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Israel is a tiny country surrounded on all sides by Arab countries, all of which were created post-WW1 with the collapse of the 400-year Ottoman Empire

1250-1517: The Mamluk Empire ruled Palestine for 300 years. The Mamluks were Muslim, but not Arabs
1517-1917: The Ottoman Empire ruled Palestine for 400 years. The Ottomans were Muslim, but not Arabs
1917-1947: The British were given a Mandate to establish a Jewish state in Palestine, but failed to do so

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Israel has 2,800 miles of Muslim/Arab countries to its west, and 2,500 miles of Muslim/Arab countries to its east. For comparison, the width of the USA is 2,500 miles.

Muslim countries west of Israel

Muslim countries east of Israel

Width of USA for comparison

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The Arab League and the OIC

The Arab League has 22 member countries (including Palestine)
Area: 5 million square miles
Population: 400 Million
GDP: $2.7 Trillion
GDP per capita: $6,600

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has 57 member countries
Population: 1.8 Billion
GDP: $27 Trillion
GDP per capita: $9,361

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Jewish History in the

Land of Israel

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Jewish History and the Land of Israel are intertwined

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Judaism is a deep identity that goes beyond religion

In the 19th century Heinrich Graetz wrote a multi-volume History of the Jews: an exiled, dispersed people sharing traditions, rituals, memories, literacy and yearning to return to their homeland

Daniel Pearl’s last words:

I am Jewish

40% of Israelis identify as secular Jews

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Jews are Indigenous to the Land of Israel

The Dead Sea Scrolls

excavated in 1947 in the Judean desert

date from as early as 586 BC

proving scientifically that the

Hebrew Bible and other Hebrew texts

originated in the land of Israel

Dead Sea Scrolls Timeline

Archeological evidence

In Hebrew Yehudi יהודי (Jew) is someone who originates from Yehuda יהודה (Judea).

The same Hebrew language spoken in Israel today is called "Yehudit" יהודית (Jewish or Judean) in the Bible 6 times

Jewish Historic Continuity in Israel

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Zion = Jerusalem

Zionism is the Jewish yearning to return to their ancestral capital:Jerusalem

Whether or not you believe the Bible is “true”, archeology proves it was written in Hebrew in the Land of Israel by the indiginous Jewish people

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The Hebrew Language connects Jews to Israel

The Jewish Textline proves Hebrew textual continuity throughout history, each text builds on and refers to prior texts, all the way to modern Israeli literature.

Since there was never any discontinuity in Jewish Hebrew texts, there cannot be a discontinuity in the Jewish people who authored those texts.

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The Menorah: A Jewish Symbol Through the Ages

Ancient Judean coin of Menorah 40BC

British Museum

Emblem of Israel

The Menorah carried by Judean exiles through the Arch of Titus in Rome can still be seen today (Roman exile 70 AD)

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Jewish Prayers, Poetry and Rituals Yearn to return to Zion

The Passover Seder ends with:

Next Year in Jerusalem

Breaking the glass at a Jewish Wedding - to commemorate Jerusalem

Secular Jewish Poetry yearning for the Land of Israel - Yehuda Halevi 1100 AD: “My heart is in the East, but I am in the West”

Jewish Holidays are based on the agriculture and seasonality of the Land of Israel

The daily Jewish Amidah prayer (3 times a day while facing Jerusalem) prays for Jews to return to Israel.

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Hatikvah - The age-old hope to return to Zion

"The Hope" (HaTikvah): Israel's National Anthem (written 1878): "The hope of 2,000 years: to be a free people in our land, the Land of Zion and Jerusalem"

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The hope of 2,000 years: to be a free people in our land, the Land of Zion and Jerusalem

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Is it called “The Land of Israel” or “Palestine”?

