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.
