gaza Strip. No Jews remained there.

In 2006, Hamas won parliamentary elections and, in 2007, took control of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority, with great violence. Since then, no elections have been held.

Hamas governs Gaza, while the Palestinian Authority maintains administrative control of parts of the West Bank. Hamas, an armed Islamist group, has repeatedly clashed with the Palestinian Authority (PA). AP members are secular and in favor of a two-state solution.

Since Hamas came to power in 2007, they have been launching tens of thousands of rockets into Israeli cities. Israel managed to prevent further damage to its cities and population by investing heavily in the construction of anti-missile shelters and the construction of the Iron Dome, a sophisticated anti-missile defense system that destroys enemy rockets in mid-flight.

In response to these constant attacks, Israel attempted to impose a land, sea and air blockade on the enclave as a way to prevent Hamas from importing weapons. The events of October 7 demonstrated that this blockade was ineffective. Hamas proved to be very well trained and heavily armed.

The blockade of Gaza has caused many people to accuse Israel of collective punishment and of holding the territory's population hostage. However, over the years, billions of dollars have been sent to the Gaza Strip, mainly from Qatar. The objective was to avoid humanitarian crises and invest in local development. It is known today that most of this money was used for military purposes, both in the form of weapons and in the construction of 300 - 500 kilometers of tunnels.

Importantly, Egypt – the only country other than Israel that borders Gaza – also imposes strict restrictions on its border with Hamas-controlled territory.

What is Hamas?

Hamas was founded in 1987, at the beginning of the First Intifada3, by members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas is an acronym that means Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, or Islamic Resistance Movement.

The group follows Islamist principles that preach that Islam should play a fundamental role in political life. Its main objectives are the establishment of an Islamic state under the law of Sharia4 and the destruction of Israel. The organization was responsible for many suicide bombings and many other deadly attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.

Hamas is one of the two main political parties in the Palestinian territories, with an armed wing estimated to have between 30 and 40 fighters before the start of the 2023 war.

In 1988, Hamas published its charter, declaring it a religious obligation to wage armed war against Israel. Its Statute states, “Jihad is its path and death in the name of Allah is the highest of its desires”.

The organization's 2017 Constitution states that “Hamas rejects any alternative to the total and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”

Hamas rejects all commitments and negotiations with Israel. Its objective – the destruction of Israel – is not open to territorial negotiations or peaceful coexistence.

Is Hamas a terrorist group?

Dozens of countries consider Hamas a terrorist organization – including the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. Other countries, such as New Zealand, apply this label only to their military wing.

In the United Kingdom, for example, being a member of or expressing support for Hamas is an illegal act, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Germany also bans Hamas activities; this means that anyone who is active in pro-Hamas organizations is committing a criminal offense.

Hamas has always advocated violence, calling for the annihilation of Israel. This terrorist group carried out its first suicide bombing in April 1993, five months before PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed the Oslo Accords.

Other attacks followed in these 30 years: suicide bombings, shootings, sending incendiary balloons and, over the years, the firing of tens of thousands of rockets from Gaza to Israel. Without the Iron Dome – Israel's anti-missile defense system – the number of Israeli victims would be incalculable.

The terrorist group has also established a network of approximately 300 - 500 km of underground tunnels in Gaza. Tunnels are used as arsenals, underground shelters, command centers and transport routes for weapons and people. The tunnels have been used, after October 7th, as captivity for some of the hostages.

These tunnels connect several points within the Gaza Strip, some of which are located beneath regions with high population density and beneath schools, hospitals and mosques. Hamas' network of tunnels also extends outside of Gaza. Certain tunnels run from Gaza to Egypt to smuggle weapons and consumer goods, and others extend directly from Gaza to Israeli communities located near the border, facilitating the infiltration of terrorists who aim to kidnap and kill Israeli civilians.

The group has fought several wars with Israel since taking power. Israel has repeatedly attacked Hamas from the air and sent troops to Gaza in 2008, 2014 and in 2023.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas was responsible for carrying out the deadliest attack in Israel's history, which resulted in the largest number of Jews murdered in a single day since the end of the Holocaust. Terrorists and “civilians” from the Gaza Strip invaded Israeli territory, killing more than 1.200 people, injuring more than 13.000, predominantly civilians, and kidnapping 253 individuals. They killed, decapitated, mutilated, tortured, burned alive, raped, set fire to everything in sight and kidnapped babies, women, children, the elderly, people with physical and mental disabilities, paramedics, firefighters and security forces.

