The Indigenous Sovereignty Movement Called Zionism
Furthermore, another question: Does every people-group around the world have a place to which it is indigenous except the Jews? Of course not. The word Jew comes from Judah, son of Israel, a patriarch for whom the nation is named—long before Judea was renamed to “Palestine” in the fourth century by Roman conquerors.‘We are a great nation’: Bereaved father slams anti-gov’t protesters
A beautiful truth concerning the Jewish people is that a tenet of the founding principles (the Ten Words/Commandments) includes a command not to steal and not to covet what a neighbor owns. This includes property. By and large, the Jewish people have observed this principle, sticking to only wanting what their Deity entrusted to their nation. Jews do not lay claim to Iraq or Egypt. They do not engage in wars of conquest against their neighbors or seek to establish global empires.
Furthermore, the Jewish people—unlike some other groups—do not have a historical, worldwide effort to force-convert and proselytize the known universe into their faith, culture, fashion, and customs or to set up diaspora colonies in every possible country to force their Torah upon unassuming local indigenous tribes, overriding and usurping local legal law. To do so would have been to transgress into becoming colonizers.
We recognize the Jewish people as the indigenous people of Israel, Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. More than that, Israel is the prime example of hope for other displaced indigenous tribes worldwide. Here is why: Israel stands as the original land-back and decolonization model multiple times in history. The Jewish people have kept a fire burning deep within their hearts even through the historical traumas of forced removals, conversions, crusades, torture, inquisitions, assimilation, and colonization by multiple empires. That inner fire speaks of an eternal promise of returning to the land of their ancestors and never again being removed. Moreover, when given the opportunity, many have returned to the place of their indigenous inception—Israel.
An ancient tribal people, the Jews, an entire nation taken hostage, enslaved, and scattered to the four directions on countless trails of tears, have been restored to the place of their origin, to the locations of their sacred places, to the land that holds their ancestors’ bones. Even the soil responds, blossoming and springing to life when its original caretakers walk upon it once again. This is the dream of any indigenous person: to return home to the land of their ancestors, to the origin place of their traditions, customs, beliefs, and language.
Empowering the Jewish people to dwell safely in their ancestral sovereign land, allowing them to self-govern as they protect their borders and people, ensuring they have charge of their own holy sites—this is Zionism. This is the essence of being indigenous.
Six years ago, in 2018, we had the vision of an indigenous embassy in Israel. While we first applied the vision to First Nations of North America, our elders later told us to expand our vision to a worldwide indigenous embassy for people all over the earth to support Israel’s declaration of indigeneity.
Now, the Indigenous Embassy of Jerusalem is a reality. It will celebrate Israel as her people, in the words of Rabbi Pesach Stadlin, “re-indigenize.” As the first nation to be restored to the boundaries of its original covenant land with the Creator, Israel stands as a beacon of hope not just to Jews around the globe but to all indigenous people—worldwide.
The father of an IDF soldier killed in action in Gaza has denounced renewed anti-government protests, accusing demonstrators of using the plight of bereaved families and the relatives of hostages to further their political aims.Daniel Gordis: "Even if you have family kidnapped in Gaza, I'm not going to let you burn this country down."
“Nobody should burn the country down,” Hagay Lober, whose son Staff Sgt. (res.) Elisha Yehonatan Lober, 24, was killed in the southern Gaza Strip in December, wrote in a viral Facebook post on Sunday.
“You cannot dismantle the country. You cannot riot. You cannot block roads. You cannot clash with the police. You cannot call for military [refusal to serve]. You cannot attempt to break into the prime minister’s house,” added Lober.
He spoke after protesters gathered at the Knesset on Sunday night, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resign and agree to early elections. A day earlier, some families of hostages announced that they would join forces with those calling to overthrow the government.
“I was completely shocked that people were speaking like this after October 7. It felt like a second knock at my door. The first knock was the army coming to tell me that Yehonatan fell in battle in Gaza,” Lober told JNS on Tuesday.
“I am not a fighter. All I have is my Facebook page, so I wrote what I needed to say. I felt that I had the right as a bereaved parent to tell the hostage families to stop this. We are brothers, we only have one country. We should do things right. After, I was happy to see that the majority of people in Israel think like me,” he added.
On Saturday night, 16 people were arrested in Tel Aviv for blocking roads and violating public order. Protesters also clashed with police in Jerusalem, where some 200 people broke through barriers to protest near Netanyahu’s official residence, and in Caesarea, where they blocked roads close to the premier’s private home.
The demonstrators called for the prime minister to resign in a familiar chant heard during the protests against judicial reform in the months preceding Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
The post above was written by Hagai Luber, father of Yonatan Luber, z’l, 24, who was killed in battle in last December in Southern Gaza, leaving behind a pregnant wife and a nine-month old son. His words were then posted on Instagram here.
Here is what Yonatan Luber’s father wrote, via social media, to the protesters now swarming the capital:
No one is going to burn my country down.
I'm tired of the threats from the extremists.
Yes, even if these extremists have family members being held in Gaza
You're not going to burn this country.
There's no way.
And if you have to be resisted, I will resist.
Millions of people are staring at you, without believing what they're seeing, without agreeing, with horror,
And only out of respect for you, they're staying quiet.
I will not stay quiet.
My son was killed in Gaza.
He went to defend and to free your children
and he was killed.
He left everything, a pregnant wife and a nine month old son
And was killed.
He will never come back. Not in any "deal."
So I have the right to say to you:
You have no right to pull the country apart
You have no right to go crazy on the streets
You have no right to block roads
You have no right to scuffle with police officers
You have no right to call for people to refuse army service
You have no right to shake police cars
You have no right to try to break in to the Prime Minister's home.
That your children are being held captive in Gaza
It hurts, it saddens, it cuts us all to shreds inside
It will get me to send, once again, my three remaining sons
to fight, to put themselves in danger--for you.
But all that gives you no special rights.
You have no right to "take off the gloves"
You have no right to curse elected public officials
You have no right to scream "Shame!"
You have no right to create public mayhem
You have no right to block the airport
You have no right to call for a general strike.
Control yourselves. Do you hear me?
C O N T R O L Y O U R S E L V E S.
Express your views, but don't shout.
Say that we need a "deal" now, but don't block streets
Say we need an "everyone for everyone" deal but don't call for revolution.
Say that the Knesset should not be going out on recess, but don't threaten
Say that it's high time to vote Bibi out, but don't light fires
Say that we need elections now, but don't you dare try to swarm the Knesset
Say that everyone failed, but don't even think
about the possibility of revolution.
Stop threatening this people.
That's your view. We heard you. Now don't force it on anyone.
Want to hear my views, too?
To my mind, Yonatan was killed because of the Oslo agreements,
which some of you supported.
To my mind, Yonatan was killed because of the Disengagement from Gaza,
which some of your encouraged
with pro-disengagement signs at the entrances to kibbutzim.
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