Three Things Every Jew Needs to Hear at the Seder This Year
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How science, history, and fundamental concepts of fairness inform my support for Israel.
Although my Jewish identity and my religion undeniably shape my perspective, they are not the primary factors that lead me to advocate for Israel.
Founded on facts not faith, my pro-Israel views arise from the same logic and reason I use every day in my profession as a software engineer. Moreover, much of my reasoning lies in fundamental concepts of fairness that are so basic and so intuitive that even my three-year-old niece understands and readily accepts them.
No country other than Israel has been expected to surrender territory to those blatantly seeking its annihilation, and Israel is the only country whose right to exist is forever questioned. In a world where there are 50 Muslim-majority countries and 157 Christian-majority countries, I refuse to acquiesce to the logic of those who think that one country with a Jewish majority is one too many.
To those who argue that Israel’s land is Muslim land, I ask where is Jewish land? Morocco, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran, Tunisia, Western Sahara, Yemen, Iraq, Mauritania, Mayotte, Maldives, Niger, Comoros, Turkey, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Djibouti, Senegal, Libya, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Egypt, Turkmenistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Bangladesh are not only Muslim-majority but have populations that are between 90% and 100% Muslim. While there is no Jewish country with a population that is more than 75% Jewish, many champion the need for yet another country that is 100% Muslim.
In addition, there is not one Jewish citizen allowed in Palestinian territories such as Gaza, Ramallah, Nablus, and Jenin, although there are over two million Israeli citizens who are Muslim.
I stand with Israel because I believe in science. Just as I believe that climate change is real, I believe the thousands of archaeological artifacts that support the Jewish people’s connection to the land. Recently a 1,500-year-old limestone decorated with menorahs was found. Yet people continue to deny our historical association with the land.
I stand with Israel because I have studied the history of the region. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any nation except Israel and there has never been a sovereign Palestinian country. In the 1960’s the concept of the “Palestinian” people was invented when PLO leader Yasser Arafat collaborated with the Soviet Union to advance anti-Western ideology. Arafat himself was not from Palestine, but was born in Egypt, and most of the “Palestinians” today descend from Arabs from neighboring countries who immigrated to the area in the 1920’s and 1930’s.
Before the 1960’s the word “Palestinian” referred primarily to Jews who lived in the region, and this fact is provable if you look at old newspaper articles. In just one example, on December 4, 1945, the New York Times published an article with the headline, “ARABS TO BOYCOTT PALESTINIAN GOODS”, and a subheading that read, “Vote Action Against Jewish Industry, Charging Tie with Zionism and Political Aims.”
I stand with Israel because history has shown that the goal of the Palestinians is a nefarious one that aims not to create a Palestinian state but to eliminate the Jewish state. Had the Arabs wanted a Palestinian state, they could have had one many times, but each time they were offered a state of their own, they pushed it away with both hands. By 1948, Arabs had already rejected several offers, including the 1937 Peel Plan, the 1939 British White Paper, and the 1947 U.N. partition plan. They later rejected offers for a Palestinian state in 1967, 1973, 1994, 2000, 2008, and 2019, and continued with a strategy involving war and terrorism.
I stand with Israel because history has proven its necessity. To understand the need for Jewish self-determination, I can look at over two millennia of Jewish persecution that occurred because our safety was left to the whims of others, or I can simply look at three days in October, 2023. On October 6, Jews had a false sense of security. On October 7, they were tortured and slaughtered. On October 8, we saw the masses rise up against us, supporting the murderers instead of the victims. Bari Weiss, editor at the Free Press, said, “We expected Hamas to try to kill Jews. We didn’t expect Americans to celebrate when they did.”
Some might argue that because Israel has provided a convenient excuse for people to justify their antisemitism, Israel’s existence makes us less safe. However, as horrific as the Oct. 7 pogrom was, throughout history the pogroms against Jews were far more tragic because Jews had no army and no means to defend themselves. Despite the rise in antisemitism, cloaked in anti-Zionism, the Jewish need for Israel is more important than ever. The late Elie Wiesel captured the criticality of Israel when he said, "As a Jew, I need Israel. More precisely: I can live as a Jew outside Israel, but not without Israel."