What does the expression “from the river to the sea”, used in pro-Hamas demonstrations, mean?

The expression “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” (“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”) is the main slogan used in pro-Palestinian demonstrations around the world, mainly in fields universities and American cities. In several European cities, such as Vienna and Berlin, this slogan it was banned and described as a “clear call to violence”.

This expression, which has been used since the 1960s, refers to the land between the Jordan River, which borders Israel to the east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.

In 1966, Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad, father of the country's current dictator, said: “We will only accept war and the restoration of the usurped land... to expel you aggressors and throw you into the sea once and for all. all."

O slogan calls for the establishment of a State of Palestine in territory stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. It is widely understood as a demand for the destruction of the State of Israel and, according to the Anti-Defamation League, the expression, in its most extremist form, is a call for the annihilation of Jews who live between “the river and the sea”.

“Palestine is ours, from the river to the sea and from the south to the north,” said Khaled Mashaal, former leader of Hamas, in a speech in Gaza in 2012, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the founding of the terrorist group, according to news from the Associated Press. Recently, Mashaal stated: “After October 7, I believe that the dream and hope for Palestine from the river to the sea and from the north to the south have been renewed. This also became a slogan chanted... by American and Western audiences... this is the slogan of American students.”

Israel was not founded to be an American military base in the Middle East

One of the myths circulating on the Internet is that Israel was founded to serve as an American military base in the Middle East.

The myth is a huge historical hoax, which has gained traction in anti-American circles. It is a known historical fact that, when the State of Israel was created, the United States was not even Israel's strongest ally. There were many American generals and politicians who were against Israel's declaration of independence. Despite the opposition of the Secretary of State, the United States voted in favor of Partition as ordered by President Truman himself.

At the time of the creation of the Jewish State, it was believed that the newly created country would align itself with the then Soviet Union. Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin had adopted a pro-Zionist foreign policy, not out of sympathy for Jews, but because he believed Israel would be socialist and would reduce British influence and presence in the Middle East. It is believed that the UN Partition Plan and the creation of the State of Israel would not have happened without strong Soviet support.

The USSR began to publicly support the wishes of the Zionist movement in 1947, during the Partition Plan debate. An unexpected speech by Andrei Gromiko, representative of the then Soviet Union at the UN, had wide international repercussions and highlighted Stalin's position. Gromiko spoke about the horror suffered by Jews in the Holocaust and emphasized that “it was time for the world to help these people, not with words, but with concrete actions”, defending Jewish self-determination through the division of British Mandated Palestine into two states.

On May 17, 1948, three days after the declaration of the State of Israel, the then Soviet Union was the first country to grant recognition de jure5 to the Jewish State. The United States recognized Israel de facto immediately, but extended recognition de jure, the recognition that carries more legitimacy, only after the first Israeli election, on January 31, 1949.

In addition to diplomatic support, Czechoslovakia, a Soviet satellite country, was the only country that ignored the international arms embargo and sold weapons that allowed Israel's newly created army to defend itself during the War of Independence. At that time, the United States strictly enforced the Neutrality Act, which imposed an arms embargo on any country engaged in armed conflict; therefore refusing to sell weapons to Israel.

When pro-Soviet parties lost the first Knesset election6In January 1949, Stalin withdrew his support and put an end to Czech arms sales to Israel. The former USSR soon switched sides in the Arab-Israeli conflict, openly supporting Arab countries against Israel from the mid-1950s.

Israel's relationship with the United States has evolved over time. At first, the US maintained an arms embargo on Israel and the American State Department adopted a pragmatic stance, concerned about the impact on relations with Arab nations. In the early years of the State, American aid was limited to loans for the purchase of food. Only after the Six-Day War, in 1967, did Washington increase arms sales to Israel, realizing the clear alignment of Arab countries with the former USSR. President Johnson committed to maintaining Israel's “qualitative military edge,” paving the way for decades of arms sales that strengthened the Israeli military. Since then, the United States has become Israel's main military and diplomatic supporter.

