About Us Israelis - The Promised Land of Israel

In our journey thus far we have highlighted some core issues in the different stations along the path leading to understanding what goes on inside the hearts and minds of Israelis of the Jewish faith. It is time to bring into our discussion the historical narrative of what usually ignites fierce political and international dispute – the rights over the Land of Israel.

Although I have no intention of getting into the sphere of political arguments, it is almost impossible to understand us Israelis without understanding our deep-rooted spiritual, emotional, physical and religious connection to what we consider not only the land of our forefathers, but also the land promised to us – the Jewish people – by God himself.

Jews were living in the land of Israel 1000 years before the Roman Empire crushed the Jewish rebellion, demolished the second Temple and expelled hundreds of thousands of Jews from their holy, promised, land. That was about 2000 years ago. In order to wipe out the memory of the kingdom of David forever, the Romans called the land of Judaea "Palestina", thereby promoting the biblical arch-enemies of the Jewish people – the "Philistines" (not the same people as today's Palestinians). Since then, the land of Israel was considered Palestine.

From that era until the twentieth century, no national entity, ancient, historical or modern, was established in the land of Israel, and no ruler of the different empires chose Jerusalem as his empire's capital. The land was conquered time and again by different peoples, but they did not stay long enough to matter. Yet, one ancient people, even if persecuted continuously, stuck to the land of its forefathers and were always there to populate it – the Jewish people. Throughout time, the number of Jews in the land of Israel changed according to historical circumstance. It diminished when the rulers of the land prosecuted them and increased when times improved.

At its peak, the Ottoman Empire ruled over vast territories in the Middle East, in the north of Africa and in Eastern Europe. The land of Israel was divided into numerous areas and was considered a part of the Ottoman district of Syria. During the 17^th and 18^th centuries, the area witnessed favorable financial conditions, but during the decades preceding the Ottoman Empire’s demise, the area's economic situation deteriorated, the people of the region became poor and the land desolate.

After the First World War, the Middle East was divided between the winning allied nations of France and Britain, acting under the umbrella of the League of Nations. Most of the countries in today’s Middle East were created artificially by the occupying allies, including countries like Iraq and Syria.

There was never a national or a political entity, Arab of otherwise, claiming the right to the land of Israel - until the 20^th century. The land of Israel, including the Gaza Strip, West and East Banks of the Jordan River, were never before 1948 under any rule of a sovereign modern nation-state. Israel's war of independence saw the Gaza strip occupied by Egypt and the West Bank taken forcefully by King Abdulla of Jordan. Both were freed by Israel during the Six Days War of 1967.

Aspiring always for peace and wishing to truly and wholeheartedly solve the Palestinian problem, Israel signed the Oslo accord in 1993 and moved out from most of Gaza and from most of the Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank. Israel went even further, about a decade later, to dissolve all Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, uprooting Jews from their homes. All of these came at a heavy price to national unity and to human lives (soon after, Hamas took control of Gaza and has been shelling the southern part of Israel ever since).

But for us Israelis, the significance of the Land of Israel goes beyond any territorial dispute. Centuries of atrocities against the Jewish people, culminating in the mass murder of our people in the German Death Camps during World War II, were all a direct result of being stateless. The fact that the land of Israel was promised to the Jewish People by God, the fact that our only kingdom was established on its soil 3000 years ago, the fact that it is our religious place under the sun and the fact the Jews have been living in the Land of Israel continuously for 3000 years, way before anyone had heard of a Palestinian People, was enough for Zionist philosophers and activists to form a national movement that eventually brought about the establishment of the State of Israel in the land of their fathers.

Since the 1880s Zionist Jews immigrated to the Promised Land and assisted in strengthening the already existing Jewish presence and institutions, forming some new ones. Israel was established in 1948 and has since absorbed millions of displaced Jews from all over the world.  

Putting aside the political dispute over the Land of Israel, which is widespread throughout cyber space, one must realize that inside of us Israelis beats a heart filled with love for the land and its history. It was promised to us and we were here first. In fact, we never left and those immigrating to the land of Israel simply returned after being deported forcefully during millennia of atrocities against them and their ancestors.

This is how we feel. This is what we believe to be true. This is something Israelis could never compromise and are forced to pay for with the precious blood of their children to keep safe. Whoever wants to really solve the dispute must bear this in mind; otherwise his efforts are doomed to failure.

So, add this to the mountain of considerations before constructing your worldview about us Israelis.