Yet with all of its challenges, Israel continues to rank as one of the happiest countries in the world. Some might find it difficult to understand how people living in a country beset with internal political division, condemnation on the world stage, an ongoing war, and a constant barrage of missiles, can still consider themselves happy. Part of the answer can be found in the flag.
In May a giant Israeli flag was unfurled at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Unlike the Palestinian flag, the Israeli flag is not used to call for the destruction of a country or a people. The ubiquitous Israeli flag is widely flown in both left-wing and right-wing protests. It is also used by Israelis and Israel supporters all over the world who, despite the challenges of war and the drastic increase in antisemitism, wave the blue and white flag while joyfully singing and dancing.
The joy that emanates from this flag, encapsulating the resilience and tenacity of a people who rose from the ashes to build a thriving democratic state in their ancestral homeland, is yet one more reason that inspires me to stand with Israel now and forever.
Perhaps climate change might be real, but not man-made climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. In reality, the global climate system, with all its influences (both natural and man-made), is quite complex and chaotic. There have been countless variations and cycles of warm, cold, etc. for millennia, with this present-day stretch being no real different.
The notion that greenhouse gas emissions are the major culprit of global climate change is presented in the mainstream media every bit as tendentiously as the pro-Palestinian side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict...and then some. I think, personally, that someone like me who doesn't believe in the mainstream narrative of climate change is the equivalent of being pro-Israel.
Just ask Nir Shaviv or Google him!
Thank you for sharing this excellent, intelligent and thoroughly honest piece.
Only fools and bigots would fail to see your point!
Davis, like so many other supporters of Israel, is expert at avoiding the key point: If, as she says, there shouldn't be a Palestinian state, and in fact one is now impossible, then there is one state. Already. In fact, many political scientists refer to "the one-state reality" and Israel's own official maps show the entire region from the river to the sea as Israel. So, in that one state that already exists de facto, tell me Ms. Davis, why shouldn't it become a democracy where everyone can vote for their rulers in the Knesset? If that is unthinkable, what is to become of the Palestinians? Then the only future for them is expulsion and extermination, as has been happening to them for 58 years on the West Bank, excuse me, Judea & Samaria. Why "stand" with that?
Congratulations on yet another "clever" (in your eyes, anyway)
attempt at obfuscating the truth!
Your bleeding heart is pathetically devoted to the dregs of humanity—those who are the very paradigm of hatred, lying, thievery and murder committed with glee.
But apparently this provides a good cover for your own refusal to recognize the truth, which is clearly the consequence of the thinly veiled hatred you harbor against the real victims of inhuman cruelty.
As an educated person, you must have learned somewhere along the line that evil does not prevail, and its henchmen go down in ignominy right along with the evildoers.
Really? Millions of ordinary people, children, women, they're "the dregs of humanity"? If anyone said that about Jews, you would be outraged by the open antisemitism, but you say the same thing and you're proud!
Unfortunately, giving voting rights to the population of Judea and Samaria will inevitably end in a bloody civil war, which has two possible outcomes:
In both possibilities there is much bloodshed and many innocent civilians killed, on both sides. Neither is a good option.
Talk of a peaceful "binational state" is utopian nonsense.
So then what will happen to these people?
So if someone said "Jews shouldn't be allowed to vote in the US because by threatening the dominance of WASPs they would create horrific conflict," you would say, "Makes sense to me"? The problem is the dominance of one ruling ethnic group in the first place!
You are following no principle other than "us over them." If someone said you should have no rights in the US due to your ethnic group or religion, you'd be outraged. But you're not outraged when the same is done by you (or people you perceive as "us") to others.
Look, I’m very proud of my Jewish identity — very proud — and my religion, it’s important, it’s great, we love it. But let me tell you, that’s not the main reason I support Israel. No, no. I support Israel because it just makes sense. It’s smart. It’s strong. It’s the right thing to do. Nobody’s been better to Israel than me — everybody knows it. So yes, my faith shapes me — absolutely — but my support for Israel? That comes from understanding greatness when I see it. Very simple.
Sure..."President Trump," as believable as ever...