Palestinian Settler-Colonialism

[Draggingtree]

Palestinian Settler-Colonialism

By Dr. Alex JoffeSeptember 3, 2017

BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 577, September 3, 2017

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The concept of “settler colonialism” has been applied with almost unique vehemence against Israel. But the fact that Jews are the indigenous population of the Southern Levant can be proved with ease. In contrast, historical and genealogical evidence shows Palestinians descend primarily from three primary groups: Muslim invaders, Arab immigrants, and local converts to Islam. The Muslim conquest of Byzantine Palestine in the 7^th century CE is a textbook example of settler-colonialism, as is subsequent immigration, particularly during the 19^th and 20^th centuries under the Ottoman and British Empires. The application of the concept to Jews and Zionism by Palestinians is both ironic and unhelpful.

One of the mainstays of the modern university is the idea of settler-colonialism. This argues that certain societies are birthed by settlers implanted in a foreign territory, either directly by or with the consent of an imperial power. These colonists then dominate and eradicate the indigenous population. They develop bellicose cultures that eliminate the natives from historical, literary, and other narratives. Primary examples often cited are the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa and Rhodesia, and Israel.          https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/palestinians-settlers-colonialism/