HASBARA, INDIGENEITY & COEXISTENCE

Let’s cut through the crap around Palestinian indigeneity and Jewish “usurping.”

Yelling doesn’t make something true. But have fun!

Pro-Israel activists often lament that our messaging is bad. Our enemies know it too. So much so that, when our messaging is good, they call it “hasbara.”

Hasbara is the Hebrew word that basically means “explaining.” In the kooky anti-Israel conspiracy mindset (in which Hebrew is a secret code that allows the zios to communicate amongst themselves), it takes on the pallor of a devious, manipulative plot to pull wool over the eyes of the goyim.

Make a good case for Israel on social media and expect to be dismissed as purveying “hasbara.” (You can also expect to be dismissed as a Zionist shill in the pay of the Israeli government because, of course, to this crowd, Jews=money, so accusing people with a reasoned case for Israel of being paid propagandists is a natch.)

Of course, as I noted yesterday, our messaging is often ineffective, or even counterproductive. We do not have a snappy slogan on par with “Free Palestine!”

Our row is harder to hoe partly because the truth is usually a little trickier and more complex than simplistic lies.

But we also often make lives difficult for ourselves. We waste time barking up wrong trees.

Perfect example: “There is no such thing as a Palestinian.”

Even the late, great Golda got pilloried on this one. She wasn’t wrong — there was no “ethnic” group called “Palestinians” until Yasser Arafat effectively invented them in the 1960s. But Meir’s experience is also an object lesson that Zionist haven’t learned. The argument is moot.

The idea that “Palestinians” are an invented social category doesn’t change minds. It has no tangible benefit to our “side” and it derails the dialogue. So why use it?

An audience member at an event I spoke at recently made the case that, by contesting the presumed existence of “Palestinians” as a historical group with indigenous roots in the land, we reinforce the historical truth of Jewish indigeneity.

OK. That’s the best argument I’ve heard for this. But how about we take that approach and turn it into a more constructive, honest and humane perspective? Try using facts more effectively.

First of all, a real basic: A people is a people if they say they are a people.

There is nothing that defines a Canadian other than the simple fact that we live in a place called Canada. We fancy this up a bit with the idea that we agree on a few key elements of Canadianness. Multiculturalism that welcomes diverse people to become part of us. Universal healthcare that ensures no one is forced to go bankrupt because they get cancer. Being nice.

But these are all houses of cards. There are Canadians who emphatically don’t support multiculturalism or universal healthcare. And, perhaps never more than since October 7, there are plenty of Canadians who are demonstrably not nice.

There is, effectively, only one thing that makes us Canadian: We have agreed to be a collective called Canadian.

What do we get by “proving” that Palestinians are an invented people? Not much. Mostly a rep for being pedantic, snotty and exclusivist. How about we quit that?

On the other hand, advancing the genuine historical facts is good for the pro-Israel case. Truth is on our side.

Anyone with the faintest knowledge of history knows that Jews have the historical claim to indigeneity.

Of course, opponents will counter with a range of arguments.

The Bible doesn’t count as history, they say. (Archeology and actual written history do, though. And we should remind them of that.) Jews were in the land but they left and somehow abandoned their claim, say the critics. (This is a line of reasoning that they are rarely called on to defend. We should call them on that. Deets below.) Also, Palestinian leaders like Arafat and Abbas have denied even the incontrovertible reality of Jewish indigeneity, relying on creepy conspiracy theories and outright lies. We really should do a better job of shining a light on this senselessness.) Arabs, who originate, obviously, from Arabia, have been in the land for hundreds of years and usually outnumbered the Jews, who have been there for thousands of years but in smaller numbers, they contend. (But that is not how indigeneity works, either numerically or chronologically. We should really make that point better.)

It is truly shocking how many people believe that the land was literally devoid of Jews until 1948 when a bunch showed up. This allows deeply ahistorical ideas to flourish.

Jews have always lived in the land that is now Israel (and the Palestinian territories). Under the Roman occupation, after 70 CE and especially after 132 CE, most Jews were expelled. But not all.

Fast-forward to the 19th century. (Yes, this complexity is part of the reason we don’t have a slogan as snappy as “Free Palestine!” but we really have to do this.) Jews began slowly migrating to the area the Romans called Palestine from Europe and other parts of the world.

As the 20th century emerged into the bloodiest in history for Jews (beginning with pogroms in the first decade), more Jews fled Eastern Europe.

The Palestinian narrative depicts these people as invaders. But they were builders. And, as they built, impoverished Arabs from throughout the region flowed into the area to benefit from the economic growth spurred by Zionist pioneers.

Here’s the clincher. Numbers are disputed, but this is not: the Arab population in the area we call Palestine exploded between the end of the First World War and the end of the Second World War. It is difficult to dissect natural growth from migration, but it appears Arab in-migration into the area, again, drawn by massively improved economic and health conditions created by Jews, ranged from 100% to 120%.

Put simply: the Zionist usurper/Arab indigeneity narrative is dead wrong (as are most simplistic formulations). Some Jews in Israel and Palestine can trace their lineage in the land back hundreds of generations. Some Palestinians can trace it back two generations.

So let’s cut the crap around Palestinian indigeneity trumping Jewish indigeneity.

But before my Zionist friends declare victory, let’s also cut the crap on our side.

Palestinians are there now.

Two things can be true at the same time. Jews are the indigenous people of Israel. But Palestinians exist (as both actual people and as a conceptual group, and it is stupid, fruitless and inhumane to argue otherwise). Neither people are going anywhere.

So, let’s do two things.

Let’s speak the truth about Palestinian indigeneity and Jewish “usurping.” It’s historically, morally and strategically wrong.

And let’s speak the truth by avoiding reckless and pathetic lines like “There’s no such thing as a Palestinian.” It’s juvenile, makes Zionists look petty and insensitive, and has probably never changed a single mind.

Jews (Israelis) and Arabs (Palestinians) are there now. Peace will come only when both sides accept the existence and rights of the other.

Strategically, this advantages us, the Zionists. Because we’ve basically already done this. The “pro-Palestinians” haven’t.

True, there is a lot more intolerance lately among pro-Israel voices. The two-state solution is not as popular as it once was — but that’s because the Palestinians and their allies have given little to no reason to believe they will ever live in peace or accept Jewish self-determination.

But Zionism is premised on coexistence. Anti-Zionism opposes coexistence.

Come to think … why don’t we make that our mantra?