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Jewish Continuity in the Land of Israel (Palestine)

The Jewish people were the only nation ever to gain independence in the land of Israel. After exile, the Jewish people always maintained continuity in Palestine (a name given by the Romans to erase Jewish memory)

Hasmonean Dynasty: A Jewish Independent State from 140 BCE to 37 BCE. There was no independent state in Palestine after this period - until the founding of Israel in 1948.

The Mishna & Jerusalem Talmud were created in the Land of Israel based on the Bible 200-600 CE, proving Jewish textual continuity in the land of Israel

Jews continued living in the Land of Israel through Arab, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman invasions

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The Muslim Invasion to the Land of Israel - 7th Century

Historian Ben-Zion Dinur's book "Israel and the Diaspora"

compares the Muslim invasion of Palestine in the 7th Century to the Muslim invasion of Spain.

It took 800 years for the Spanish people to reconquer Spain (aka Reconquista).

It took the Jewish people 400 years longer to return to their land in the 19th century (aka Zionism).

There was NEVER an independent Arab (or any other) state in the Land of Israel.

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Jews continued to live in Israel under Foreign Invaders

Jewish continuity in the land of Israel

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Political Zionism

In the 19th Century

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Why did Political Zionism Start in the 19th Century?

The period up to the 19th century was characterized by Empires
The idea of Nation States and Self Determination began in the 18/19th century
Most modern Nation States were created after World War I
The demand for Jewish sovereignty (aka Political Zionism) arose at the same time as other nations were demanding their sovereignty

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Independent Nation States in the 19th and 20th century

All Middle East Nation States achieved independence in the 20th Century - following WW I

Most Nation States achieved Independence in the 19th and 20th Centuries

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19th Century: European Racial Antisemitism

Antisemitism was predominantly religious before the 19th century
Secular/Racial Antisemitism painted Jews as intrinsically evil
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion fabricated conspiracy theories of Jewish domination
Jews could not convert to another religion to escape racial Antisemitism
As Nation States were formed, Jews were excluded from belonging and accused of treason

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Antisemitism in the Muslim world

Antisemitism was not just a European phenomenon

Following the Islamic occupation of the land of Israel, Arabia, Babylon, Persia, North Africa and Spain, the Jews had to learn to accept their status as a dhimmi and pay a special tax called a Jizya

The laws of dhimmitude were interpreted differently in different Muslim lands at different periods, but they always contained an element of humiliation and degradation of the Jew to remind him of his inferior status to his Muslim benefactor

In his book In Ishmael’s House, Martin Gilbert shows the following 22 rules which were imposed on Jews in the Persian city of Hamadan in 1892

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Modern Zionism started in 1897: First Zionist Congress

1897: The First Zionist Congress: 200 Jewish leaders from 17 countries convened for the first time ever

1897: The First Zionist Congress Resolved: “Zionism aims at establishing for the Jewish people a publicly and legally assured home in Palestine”.

The Hebrew Language began to be revived to a modern secular language in the 18th and 19th century

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Was there a Palestinian Arab People before 1880?

Palestine had sparse and disconnected Arab, Ottoman, Bedouin and Jewish villages in 1880
Zionism always recognized the rights of Arabs to parts of the land, and sought to establish an independent Jewish state in other parts (aka two-state solution)
The 1880 population density of Palestine was as low as the Sahara desert
We know this scientifically from the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) Survey of Palestine 1872-1877. A professional team of British Surveyors who mapped out Palestine and marked every population center in red according to the size of its population
Full 1880 map with every village painted red by pop. size

Mark Twain The Innocents Abroad (1867): “...a desolate country…we didn’t see a human being for 3 days…”

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Who ruled Palestine after the Crusades?

