So…Israelis are “colonialists,” you say?

As Israel continues to defend itself against the terrorist group Hamas, a war of disinformation is unfolding around the world. One of the slogans most commonly used claims Israel is a “colonial enterprise.”

AJC By charging Israel with colonizing Palestinians, Hamas and its supporters are manipulating the cause of racial justice to advance their terrorist goals – all while hoping no one notices Israel has been the homeland of the Jewish people since the Bronze Age.

The truth is that the Jewish people are indigenous to the land of Israel and first achieved self-determination there 3,000 years ago. This historical and religious link for Jewish people to the land of Israel is indisputable—even the word “Jew” comes from Judea, the ancient name for Israel. 

Jewish and Israeli leaders have consistently acknowledged the presence of Palestinian Arabs and have supported efforts to partition the land into Jewish and Arab states, from 1937 to the present day. The best-known attempt to divide the land came in the form of the 1947 UN Partition Plan, which was accepted by the local Jewish population but rejected by their Arab neighbors, who waged war to eliminate the Jewish state.

More recently, successive Israeli prime ministers have offered to concede more than 90% of the West Bank and all of Gaza to create a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Palestinian leaders, however, have consistently rejected efforts at bringing about a two-state solution, as they did in 1947, and they continue to do so to this day. 

About that “ethnic cleansing” you accuse Israelis of…