Israel is not a colonizing state

In recent years, there has been a strong campaign to portray Israel as a “colonizing entity”. The argument is used to undermine the very legitimacy of the Jewish State, seeking to erase and deny the Jewish People's historical ties to the land of their ancestors. The smear campaign seeks to portray Jews as European colonizers who arrived in the region – in contrast to Palestinians, who are presented as the “authentic native population”, an error, as we saw above.

Colonialism is defined as the subjugation of indigenous peoples – and the exploitation of their lands and resources. Colonialists often impose their own language and cultural values ​​on the people they come to dominate and implant their representatives in their colonies. The term “colonialist” evokes historical memories of exploitative white European nations invading foreign lands around the world.

This image could not be further from the truth. The Jews' connection to the Land of Israel begins at the beginning of the biblical narrative – accepted by both Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as the land that was repeatedly promised by G-d to the Jews. As seen above, Jews have lived in the Land of Israel for over three thousand years. They are native and indigenous to the land, speaking the same language and practicing the same religion as they did thousands of years ago.

Even when the Jews were exiled from the Land of Israel, it remained central to their hearts and minds. In our daily prayers, which we say three times a day, and in the Blessing after Meals we repeat countless times our desire to return to the Land of Israel.

Israel is not a colonizing country. The Jews who immigrated to the Land of Israel did so of their own free will, not being directed or supervised by any colonial state or military power. And alone they built and fought for their state, without the help of any empire.

Israel is the only Jewish state, and there is no other place Jews can “return” to. Hundreds of thousands of Jews came to Israel escaping persecution in Europe. Thousands fled Russia – from pogroms and persecution – and many others tried to leave the continent, which was mostly under Nazi occupation. It is essential to remember that during the Holocaust the doors of the nations of the world were completely closed to Jewish refugees. After the end of World War II, countries' doors remained closed to Holocaust survivors.

Between 1947 and 1948, 856 Jews living in ancient communities in Muslim countries realized that there was no longer a future for them in those countries. Discriminated and persecuted, stateless because their citizenship had been revoked, chased away without being able to take any of their possessions, the only door open to the vast majority was Israel. In total, from 1947 to 1976, more than 1,4 million Jews were forced to leave Arab countries.

The Jews who settled in Israel did not do so to exploit the land, but to develop it. They returned to the Land of Israel prepared to do whatever was necessary to make the country livable and prosperous. The first to settle there encountered swamps and deserts and faced epidemics of malaria and other diseases. With hard work, they converted swamps into rich, fertile farmland. Currently, even though the country's geography is not naturally conducive to agriculture and water is scarce, the country is a major exporter of agricultural products and a world leader in agricultural technologies.

The accusation that Israel has colonial roots is ironic because the land was previously under British Mandate, as Jordan and Iraq were previously under British rule and Syria and Lebanon were under French rule. Before 1a World War, the Arab states of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan did not exist – the region was part of the Ottoman Empire. They became “states” due to European intervention in the region.

These accusations that portray Israel as a “colonialist aggressor” are used by anti-Israel activists to justify all the barbaric attacks launched against the State of Israel and its citizens. The reality is that the Jewish People built the only democracy in the Middle East in the Land of Israel.

Israel is not a “white” country

There is a growing tendency by anti-Israel activists to frame the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in racial terms in order to draw false comparisons with racial inequality in the United States and other countries. According to this narrative, Israel was established as a refuge for oppressed Ashkenazic (European) Jews who, in turn, became oppressors of people of color – the Palestinians.

Israel is not a country of privileged white Europeans. Without a doubt, the creation of Israel provided a refuge for oppressed Jews in Europe and for Holocaust survivors. However, Israel is home not only to European Jews, but also to Jews who have been persecuted in Arab and Jewish countries around the world. It is one of the most multicultural societies on earth, made up of immigrants from all over the world – including Brazil, Argentina, India, Turkey, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, the United States, the European Union, the former Soviet Union, Iraq, Syria, Egypt , and so on.