1250-1517: The Mamluk Empire ruled Palestine for 300 years. The Mamluks were Muslim, but not Arabs
1517-1917: The Ottoman Empire ruled Palestine for 400 years. The Ottomans were Muslim, but not Arabs
1917-1947: The British were given a Mandate to establish a Jewish state in Palestine, but failed to do so
There never existed an Arab independent state in Palestine
A Palestinian Arab people was never mentioned in any history books pre-dating Zionism (1880)
The Ottoman Empire maps showed Palestine as part of Greater Syria, never as an independent entity

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Jewish Resettlement in the land of Israel (1880+)

Jews started resettling in the land of Israel in 1882

By 1885 Jews established multiple towns in uninhabited areas purchased legally

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Jewish Resettlement 1880-1948

Documented in Archival Films (1911+)
Documented in Hebrew Newspapers (1884+)
All lands were legally purchased from owners
Tel Aviv and other cities founded on

uninhabited, legally purchased lands

No Palestinian Arabs were displaced

until Arab invasion in 1948 War

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The Legal Foundation of Zionism post WW1

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Dividing the Ottoman Empire after WW I

Four Empires were divided into Nation States following WW I: German, Austro Hungarian, Russian and Ottoman

The fall of the 400 year old Ottoman Empire (which sided with Germany against the allies) created the possibility of fulfilling the aspirations of two ancient peoples who were deprived of Independence for centuries: The Arab people and the Jewish people.

The San Remo Conference took place on April 19-25, 1920 and laid the political foundation for the founding of the 22 Arab League States and the one and only Jewish State of Israel

The legitimacy of the Arab countries is the same as that of Israel

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The San Remo Conference 1920

The Weizmann-Faisal Agreement

Lodge-Fish Congress

Resolution

Britain was given a Mandate to form a Jewish State in Palestine

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Important Videos about the 1920 San Remo Conference

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The British Mandate

1917-1947

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Britain excludes Trans-Jordan from Palestine Mandate

The original 1920 Mandate For Palestine (San Remo) included Trans-Jordan as part of Palestine
However, in 1922, Britain unilaterally excluded Trans-Jordan from the definition of Palestine
Many interpreted that to mean that the area east of the Jordan river (77%) would be “Arab Palestine” and the area west of the Jordan river would be “Jewish Palestine” (23%)
However, that is not how it turned out:

There are almost no Jews living in Jordan - they were excluded
Today activists chant “from the river to the sea..” stating openly that their goal is to remove Jewish sovereignty from any part of 1920 Palestine

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In 1920-1939 Jews Continued to Resettle their Homeland

1924: A 40-minute archival documentary

1932: Scenes from Tel Aviv

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By 1935, Pre-state Israel was a thriving Jewish Country

An hour-length English documentary film made in 1935 called: The Land Of Promise.

It shows the full extent of the development of Pre-State Israel as a de-facto state-of-the art modern country. Watch fully developed cities, towns, Kibbutzim, newspapers, universities, orchestras, theater, electric grid, water transport, industry and all the makings of a modern state.

At 25:00 minutes, it shows composer Daniel Samburski singing his famous song Shir Ha’Emek – song of the valley (of Jezrael). At 41:00 minutes - watch the opening ceremony of the opening of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The orchestra and chorus perform Haydn’s Oratorio “The Creation – Be’Reshit” in Hebrew in Jerusalem for the first time, reciting the opening words of the Hebrew Bible.

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In 1939 The British shut down Jewish Immigration

In May 1939, just months ahead of WWII and the Holocaust, the British issued the infamous 1939 White Paper
It capped Jewish immigration at 75,000 for 5 years (15,000 a year) and then no further Jewish immigration (see Palestine Post from May 15, 1939)
It restricted Jews from buying land
Arabs still rejected it, as they wanted no Jewish immigration at all
After the outbreak of WWII, David Ben-Gurion declared: "We will fight the White Paper as if there is no war, and fight the war as if there is no White Paper"
During and after the Holocaust, Jews could only enter Palestine illegally

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Palestinian leader sided with Nazis during WWII

