Israel exists because millions of people didn’t have a place they could call their home country.
That’s… Uh… No. Israel exists because European antisemites want somewhere to dump their Jews and answer “the Jewish question”, with two big pushes from early 20th century Russia and Nazi Germany. Before the Holocaust the position of most Jews around the world was “huh? What right do you have to dump me in buttfuck Palestine,” and even after the Holocaust it was far from a universal position. Let’s not pretend Israel was ever anything other than a settler colonialist project whose most ardent supporters were antisemites.
Let’s not pretend Israel was ever anything other than a settler colonialist project whose most ardent supporters were antisemites.
I’m a bit poorly informed about public and private discourse on the subject, in the late 1940-ties. Can you point me to any evidence which would substantiate that claim?
It really begins with Herzl. Herzl himself said that antisemitism would help his cause, precisely because antisemitism would convince Jews that they had more of a chance of being successful outside of Europe than inside of Europe.
Hell, even Balfour (the Balfour declaration guy) was an antisemite, and thought that Zionism would
mitigate the age-long miseries created for Western civilization by the presence in its midst of a Body [the Jews] which it too long regarded as alien and even hostile, but which it was equally unable to expel or to absorb
He also thought that
We have to face the facts. Men are not born equal, the white and black races are not born with equal capacities: they are born with different capacities which education cannot and will not change.
With regards to disenfranchisement of black people in South Africa. This is the kind of people Zionists counted on for support.
During the interwar period, as part of its policy of supporting a Jewish state in Palestine in order to facilitate mass Jewish emigration from its territory, the Second Polish Republic provided military training and weapons to Zionist dparamilitary groups, including Haganah.
Hell, even if we restrict ourselves to the 1940s you have the USSR under Stalin, a notorious antisemite, supporting Israel with diplomacy and Czechoslovakian weapons. The latter especially was crucial to their victory in the war against the Arab states.
A lot to cover, but it started earlier than the 40s.
He’s partially correct, imo when the Zionist movement was growing (early 1900s) a large part of the colonist nations were quite content with having Jewish people leave their countries for Palestine without caring about what the results may be. Because they were absolutely antisemites.
This emigration was supercharged in the 30s, because of obvious reasons.
Then in 48 it was declared a state. Probably to try and wash their hands from their own behaviour in regards to Jewish people when it became public how fucked up the Nazis had treated them.
Jewish emigration had already started, and they were equally racist, so who gave a shit if Muslims lost their land.
Guess you could call it a co-op. Zionist wanted land, racists and antisemites wanted them out
That’s… Uh… No. Israel exists because European antisemites want somewhere to dump their Jews and answer “the Jewish question”, with two big pushes from early 20th century Russia and Nazi Germany. Before the Holocaust the position of most Jews around the world was “huh? What right do you have to dump me in buttfuck Palestine,” and even after the Holocaust it was far from a universal position. Let’s not pretend Israel was ever anything other than a settler colonialist project whose most ardent supporters were antisemites.
I’m a bit poorly informed about public and private discourse on the subject, in the late 1940-ties. Can you point me to any evidence which would substantiate that claim?
This goes a lot deeper than the 1940s.
Hell, even Balfour (the Balfour declaration guy) was an antisemite, and thought that Zionism would
He also thought that
With regards to disenfranchisement of black people in South Africa. This is the kind of people Zionists counted on for support.
You also have Zionist militias that would later become the IDF being sustained by Polish arms and training.
Hell, even if we restrict ourselves to the 1940s you have the USSR under Stalin, a notorious antisemite, supporting Israel with diplomacy and Czechoslovakian weapons. The latter especially was crucial to their victory in the war against the Arab states.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Zionism
A lot to cover, but it started earlier than the 40s. He’s partially correct, imo when the Zionist movement was growing (early 1900s) a large part of the colonist nations were quite content with having Jewish people leave their countries for Palestine without caring about what the results may be. Because they were absolutely antisemites. This emigration was supercharged in the 30s, because of obvious reasons. Then in 48 it was declared a state. Probably to try and wash their hands from their own behaviour in regards to Jewish people when it became public how fucked up the Nazis had treated them.
Jewish emigration had already started, and they were equally racist, so who gave a shit if Muslims lost their land.
Guess you could call it a co-op. Zionist wanted land, racists and antisemites wanted them out