In a recent document prepared by ‘Bnai Brith International, there is a succinct explanation of why Israel is not a colonialist state,
“Typical colonialism is the establishment of colonies sent from the metropolis by an imperial state. There is no Jewish imperial state which has sent colonies to Israel or to the Palestinian territories in the West Bank of the Jordan River, or Gaza,” as Bnai Brith notes,
‘Typical colonialism consists of colonies which come from outside the region. There are, indeed, many Jewish Israelis who came to Israel from outside the region. Yet, the majority of Jewish Israelis either are those or descendants of those who were living in Israel before the establishment of the State or those who came from the region or are the immediate descendants of Jews who came from the region - Jews expelled from Arab countries after the creation of the State of Israel and because of the creation of the State.”
”Typical colonialism consists of colonies which historically have had little or no association with the region prior to the colonization. Yet, Jews are indigenous to Israel. They have lived in Israel continuously from pre-historic times to the present. Israel is indeed the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people. Indeed, it is appropriate to describe Muslims as colonizers in the Middle East rather than Jews, since Islam began centuries after Judaism.”
“The right to self-determination applies to all peoples, not just colonized peoples. It applies to Palestinians. It also applies to Jews. Zionism is the expression of the right to self-determination of the Jewish people. Hamas, if they truly believed in the right to self-determination of peoples, would be Zionist.”
” One can say of colonialists generally that their right to self-determination is realized elsewhere than in the colony. It is realized in the imperial metropolis. There is no elsewhere for the global Jewish community. The only state for and by the Jewish people is the State of Israel. Jews outside of Israel are the diaspora.”
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