Haj Amin Al-Husseini was the widest known Palestinian leader before Yasser Arafat
He assassinated moderate Palestinian leaders who wanted to live peacefully with the Jews
After the British expelled him from Palestine, he collaborated with Hitler, toured concentration camps with Nazi leaders, and ran an Arabic language Nazi propaganda radio boradcast
I n 1945, he managed to escape to Egypt as he w as about to go on trial at Nuremberg
He rejected the 1947 UN Partition Plan as the leader of the Palestinians
In 1948 he formed the All Palestine Government in Gaza which was not recognized by the Arab League or by the UN
He continued to spew hate and propaganda until his death in Lebanon in 1974

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Why Palestine was not divided into Jewish and Arab States

Six different partition plans (two-state solutions) were proposed between 1937-1947. The Jews accepted, but the Arab League unanimously rejected. Each of these plans would have resulted in an independent Palestinian Arab state and an independent Jewish state:

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1948 - Israel’s War of Independence

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1948: Palestinian Arab Leaders vow to Annihilate the Jews

After rejecting the 1947 UN Partition Plan, Palestinians vowed to exterminate the Jews
This was 2 years after the end of the Holocaust

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May 14, 1948: The State of Israel is Born

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May 15, 1948: Five Arab Armies Invade Israel

Israel declares Independence within the boundaries of the 1947 UN Partition plan
The next day, 5 Arab armies invade Israel from the South (Egypt), East (Jordan, Iraq) and North (Lebanon, Syria)
The Arab armies had been armed and trained by the British
The US and Britain place an arms embargo on Israel as it struggles to create the Israel Defense Force (IDF)

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1948: As Arabs invade, Britain and the US place an Arms Embargo on Israel

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Casualties on both sides in the 1948 War

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Palestinian Refugees and Jewish Refugees

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Palestinian Refugees

No Palestinian Arabs were displaced or expelled until the Arab invasion of Israel in May 1948

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The Jewish Refugees from Arab Lands

750,000 Palestinian Arab refugees escaped Israel during the 1948 war as a result of the Arab invasion
850,000 Jews were forced to leave Arab countries where they lived for thousands of years
Exhibit of the expulsion of Jews from Arab lands
The Arab League declared in 1947: “All Jews living in Arab lands are members of the Jewish minority in Palestine. Their bank accounts will be frozen and used to finance the resistance to ‘Zionist Ambitions in Palestine’. Jews believed to be active Zionists will be interned as political prisoners and their assets confiscated”.

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The 1949 Armistice Agreement (The Green Line)

Abba Eban explains the Armistice Agreements

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Do Palestinian Refugees have a Right of Return?

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Discrimination?

Israel grants equal rights to its Arab citizens
Arab countries discriminate against Palestinians to perpetuate their refugee status
A recent 2021 report shows how UNRWA schools teach hatred against Jews and incite violence

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Is BDS a Social Justice Movement?

“Most definitely we oppose a Jewish State in ANY part of Palestine…no Palestinian will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine”

“A two state solution… means a Palestine next to a Palestine, rather than a Palestine next to Israel”

Watch Omar Barghouti, the founder of the BDS movement, explain clearly that Israel must eliminated

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What does “Free Palestine” mean?

Palestinians have been offered statehood 6 times before 1948 and over 12 times after 1948

Human rights activists believe “Free Palestine” is a call for liberation of the Palestinian people living peacefully side-by-side with Israel in a two-state solution. But that’s NOT what it means.

It means that Palestine should be free of Jews. Judenrein or Judenfrei, which was a Nazi term for “cleansed of Jews”

Watch the chants in this video taken in NYC in 2022:

“We don’t want no two states” = a rejection of any two-state solution and a call for the elimination of Israel
“We want all of it” = all of Palestine should be Arab, which means the elimination of Israel
“Free free Palestine” = cleansed of Jews
“From the river to the sea Palestine will be free” = the entire land of Israel west of the Jordan river will be cleansed of Jews

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Palestinians continue to reject Peace and Normalization

However, recent peace agreements between Israel and UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, and new economic ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia may eventually force the Palestinians to get serious about peace

Dr. Einat Wilf Goldman Lecture - “Arab Zionism and the Path to Peace"

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