Yuval Harari just published a piece on Zionism in the @washingtonpost. He argues:
"Nothing in this Zionist idea implies that Jews are superior to others, whether they are Greeks or Poles — or Palestinians." @harari_yuval
A short🧵.
"Nothing in this Zionist idea implies that Jews are superior to others, whether they are Greeks or Poles — or Palestinians." @harari_yuval
A short🧵.
Zionism was a ideology that said: let's build a Jewish state in a land that is 90% non-Jewish.
Until 1948, the "Zionist idea" was to buy land from Arabs & evict them. By 1931, 20,000 Palestinian Arab families had been evicted by Zionists.
That must be b/c the 'Zionist idea' says Jews & Palestinians are equal, that's why the Arab farmers had to be evicted, right?
pflp-documents.org/documents/PFLP…
Until 1948, the "Zionist idea" was to buy land from Arabs & evict them. By 1931, 20,000 Palestinian Arab families had been evicted by Zionists.
That must be b/c the 'Zionist idea' says Jews & Palestinians are equal, that's why the Arab farmers had to be evicted, right?
pflp-documents.org/documents/PFLP…
When the British decided to leave Palestine in 1948, the Zionist community owned <6% of Palestine & constituted 33% of the population. So, how do you establish a Jewish state in a land that is 66% Arab?
Partition!
So Jews embraced the 1947 UN Plan to partition Palestine. But...
Partition!
So Jews embraced the 1947 UN Plan to partition Palestine. But...
...45% of the population of area allocated to Jewish state was Palestinian Arab! Can you create a Jewish state with a 45% Palestinian Arab minority?
The Zionist leadership agreed: the fewer Arabs in the future Jewish state, the better.
That must be b/c the 'Zionist idea' says Jews & Palestinians are equal, right Yuval?
That's why the Zionist leadership setup a "transfer committee" in May 1948, w/ the aim of overseeing the expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from their towns & villages & preventing their return.
That must also be because Zionists believed Jews & Palestinians were equal, right Yuval?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_…
The Zionist leadership agreed: the fewer Arabs in the future Jewish state, the better.
That must be b/c the 'Zionist idea' says Jews & Palestinians are equal, right Yuval?
That's why the Zionist leadership setup a "transfer committee" in May 1948, w/ the aim of overseeing the expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from their towns & villages & preventing their return.
That must also be because Zionists believed Jews & Palestinians were equal, right Yuval?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_…
By the war's end, 750,000 Palestinians had become refugees. Most were expelled by gunpoint or fled out of fear of being massacred.
From 1949-1956, tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees tried to return to their homes to reclaim lost property or see family.
The Israeli army adopted a shoot to kill policy. Palestinians trying to return to their homes after having been violently expelled from them were massacred in the thousands.
Benny Morris estimates b/w 2,700-5,000 (overwhelming unarmed) Palestinians were massacred by the state of Israel in order to prevent their return.
That must be because the "Zionist idea" believes Jews & Palestinians are equal, right Yuval?
Since -- had the refugees coming to Israel been Jewish, rather than Palestinian, surely they would have been slaughtered too, right Yuval?
As a matter of fact, there were hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees entering Israel from 1948-1956. They were of course not shot at. Instead, they were allowed in and given Israeli passports.
Source: B. Morris, Border Wars, p.416:
From 1949-1956, tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees tried to return to their homes to reclaim lost property or see family.
The Israeli army adopted a shoot to kill policy. Palestinians trying to return to their homes after having been violently expelled from them were massacred in the thousands.
Benny Morris estimates b/w 2,700-5,000 (overwhelming unarmed) Palestinians were massacred by the state of Israel in order to prevent their return.
That must be because the "Zionist idea" believes Jews & Palestinians are equal, right Yuval?
Since -- had the refugees coming to Israel been Jewish, rather than Palestinian, surely they would have been slaughtered too, right Yuval?
As a matter of fact, there were hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees entering Israel from 1948-1956. They were of course not shot at. Instead, they were allowed in and given Israeli passports.
Source: B. Morris, Border Wars, p.416:
After the 1948 War, 150K Palestinians remained within the borders of Israel. Most were internally displaced. Israel confiscated all of their property.
That must be b/c the Zionist idea says Jews & Palestinians are equal, right Yuval?
M. Tessler, A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, p. 281
That must be b/c the Zionist idea says Jews & Palestinians are equal, right Yuval?
M. Tessler, A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, p. 281
Since 1948, Palestinians citizens of Israel have in effect
been barred from owning (technically leasing for 100yrs) 80% of the land of Israel. The mechanism used to exclude Palestinian is the admissions committees of Israeli towns.
That must be b/c the "Zionist idea" says Jews & Palestinians are equal, right Yuval?adalah.org/uploads/oldfil…
been barred from owning (technically leasing for 100yrs) 80% of the land of Israel. The mechanism used to exclude Palestinian is the admissions committees of Israeli towns.
That must be b/c the "Zionist idea" says Jews & Palestinians are equal, right Yuval?adalah.org/uploads/oldfil…
If you a philosopher, rather than a historian, and imagine some alternative, fictional history, you may be able to imagine a history of Zionism in which "the Zionist idea" is agnostic about the question of Jewish superiority.
But if you are a historian, one as capable as Y. Harari, and you arrive at that conclusion, you are not grounding your argument in history, evidence, data or facts, you are grounding your argument in fiction.
Since the evidence from the actual history of "Zionist idea" suggests that, at the core of the ideology is the belief in building a Jewish state, which means inherently privileging Jews, which means inherently discriminating against non-Jews, especially Palestinian Arabs.
That's why Zionism is rotten ideology.
But if you are a historian, one as capable as Y. Harari, and you arrive at that conclusion, you are not grounding your argument in history, evidence, data or facts, you are grounding your argument in fiction.
Since the evidence from the actual history of "Zionist idea" suggests that, at the core of the ideology is the belief in building a Jewish state, which means inherently privileging Jews, which means inherently discriminating against non-Jews, especially Palestinian Arabs.
That's why Zionism is rotten ideology.
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