In Israel, there are Jews of different races and ethnicities. About 30% are Ashkenazic, descendants of European Jews, 50,2% of Israeli Jews are of European origin. mizrah or Sephardic, the rest are of different ethnicities. Furthermore, the State of Israel is home to both Jews and non-Jews, with Israeli Arabs making up more than 20% of the country's population.

Categorizing Israel as a “white” oppressor distorts the reality of a multicultural, multi-ethnic and democratic country, which guarantees civil rights to all its citizens, regardless of their origin, religion or background. Portraying Israel as an extension of “white privilege” is dangerous and used to vilify the country and justify any attacks against it.

Israel does not commit apartheid

Accusing Israel of being an apartheid state is another way of trying to “demonize” the country. The accusation is false and offensive. Those who accuse Israel of apartheid are unaware or pretend to be unaware of what an apartheid regime is. The term is used to delegitimize the country and justify violence against its population.

An Afrikaans word that literally means “separation”, the term apartheid is used to describe the discriminatory political and economic system of racial segregation that prevailed in South Africa, imposed by the white minority – which represented less than 20% of the population – on non-whites. who lived there. Apartheid was implemented by the South African National Party from 1948 to 1994. And it is defined as a system that maintains an institutionalized regime of discrimination and oppression of one racial group over another.

In South Africa, apartheid ensured privileges for the white minority and discriminated against and subjugated the non-white majority. The system governed all aspects of the country's life, determining who could vote, where someone could work, study and move around. Marriages between whites and non-whites were prohibited. Hospitals, ambulances, buses and public facilities and even benches in squares were segregated, and those intended for the non-white population were of inferior quality. A black person, for example, could not be treated in a white hospital, just as a black doctor could not treat a white patient. And those who did not follow apartheid laws were arrested.

When it comes to Israel, accusations of apartheid are easily refuted: Israel does not have legislation that determines racial segregation. This is an easy fact to verify on the streets, beaches and public facilities. Israel is a democracy. The country's laws and democratic institutions uphold and guarantee equal treatment for all its citizens, regardless of ethnicity, and Arab and Jewish citizens have equal rights to vote in Israeli elections.

Israel is a country of free press and independent courts, and its institutions serve Arabs as well as Jews and other ethnicities. Unlike South Africa, Israel does not have separate schools, housing, buses or public facilities for Jews and Arabs.

Representing more than 20% of Israel's population, Arab Israeli citizens serve as judges, doctors, actors, journalists, etc., working side by side with Israeli Jews and playing prominent roles in all aspects of Israeli society. Druze, Bedouins and Israeli Arabs fight in the Israel Defense Forces and have achieved ranks as high as Divisional Generals, Brigadiers or Rear Admirals. There are Arab parliamentarians in the Knesset, as well as in the Israeli judicial system, including the Supreme Court. From 2021 to 2022, Ra'am, an Arab political party in Israel representing religious Muslim Arab citizens, became part of a coalition government.

What about the West Bank and the Gaza Strip? Anyone who lives in the West Bank or Gaza is not an Israeli citizen. These territories are still subject to disputes and negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, and due to the lack of a final agreement, these restrictions exist.

There is a wall that separates Israel from the West Bank and Gaza. The wall was built due to security considerations following a series of terrorist attacks that targeted Israeli civilians. Checkpoints and the security barrier in the West Bank and blockade in Gaza were placed by Israel to protect its population.

The purpose of these measures is not to “oppress or dominate” Palestinians, but to minimize violence. In 2021 alone, Israel faced more than 6.500 attacks from Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem. The October 7 terrorist attacks proved that existing security measures were not sufficient to protect the country.

Limitations on the movement of goods and people impose great difficulties on Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank. However, they are not imposed due to racial discrimination, but for protection. It will only be possible to remove the security checkpoints and the blockade of Gaza when a real option is found to maintain Israel's security. There are legitimate questions, but simplistic comparisons to South African apartheid are factually incorrect and only antagonize and polarize.

Seeking a more permanent solution, Israel made peace offers in 2000 and 2008 that would have led to the creation of an independent Palestinian state in almost all of the West Bank and Gaza, but Palestinian leaders rejected both offers.