Opinion

‘Settler colonialism’: The lie that keeps on giving

The argument says European Jews came to Palestine intentionally to displace Arabs.

Yellow flags calling for the return of the Israeli hostages who have been held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, seen on Road 6 on Aug. 4, 2024. Photo by Yossi Aloni/Flash90.
Yellow flags calling for the return of the Israeli hostages who have been held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, seen on Road 6 on Aug. 4, 2024. Photo by Yossi Aloni/Flash90.
Howard Teich. Credit: Courtesy.
Howard Teich
Howard Teich is a practicing attorney, has held multiple leadership positions in the Jewish community and is the author of HEAR OUR VOICE: One Israel: Standing Up for Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.

Lost in the discussion of hate and antisemitism is the intellectual underpinning of an ideology that condemns the Jewish people wrongfully for an extraordinary historic rebirth of its homeland in Israel. So much of the antipathy of young people towards the State of Israel and the Jewish people is embedded in that narrative, which is prevalent on campuses, in media, and increasingly, in the corporate boardrooms.

The American Jewish community is stuck in the past, seeing rising antisemitism only through the prism of the Holocaust and through the eyes of an American century passed, which reflected an antipathy towards Israel as hatred for all Jews. With a continuing outcry, there is outrage and horror that anyone could applaud the Hamas attacks and atrocities of Oct. 7, and that Palestinians and their allies march in the streets and demonstrate in and around campuses in support of the Hamas cause. There is also deep consternation that some governmental leaders are not in the Israeli camp and give credence to the trumpeting of the Palestinian people for their losses in this war.

In a masterful book by Adam Kirsch, On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence and Justice, he writes: “Describing the United States and Israel as settler-colonial societies is a way of arguing that they are permanently illegitimate because they were created against the will of the people living there—Native Americans and Palestinians.” This theory of settler colonialism being taught by professors on college campuses is widespread and long-standing, and shame on us for not catching it earlier and for not combating the untruths being shared and taught about Israel and the historic Jewish connection to the Land of Israel.

The settler-colonialist argument says that European Jews came to Palestine as colonialists settling on the homeland of Arabs to displace them. The intersectionality argument links the treatment of Israelis towards Palestinians with lies and misinformation—namely, that Israel established an apartheid system and that a genocide of the Palestinian people occurred during the creation of the modern-day State of Israel. The intent is clear: that Israel as a Jewish state needs to end, that the Jews need to leave the land, and that it must be returned to the Palestinian Arabs “from the river to the sea.”

This is an ideology prevalent at many universities and taught by numerous professors in the departments of Middle Eastern and Palestinian studies as the “true” history of the region—one that is being reinforced by lectures and symposiums from high-profile charismatic speakers on the topic, often who have published books on the subject and appear in media with significant following on social media.

The earliest centerpiece of this thinking was at Columbia University, which often has been the place over the years where new progressive or alternative approaches have been touted and shouted out. It then spread across the country to campuses throughout America. Young people have been indoctrinated with these thoughts, and we have some catching up to do as the Jewish community has not fully educated its youth about our Jewish and Israeli story, so we have been unprepared to counter this battle on campus and in the streets.

Most importantly, many in the Jewish community have been led to believe it is the old form of antisemitism, even going back to an earlier label of Jew-hatred, giving rise today to great fear in our community of the end of a golden era for the Jewish community. This campaign has been funded by countries like Qatar and fostered by NGOs and nonprofits that have an ideological tilt of a more progressive world, sometimes conceptualized by members of our own Jewish people.

Israel now is a real target, as it is a small country that in the right set of circumstances can be taken over—meaning, the destruction of its current society and ridding the land of its Jewish population under the banner of restorative justice. Truths of how and why the Jews came to and created Israel, the way it has governed, and most importantly, the long and continuous history of the Jewish presence as the indigenous people on this land are distorted for today’s narrative of settler colonialism. And our American Jewish leadership has been unaware, unable and/or unwilling to take it on or even rarely voice it.

Recognition of the geopolitical significance of Arab Palestinian Muslims crossing the border into the Jewish State of Israel on Oct. 7 cannot be understated, as that represented to them a victory through an attack on Israeli soil just as their attack on the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, was seen as a victory in destroying a symbol of excellence on American soil. Their inhumanity that day to Jewish residents of Israel and their holding of hostages for more than a year must be seen as a representation of what the Hamas leadership has instilled in their citizens—an evil hatred of the Jewish people and our civilization and our religion.

Creating our return to our homeland of Israel is prophesied in the Torah (Ezekiel 11:14-18), “So said the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and will assemble you from the lands which you have been scattered therein, and I shall give you the Land of Israel.”

Having essentially defeated Hamas and taken control of Gaza, Israel has now brilliantly, strategically and forcefully entered the next level of conflict with Hezbollah in the north with the intent of creating a safe zone so that their citizens can return to their homes in northern Israel to live securely and safely. This is not about the Palestinians; this continues to be about the Iranian intent to use its surrogates and directly send missiles from Iran to destroy Israel and to impede a future of peace, economic uplifting and happiness in the Middle East.

Israel has a vision for the region. It includes an expansion of the 2020 Abraham Accords and the blocking of the axis of evil centering outward from Iran. This is our moment. Israel’s fight now is a sacrifice for a better future for itself and the world. It is not about the destruction of its neighbors; rather, it is about a safe future for all its citizens, freeing our hostages, returning all of Israel’s citizens to their homes and liberating the people of Israel’s neighboring countries from the control of their leaders and intruders who have lost their ethical and moral way.

Those who criticize Israel for ensuring its right to live in its land and freeing its neighbors must be condemned. We must recognize that for the Palestinians, tagging Israel as a settler colonialist is the lie that keeps giving, and we must answer it. We Jewish people have every right to every inch of Israel and should be proud of our record of living on that land. And we must continue to fight for that right, both in Israel and in the American Jewish community.

During this holiday season, let’s envision how we move forward on our God-given journey of bringing light to the world with Israel’s success and victory.

The opinions and facts presented in this article are those of the author, and neither JNS nor its partners assume any responsibility for them.
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