What a Jewish State means for Jews, and what it means for Palestinians

A Jewish state has meant that Jews fleeing persecution have been able to find safe haven in Israel and obtain Israeli citizenship, while Palestinians fleeing persecution have not been able to find safe haven in Israel and have not been able to obtain Israeli citizenship.

For example, some 700,000 Jews found safe haven in Israel and obtained Israeli citizenship from 1948-1951.

Similarly, tens of thousands of Palestinians also sought safe haven in Israel from 1948-1951. These Palestinians were stateless refugees, just like the Jews, looking to find safe haven in their place of birth and country of origin, but because they were Palestinian, rather than Jewish refugees, they were not given safe haven, they were massacred. More than 1,000 Palestinians were shot and killed crossing the armistice lines in their attempt to return home between 1948-1951.

In 2018-2019, some sixty thousand Jews—some fleeing persecution, some not— immigrated to Israel and obtained Israeli citizenship.

In 2018-2019, tens of thousands of Palestinian — 100% of them fleeing persecution — also tried to enter Israel. It was known as the Great March of Return. It was a Ghandian style march of unarmed Palestinians demanding the right to return to the homes of their parents and gradnparents. After all, 75% of Gaza’s population have roots in what is now Israel.

Needless to say, these tens of thousands of Palestinians were not allowed to immigrate to Israel. Instead, they were massacred. The Israeli military killed 256 unarmed Palestinians who tried to enter Israel through these weekly marches in 2018 and 2019. These Palestinians were overwhelmingly the children and grandchildren of refugees, trying to return to the homes of their parents and grandparents. Had they been the children of Jewish refugees—or even the children of Jewish non-refugees—they would have been greeted with warm welcomes, free housing and Israeli passports. Alas, they were children of Palestinian refugees—so they were not offered an onramp to a better life, they were offered a bullet in the head or a life changing wound.

A Jewish state has meant that, since 1970, Jews can take over property once owned by other Jews before 1948 in East Jerusalem, whereas Palestinians cannot take over property once owned by Palestinians in East or West Jerusalem before 1948, not even property once owned by their own family.

This 1970 law explains how the infamous American Jewish settler Jacob Fauci found himself living in the garden of a Palestinian family's home in Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem. Jacob was correct when he said, “If I don’t steal your home, someone else will.” The benefactors of this bigoted Israeli law feel such a sense of impunity that many, like Jacob, proudly declare on camera they are in fact stealing Palestinian homes.

A Jewish state has meant that, a Jewish citizen of Israel can expect to be able to buy land [technically lease it for 100 years] in at least 80% of the land of state of Israel, whereas Palestinians are in practice barred from owning 80%+ of the land of the state of Israel. Israel keeps Palestinians out of 80% of the land of the state through its the regional councils and agricultural and community towns, from which Palestinian citizens are excluded with very rare exceptions. 53 regional councils in Israel govern ~850 rural towns & villages in Israel, covering 81% of state land in Israel. The mechanism by which Palestinians are prevented from buying land in these communities are the admissions committees, which deem Palestinians “an inappropriate fit” to live in such places.

A Jewish state has meant that if a Jew is arrested in Hebron, they must be bought before a judge within 24 hours, while a Palestinian arrested in Hebron must be brought before a judge within 192 hours. Similarly, if a Jew is arrested in Hebron, Israeli law requires they be informed of the reason, while Israeli law does not require Palestinians arrested in Hebron be informed of the reason. Jews arrested in Hebron go to civilian courts, while Palestinians arrested in Hebron go to military courts. Similarly, from 2006-2018, a Jew living in Hebron had access to 3G internet on their mobile phones, while a Palestinian living in Hebron was denied access to 3G internet on their mobile phones.

The Jewish State systematically dominates Palestinians—whether they live in Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem or Israel.

I pray that one day, Israelis will realize that, if they want to live in peace and security, they’ll have to end their system of domination over Palestinians.

With love,

-Zach