Lisa Klug, of the Times of Israel, tells us:
It’s time the world — and Jews themselves — identify the People of the Book as indigenous people. At least, that’s the opinion of indigenous rights activist Ryan Bellerose of Alberta, Canada. He recently returned from his second trip to the Holy Land where he filmed a video supporting the concept for the Israeli advocacy group StandWithUs.
Bellerose is someone that I have been following for awhile.
I do not read his material on a daily basis, but he is certainly someone that I appreciate, particularly because he is Métis, not Jewish.
And what I mean by that, of course, is that we need all the friends that we can get.
Furthermore, how many pro-Israel / pro-Jewish Native-American Canadian football players are out there?
Huh?
My guess is that he is the only one and, therefore, should be honored.
The Jewish people are, in fact, the indigenous people of the Land of Israel, yet it takes a native American Canadian football player to smack Jews over the head with that fact.
I also very much appreciate StandWithUs.
I have sat on two panel discussions with Dr. Michael Harris, of that organization, and I like these guys. I think that StandWithUs, unlike me, has a nice balance on how to address the regular public.
My impression is that they are moderate, but firm, and should be supported.
Harris has a recent book entitled, Winning a Debate With an Israel Hater, which you guys can pick up at Amazon.
Bellerose writes:
I have visited all the major sacred sites, and many historical sites that reinforce the indigenous nature of the Jewish people to their ancestral land. This has helped me in being a pro-Israel advocate.I write about the commonalities of indigenous struggles, so going to Israel and seeing a place where indigenous people have managed to gain self determination is massive for me. I believe very strongly that in order for me to expect people to listen to me about my peoples’ struggles, I must listen to them and stand with them in theirs.
We have to make the case - not for the least reason because it is historically accurate - that the Jewish people are the indigenous people of Israel... from the river to the sea.
We are not the first people to inhabit that land, but unless you can find some Jebusite out there someplace, we are the only ones left.
I mean, for G-d's sake, it's been something close to around 3,500 years.
How much more established can a people be?
Jewish kids at university do not know their own history because their Jewish professors whitewash the history of Jews under Arab-Muslim imperial rule.
Those who follow Israel Thrives know that I have been in discussion with Ollie Benn of San Francisco Hillel. I do not know if he will read this or not, but one thing that I should have said to him is that the Jewish kids should join the indigenous groups on campus.
One of the problems with the Jewish Left is that they concede the main point to their harassers.
I do not know what Benn thinks - and my impression is that he will be a fine and strong leader - but obsequiousness is a general trend within the Jewish Left who want nothing so much as to be nice so that others might be nice toward us.
That is, the Jewish Left tends to suggest that, yes, the Jewish people are occupiers of Arab lands... but, y'know, we mean well...
The stupidity in this stance could hardly be more obvious.
There is no winning that argument.
And the thing of it is that it is entirely false.
Arabs are from the Arabian peninsula.
Jews are from Judea, the Land of Israel.
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