Very recently, I was honored with a phone call from a native
American tribal leader who was, perhaps surprisingly to many as it was to me,
on a visit to Israel.
He told me of his passionate support for Israel. He rightly
saw the Jews as the indigenous people of the land, something that appealed to
his own tribal history. He also saw our modern history, including the return of the Jewish people to their land, as a confirmation of his biblical teachings.
He shocked me by what he told me next. The Palestinians have
been conducting a well-orchestrated propaganda campaign to reach the hearts and
minds of this ignored American community. My new contact informed me that much
of the funding and organization of this anti-Israel jihad is based in Turkey. Sections of Hamas
operates from there after becoming severely restricted in Gaza.
The campaign is based on strategic disinformation.
Native Americans are reminded of a history of being indigenous natives of
America who have had their land occupied by white colonial supremacists and suffering centuries of oppression, which parallels the so-called history of the
Palestinian people who have also been robbed of their land and suppressed by
colonial white oppressors.
This simple message is having an effect, particularly as
native Americans (and to a large extent, native Canadians) have been ignored by
the Israeli government as if they do not exist. The battleground of thoughts, ideas, history, and facts have been left deserted, vacant for the false narratives of our adversaries ot take effect. This has to stop.
.
A recent phenomenon highlighted the ignorance of the Israeli
authorities over the identity of native Americans and Canadians.
This month, Netanya hosted the World Lacrosse
Championships. Competitors from around the world are having their first
experience of Israel. They are loving their visit, and the games have been organized
superbly. Competitors from diverse countries such as Hong Kong, Poland, Uganda,
Luxembourg, China, Turkey, Peru, South Korea, Peru, join the major nations of
the world in this important sporting event.
Also participating are players representing
the Iroquois National lacrosse team based in Canada. It was touch and go
before they received their permits to come to Israel at the last minute. They
were waiting at Toronto Pearson Airport as bureaucratic efforts were being made
to allow them to travel to Israel on their native Haudenosaunee passports,
rather than on Canadian passports. Their plane was delayed for three hours.
The bureaucratic impasse was
solved thanks to the intervention of Irwin Cotler, a former Canadian Justice
Minister, who pulled strings at top level both in Canada and in Israel. In the
end they arrived and were met by VIPs including former Knesset Member, Dov
Lipman, to welcome them to Israel.
They had also come under enormous pressure from the BDS Movement to boycott the event, but their passion for their sport and their desire to participate in the World Championships was a no-brainer for them.
In trying to dissuade the Iroquois not to come, BDS used a fraudulent Palestinian message that the famous Wingate Institute, which
houses Israel’s sporting excellent projects and facilities and one of the many
venues for the lacrosse event, was once an Arab village named Khirbat al-Zababida
which, they claimed, was “ethnically-cleansed” of its “Palestinian” inhabitants
in 1948.
BDS with this, as with everything else they push, was wrong. They were referring to the nearby villages of
Yakum and Gaash which, between 1944 and 1945 was predominantly Jewish owned,
the Arab landlords having sold barren land to the Palestinian Jews. The same
Arab landlords ordered the Arab peasants, who had no ownership rights to the land, to vacate the land to the new owners
who intended to develop the land for large scale agricultural purposes which
they did, employing many Arabs in its development.
These are Israeli facts, not the hateful fantasies of BDS.
Native Americans and Canadians need to hear our story. A story of an ancient people
returning to join our fellow Jews who never deserted the land for three
thousand years when it was the Land of Israel. Today, it has become the only
truly diverse nation in the Middle East where all are free to practice their
faith and traditions and to be represented in our democracy in the Knesset,
our national congress.
Native Americans and Canadians are a willing audience who
must get to hear our message. They have been ignored not only by the Israeli government
but also by Jewish and Christian Zionist organizations as if they don’t exist
and don’t have a voice.
Yet, these are precisely the type of communities that could
and should spread the truth about our history, both ancient and contemporary, for
our story resonates with them.
The Jews were indigenous to our
ancient land way before the birth of Islam, and those who are returning to take pride in the re-establishment
of our national home, share our love of the land.
Our message is a positive message
of reclamation personified in the glorious success and example of Israel.
The one simple truth that comes out of this, is this. That
native Americans, native Canadians, indeed native people from everywhere have
one thing in common with the Jews of Israel. We are all the original indigenous
people in our own lands. This is the simple truth that no BDS, Palestinian propagandist
can take away from us.
In an age of diversity and minority voices, instead of being
BDS-trained enemies of Israel, native Americans and Canadians can become the
most resonant ambassadors for Israel.
There are anti-Israel haters, BDS among them, who are
teaching them a false doctrine. There can be no salvation or prophecy based on
lies.
Let’s do something affirmative to help them.
Barry Shaw is the Senior Associate for Public Diplomacy
at the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies.
He is the author of ‘Fighting Hamas, BDS, and
Anti-Semitism’ and BDS for IDIOTS.’ Both available on Amazon.
An excellent article, as always, Barry!
ReplyDeleteA small note with regard to the purchase of land in the yishuv. When land was purchased from absentee landlords, tenant farmers, if any, were displaced, but according to Arieh L. Avneri's detailed history "The Claim of Dispossession: Jewish Land Settlement and the Arabs 1878-1948", they were paid compensation for the disruption of moving.
ReplyDeleteThat’s a lie. No compensation was ever given.
Deletegreat article
ReplyDeletethe arab propaganda in USA is strong and efficient ... but many people need to be educated
ReplyDeleteSuch nonsense. I won’t honor you with a more elaborate response.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat a self obsessed article.
ReplyDelete