The antisemitic lie that Israel was not a country during WWII needs to end. Israel did not go anywhere during the 1,812 years of occupations. Not one year was Jew-free since Jews emerged as a distinct race from the Semitic tribes in Judea & Samaria 4,000+ years ago.
By the time Judea fell to the Romans in 136 AD (after 3 very expensive wars for the Roman Empire), Jews conquered and expanded territory west to Gaza, north to what is now southern Lebanon, south to the Negev, and east to what would eventually be stolen by Churchill and renamed to Transjordan in 1922.
Jews had thriving societies across Israel during occupation years. What was missing was not physical land, but sovereignty.
During WWII, Israel was under British occupation. The Mandate was simply a legal promise to restore sovereignty to Jews in the Judean homeland. However, barely two years in after the San Remo Accords in 1920, the Mandate was grossly violated by Churchill, who was Colonial Secretary, and it turned into an illegal occupation. That is what spurred the Jewish resistance groups to rise up and fight the British for the next 20+ years to kick out the British and liberate Israel.
Zionism Historical Accuracy Fact: One of the most antisemitic and dangerous lies even Zionists share is that Israel is part of the West, that it has Western values. Saying so completely erases the Middle Eastern legitimacy of Israel, of Judeans, and upholds the antisemitic lie of ‘Judeo-Christian’ values.
The term ‘Judeo-Christian’ emerged from the Inquisition and referred to forcibly ‘converted’ Jews. It was never a positive term and one steeped deep in Judean bloodshed. Further, in the 19th – early 20th centuries in America, it referred to Jews who ‘converted’ to Christianity in order to hide their racial Judean roots. It has ALWAYS been an antisemitic term, one that for some reason especially Jews are helping to sanitize.
A bit about me and my Zionism work, if anyone would like to join forces:
For 20 years, I was an anti-Israel Jew, not due to the media, but largely due to the Jewish organizations I was part of, who would misinform that Israel was ‘founded’ in 1948, that Herzl had anything to do with it, or even more laughable, the UN. Antisemitic terms such as ‘Palestinians’ to mean the Arab occupiers, and not the indigenous Jews in Israel, who were called Palestinians from 136 AD – 1948, West Bank, settlers, settlements, Green Line, and East Jerusalem. Other lies included that all Jews were exiled after 136 AD. Or that Jews came to Israel per a Biblical story and not invoking actual history, that Jews literally emerged from Semitic tribes in Judea & Samaria 4,000 years ago.
None mentioned that Gaza was Judean land since 145 BC, and to this day, legally, per international law (Article 80) still belongs to Israel. Or that Gaza was an epicenter of Judean life in numerous eras prior to the liberation of Israel, in 1948, by brave Jews after 20 years of fighting the British occupiers. Or that most of the Arab occupiers in Jewish Gaza are not ‘Gazans’ but former Egyptian nationals settled in after 1947/48 and radicalized, or that the other smaller cohort are former Israeli-Arabs who came to Israel originally from 25 different Muslim nations, and who then fled to Gaza, once Egypt stole Gaza, to help Arab armies kill Jews faster in the 1947-1948 War.
In 2014, I became a Zionist, and began to learn actual Judean history along with the history of Israel, as that is interwoven. Social media posting turned into becoming a published op-ed writer on the topics of Israel, antisemitism, and politics. Thousands of people since then have been converted to being pro-Israel solely by my sharing irrefutable facts and history. To date, I have been published over 50 times in both Jewish and non-Jewish publications. And, in 2022, I launched Taking Back the Narrative (www.tbtnisrael.com), a Zionism education company.
All my materials were triple vetted by top Middle Eastern affairs experts, and in the few years of the company being in operation, 7 classes of Israel Explained: Through the Lens of History have been completed, with on average of 100 students per class (worldwide, over Zoom), a newsletter, a Zionism-oriented podcast, The Zionist Corner, and I have been a featured speaker on podcasts, tv segments, and a speaker for both Jewish and non-Jewish groups in person and online.
https://tbtnisrael.com/zionism-glossary-combat-antisemitism/
https://tbtnisrael.com/articles/
https://tbtnisrael.com/zionism-education-services/
https://tbtnisrael.com/tbtn-in-the-media/
https://tbtnisrael.com/zionism-education-class/ (next course will begin either mid August or early October, will decide within the next few days).
My classes are perfect for those who are seeking to effectively push back on antisemitic lies. If anyone is interested in a meeting to potentially partner on any aspect of Zionism outreach, I welcome any inquiries. The range of educational services TBTN offers is outlined above.
I am currently also working on a ‘tear sheet’ on Israel to counter the false ones out there, to spread to colleges and universities come fall.
