The October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre, which now reportedly leaves 1,200 Israelis and foreigners dead and 134 still held hostage, rewrites history and deprives Jews of the land of Israel. There are renewed attempts to claim that the US is a “foreign occupier” with no connection whatsoever.
Among the lies being spread are efforts to undermine Israel's legitimacy by accusing it of being a settler-colonial state. Those who spread this lie believe that Jews have no historical connection to the Land of Israel, and that Zionists (those who support Jewish self-determination and a homeland for the Land of Israel) have stolen the land from the Palestinians. They claim that they came to take over and colonize this land. It begins in the late 19th century. However, this claim ignores the deep, thousands of years of ties between Jews and the Land of Israel.
Here are five facts about the Jewish people's long connection to the Land of Israel.
- Jews have had a continuous presence in the Land of Israel.
Although the Romans expelled the majority of the Jews in 70 AD, Jews had always been present in the Land of Israel. Some Jews remained in Israel during the period of Jewish exile, and the rest settled around the world, becoming the Jewish diaspora. Jewish communities in particular existed throughout most of this era in the cities known as the Four Holy Cities: Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed (Tzfat), and Tiberias. Jerusalem is the holiest site known for the Western Wall. Hebron is associated with the Cave of the Patriarchs, the traditional burial site of several important Biblical figures. Safed became the center of Jewish mysticism in his 16th century. Tiberias is famous for his Talmud in Byzantine Jerusalem.
- Israel was under Jewish leadership for hundreds of years in ancient times.
The ancient history of the Land of Israel includes centuries of Jewish rule over the land. From around 1000 B.C., at the beginning of the Iron Age, all of Israel came under the unified Kingdom of Judea under the rule of King Saul, King David, and King Solomon. As is known, the United Kingdom was divided around 931 BC into the Kingdom of Israel (Northern Kingdom) with its capital in Samaria and the Kingdom of Judah (Southern Kingdom) with its capital in Jerusalem. Both kingdoms remained under Jewish control. The Northern Kingdom was conquered by the Assyrian Empire in 722 BC and most of its inhabitants were expelled, while the Southern Kingdom remained under Jewish control until the Babylonian Empire conquered it in 586 BC and expelled many of the Jews. there was.
The Jews returned from exile under the Persian Empire and regained control of the land with the Hasmoneans in the 2nd century BC. The country then known as Judea became a Roman vassal state in 63 BC and was taken over by the Herodian dynasty, a Roman-controlled Jewish dynasty. In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and expelled many of the Jews living in Judea.
These kingdoms played an important role in the formation of Jewish history, religious traditions, and cultural identity, and the city of Jerusalem and the two great temples that once stood there are featured in the Biblical story and Jewish history. has special importance.
- Jerusalem is the holiest site in the Jewish faith.
Jerusalem has been the spiritual, religious, and national center of the Jewish people for thousands of years. About 3,000 years ago, Jerusalem became the capital of Israel during the reign of King David. Jerusalem had two great temples and was the center of Jewish worship for hundreds of years. The first temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century BC, but was destroyed by the Babylonian Empire in 586 BC. The Babylonian Empire besieged the city of Jerusalem, leveled the holy city, and forcibly expelled the Jews from the kingdom of Judah.
The second temple was built less than a century later and was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The Romans also destroyed the Jewish capital and forcibly expelled most of the Jewish population. The loss of the Temple had a major impact on the Jewish faith.
Even after the destruction of the Second Temple and the expulsion of the Jews from the land, Jerusalem remained the center of Jewish life, and remains so today. No matter where Jews pray, they always face Jerusalem. The Western Wall, the last remaining part of the Second Temple structure, is the holiest site in the world for Jews. At Jewish weddings, it is traditional for the groom to break a glass to commemorate the destruction of the Temple. At the end of the Passover Seder, Jews chant, “Next year we will be in Jerusalem!”
- Even during their exile, Jews continued to yearn to return to Israel.
Despite being scattered around the world at different times in history, Jews maintained strong ties to the Land of Israel through religious practices, prayers, and an enduring hope of ultimately returning home. .
Diaspora Jews aspire to return to the Jewish homeland and the Jewish holy city of Jerusalem, both of which are mentioned numerous times in daily Jewish prayers.
Traditional Jewish religious thought stated that Jews were expelled from their homeland as a punishment from God. They could only return to the time of the Messiah. This belief kept most Jews from considering returning to Israel.
However, in the 19th century, as Europe's Jews suffered from increasing anti-Semitism and violence against Jews, a new ideology was born: Zionism, a Jewish national liberation movement. Zionists saw the return of the Jews to their homeland as a way to rescue them from thousands of years of oppression. Small groups of Zionist pioneers began returning to their ancient homeland in the late 19th century, joining Jewish communities they had never left.
The founding of the State of Israel in 1948 fulfilled the long-held dream of a Jewish homeland, and since then, Israel has become the center of Jewish identity and culture for millions of Jews around the world. Israel is seen as a place of refuge, a cultural renaissance, and a symbol of Jewish national self-determination.
- Israel plays a central role in the Bible.
The Land of Israel is the center of Jewish faith and is mentioned throughout the Bible. In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God promises the land of Israel to Abraham, the first Jew, and then reaffirms his promise to Abraham's son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. In fact, the name Israel is another name for Jacob.
In the book of Exodus, Moses promises to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery and oppression and bring them back to the land of their ancestors, the land of Israel. The books of Judges and Kings tell the story of the Jews who ruled the land of Israel, and many accounts in these books are historically accurate due to archaeological discoveries and Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian sources. It has been proven that.