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Calling it a "settler colonial ethnostate" is precisely the political lens that I'm criticizing. It does not properly capture the complexity and nuance of the c

• Kednicma 6y ago
  Well, for starters, Judaism never really left the Levant. When the rich were captured by the Babylonians and taken East, about 80% of the population stayed, and when the descendants of those captured returned, they called those who stayed Samaritans and refused to recognize them as being the same folks. Same story when the Romans destroyed the Temple and scattered the rich. Whoever got to write the histories got to tilt the discussion of who mattered as a real believer and who was an imitator. What you see as a complex and nuanced affair, I see as thousands of years of misled believers of Abraham and Ishmael carrying out fulfillment of myths and legends by committing violence upon each other, with this latest installment of violence originating in precisely the mid-40s relocation efforts that the article is detailing and critiquing.
  • dagav 6y ago
    I'm not sure your first point matters. There is one canonical Jewish nation today who live and die by the Torah. The history of Jews isn't them committing violence against others, but of violence being committed onto them. The Jews in the diaspora weren't going around stealing people's land and possessions, they were merely trying to live in peace, integrate into whichever nation they were a part of, and suffered pograms, massacres, and blood libel for trying. The violence in 20th centruy started to defend their nation from a second Holocaust, once the lesson had been learned that integration into another nation was impossible. Your impression of Jews as violent people is horribly misguided.
    • Kednicma 6y ago
      My impression is that everybody in the Bronze and Iron Ages were more violent, and my aim is to advocate for less violence overall, including less religious violence. It happens that the religious violence is rooted in religion, and it also happens that the religions are based on mythological histories; if people were more cognizant of the history, they would be less willing to kill for some nebulous-yet-murderous Creator. The entire history of the region [0] is worth examining, but I'll highlight one sample which is both indicative of the era and also happens to show Israelites conquering and subjugating their neighbors: The Mesha Stele [1] tells of a time when the Moabites were occupied by Omri (or one of his family), a biblical king of Israel. In more modern times, I can point to the Six Day War [2], the conflict which serves as the capstone to the era of Israel's history covered in the original article, and in which Israel achieved a stunning and decisive military victory over its neighbors. The history of everybody is committing violence against others, and having violence done to them in turn. It's up to us as humans to choose to do better. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ancient_Israel_and_Judah https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ancient_Israel_and_... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesha_Stele https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesha_Stele [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-Day_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-Day_War
      • aaomidi 6y ago
        And to add to your point using past violence to justify new violence on innocent people is fucked. Beyond fucked.