I find myself writing about things that I think are common sense. I wrote extensively about the indigenous status of the Jewish people, and in a bemused fashion, watched as people tried to deny something that is verified not just in religious texts of every major faith, but through genetics, history, archaeology, and anthropology. I never really concerned myself with the hurt feelings of people who had bought a false narrative, or the feelings of a people who went from being the dominant group who colonised and oppressed the entire region, to being stateless refugees used as pawns by their brethren.
It’s amusing to me that something I saw as common sense, was such a groundbreaking argument and is only now coming into the mainstream.
Now I am gonna blow some more minds with my next statement. I am taking back a word that has long been misused by ignorant people. I am proud to call myself a Zionist, and every Zionist should be.
ZIONISM IS AN INDIGENOUS RIGHTS MOVEMENT COMPLETELY BASED ON MORAL AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES.
The central theme of Zionism is the return of an indigenous people to their ancestral lands, achieving self determination on those lands and then protecting their sacred sites. This is the core of every indigenous rights movement in the world. Indigenous people have been displaced and oppressed all over the world; returning them to their ancestral lands and repatriating their sacred sites is the epitome of a moral and ethical struggle.
ANYONE willing to actually read with an open mind, can easily see this. It was in no way a colonial project. In fact, the British who went from being very pro Zionist in the 1800’s, took a turn into asshattery with their abject support of the Arabs and their handicapping of the nascent Jewish state. Their arms embargo was about hamstringing the Jewish ability to defend themselves in the hope that they would lose a war and be destroyed.
Arabs have rights, absolutely. They have rights of longstanding presence. These rights mean they have the right to live in peace with the indigenous people, not the right to force their ways on them. Living somewhere for a long time doesn’t give you rights to oppress indigenous people. The Arabs not only need to understand that stealing something doesn’t give you the right to keep it in perpetuity; but that morally, they should have willingly assisted the return of the indigenous, and lived in peace, but instead fought it and tried to keep what they stole.
I am Metis. I am proud of that, despite some people trying really hard to make me feel ashamed. I never feel ashamed of being Metis, BECAUSE I KNOW MY CAUSE IS JUST AND MY PEOPLE ARE THE GOOD GUYS. I never feel ashamed to advocate for my people or for other indigenous people, because I know in my heart what I am doing is right. I have no doubts because I have studied this struggle in depth, both in North America and worldwide.
I want young Jewish people to understand this simple truth. YOU ARE THE GOOD GUYS, no matter what the leftists would have you believe. The return of a displaced indigenous people is never a tragedy. The creation of the world’s first modern indigenous state is a triumph for all indigenous people. Your country is a lantern in the darkness – Lux lucis Obscurum, is latin for “ light from the darkness”; this is Israel, the Middle East’s only actual democracy, the only state in the Middle East where human rights are actually respected.
The fact that it’s indigenous people lighting the way makes me incredibly proud. The colonialists would have us believe that only they have helped the world move forward, but while they have stagnated, indigenous people move forward.
When you advocate for Israel, you do not need to be apologetic.You do not have to stay defensive; you need only speak the truth. Your country is the only country in the Middle East where women enjoy full equal rights, where gays can live openly as gays, where Jews and Christians can worship god openly as they see fit under no restrictions. Israel has demonstrated that not only does it fight wars in a moral fashion, but that it does so while maintaining a moral high ground that is unassailable. Who else would send food and water to a place that is shooting rockets at them? It cannot be argued that Israel could easily lay waste to the entire PA and Gaza in a day, which means if the Jews wanted to commit a genocide, they easily could. It also cannot be argued that if the palestinians could kill all the Jews, they would not.
Young Jews need to celebrate these things. They should not allow anyone to make them feel that they are “occupiers” or “colonists”. They need to learn their history, and their culture, not just their religion. They need to understand that defending your people is a moral and ethical thing, and they need to realize that while they are under a microscope, they also benefit from being members of a nation that has survived three thousand years of pressure and hatred.
You can be proud of who you are, and you should be. You can advocate for your people and your country, and you should. It is the right thing to do. Do so from a place of knowledge and truth, because as a wise football coach once said “ Clear eyes full hearts, can’t lose.” It’s worked for Israel so far.
Zionism is a progressive liberation movement that is now a national movement. Unfortunately, – like all movements it has its extremists and its intolerant followers. That does not make the movement less legitimate. It just means that people have to fight to keep the ethical side dominant. Nationalism is regarded as passe in some parts of the world – and too many people in positions of authority tell us that Zionism is outdated – obsolescent – this is where the challenge is. To prove its relevance is not the issue, to defeat those people who think that only Zionism has had its day (or should not have ever had an opportunity).
A beautiful, resonant, love letter to Israel. Thank you from a Canadian in the Diaspora.
When a person or a State defends itself there is no ethical restraint,this is another INVERSION from lefters to make jews lose their fight! Jews are “settlers” in their land arab imperialists are the …indegenous people(they arrived at the end of 19th C.from neighbouring countries looking for jobs…) “palestinians” are arabs with a long History in the area(they popped up in 1970 from the imagination of the kgb…) and jews participate in this MYSTIFICATION with their ridiculous “ethical” story!!!
The Jewish people was the first to believe in one invisible
God more than 3 thousand years ago. Judaism
was founded in the kingdom of Israel-Judea by the prophet Moses and the
kings David and Solomon. Judaism gave to
humanity the ethical legacy of the 10 commandments and the wisdom of the
Prophets of the Old Testament of the Bible. Many centuries later the God of the
Jews also became the Christian God (Christ) and the God of Islam (Allah).
When founded in 1948 little Israel was a democracy full of
swamps and deserts where food was rationed and most of the population was
living in harsh conditions. Today Israel, with only 8 million
inhabitants, is an agricultural, industrial, scientific, technological and
military power without oil and almost without water but with eight Nobel
prizes.