Israel's enemies would like to portray Israel as a recent contaminant, an intruder among long-established countries with settled borders and governments. Reality is far different. Civilizations of the Middle East, including the Jews, were consecutively conquered by Persians, Romans, Arabs, Turks and then the Portuguese, French and English. The grip of English and French colonialism was only released after the world wars of the 20th century.
Most of the countries of the Middle East are of quite recent origin. The borders of the modern countries in the Middle East reflect power politics of the European colonists and the turmoil of the post-colonial era far more than any ancient heritage. In many cases the current leaders are merely the victors in recent power struggles, after a series of changes, rather than the lineage of long established rulers. The government of Israel, established in its present form in 1948, is actually older than the governments of many of the Islamic countries, not to mention that Israel's government derives from the consent of the people of Israel, in stark contrast with the Islamic monarchies and dictatorships.
There is a common history to much of the Middle East, as it was conquered in whole or part by far stronger outside forces -- e.g., Greece, Rome, Mongols, Crusaders, European colonialists -- and dominated from within the Middle East by the strongest powers -- e.g., Persia, Egypt, Arabs, Turks. For thousands of years, armies swept across the lands, slaughtering and pillaging as they went, sometimes establishing new nations, sometimes stimulating cultural change, sometimes just moving on.
The net result of the millennia of conquests and migrations was Islamic, Arabic-speaking mixed peoples as the majority in all areas of the Middle East and beyond, erasing the prior history, peoples and borders. Even though Jews were most of the people of Judea before it was lost to the Romans and there was a substantial Jewish population in other regions as well, they were reduced to small minorities as the result of deliberate campaigns to shrink their numbers and not due to any natural balance.
However, there is one big difference between Israel and all the other countries. While other languages and cultures largely disappeared, the Jewish people, culture, and Hebrew language survived and continued to assert their connection to their land, Eretz Yisrael. The Jews did not get the opportunity to regain their majority in their country until the 20th century due to expulsion, systematic persecution and slaughter by Romans, Muslims, Christians and other groups. Furthermore, in the 20th century, immigration by Jews wishing to live in the Jewish homeland of the Mandate for Palestine was restricted until Israel was re-established in 1948. But, despite all, in an unprecedented achievement, Israel returned.
In the region, right up to the present day, kingdoms and tribes rose and fell as they battled over who would dominate and how the region's resources would be divided. They succumbed to outside forces then rose up and threw them off. Borders were fluid, populations in motion, the rights of rulers in doubt, and alliances fleeting. This pattern continues right up to the end of the 20th century with treaties made and broken, invasions, coups, assassinations, mass murder, population transfers, and political and social turmoil far more common than stable government and peace between neighbors. The re-establishment of Israel in 1948 was one upheaval among many, not an isolated or special case. In this context, the re-establishment of Israel can be seen for what it is -- the culmination of historical forces restoring the Jewish people to their land in a region where such realignments are commonplace. The anomaly is the failure of the Arabs of the region to accept Israel and adjust to the change -- they have adjusted time and again to much larger changes.
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Chuck Chriss is the President of the Jewish Internet Association. He can be reached at chuck@jia.org.il
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Spend Passover with Arutz Sheva at a resort in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Kfar Pines (near Hadera). Click here for info.
Most of the countries of the Middle East are of quite recent origin. The borders of the modern countries in the Middle East reflect power politics of the European colonists and the turmoil of the post-colonial era far more than any ancient heritage. In many cases the current leaders are merely the victors in recent power struggles, after a series of changes, rather than the lineage of long established rulers. The government of Israel, established in its present form in 1948, is actually older than the governments of many of the Islamic countries, not to mention that Israel's government derives from the consent of the people of Israel, in stark contrast with the Islamic monarchies and dictatorships.
There is a common history to much of the Middle East, as it was conquered in whole or part by far stronger outside forces -- e.g., Greece, Rome, Mongols, Crusaders, European colonialists -- and dominated from within the Middle East by the strongest powers -- e.g., Persia, Egypt, Arabs, Turks. For thousands of years, armies swept across the lands, slaughtering and pillaging as they went, sometimes establishing new nations, sometimes stimulating cultural change, sometimes just moving on.
The net result of the millennia of conquests and migrations was Islamic, Arabic-speaking mixed peoples as the majority in all areas of the Middle East and beyond, erasing the prior history, peoples and borders. Even though Jews were most of the people of Judea before it was lost to the Romans and there was a substantial Jewish population in other regions as well, they were reduced to small minorities as the result of deliberate campaigns to shrink their numbers and not due to any natural balance.
However, there is one big difference between Israel and all the other countries. While other languages and cultures largely disappeared, the Jewish people, culture, and Hebrew language survived and continued to assert their connection to their land, Eretz Yisrael. The Jews did not get the opportunity to regain their majority in their country until the 20th century due to expulsion, systematic persecution and slaughter by Romans, Muslims, Christians and other groups. Furthermore, in the 20th century, immigration by Jews wishing to live in the Jewish homeland of the Mandate for Palestine was restricted until Israel was re-established in 1948. But, despite all, in an unprecedented achievement, Israel returned.
In the region, right up to the present day, kingdoms and tribes rose and fell as they battled over who would dominate and how the region's resources would be divided. They succumbed to outside forces then rose up and threw them off. Borders were fluid, populations in motion, the rights of rulers in doubt, and alliances fleeting. This pattern continues right up to the end of the 20th century with treaties made and broken, invasions, coups, assassinations, mass murder, population transfers, and political and social turmoil far more common than stable government and peace between neighbors. The re-establishment of Israel in 1948 was one upheaval among many, not an isolated or special case. In this context, the re-establishment of Israel can be seen for what it is -- the culmination of historical forces restoring the Jewish people to their land in a region where such realignments are commonplace. The anomaly is the failure of the Arabs of the region to accept Israel and adjust to the change -- they have adjusted time and again to much larger changes.
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Chuck Chriss is the President of the Jewish Internet Association. He can be reached at chuck@jia.org.il
--------------------------------------------------------
Spend Passover with Arutz Sheva at a resort in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Kfar Pines (near Hadera). Click here for info.