Israel is a complicated place, we all know that. But as Jews today, we have been tasked with defending her. So, it is our conviction to do so with all our might: that means learning what we can now, for when we need it later. Welcome to your crash course in Israeli history! 

The modern State of Israel was established in 1948, but her story stretches back nearly 3,000 years to the land of Eretz Yisrael, where the Kingdom of Judah (Judea) once stood. That is where we get our name, Jews. The kingdom only lasted roughly 345 years, yet it laid the foundation for our eternal connection to this land.

After the destruction of the First Temple in Judea, the Babylonian Exile began. Jews were forced from our homeland, but we never lost our bond with the soil. Even in exile, our identity, culture, and religion kept the dream alive, planting the seeds for what would centuries later become modern Zionism.

Following Babylonian rule, the Romans came, as they almost always do. Their first mark on this story is the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, as a consequence for Jewish revolt against the oppressive regime they implemented. Following this revolt, called the Bar Kokhba Revolt, Jews were once again expelled from Jerusalem, and the land was faced with a new fate, lying in a simple toponym: Syria Palaestina. 

Wait, what?! Palaestina, like Palestine? Yes, you would be correct. But the story behind that name is not what you think it is. The name was chosen under Roman Emperor Hadrian as a means of punishing the Israelites, by renaming what had historically been their land, to that of their mortal enemies, the Philistines. The very basis of this decision was to delegitimize and weaken the Jews’ connection with this land. It is important to note that the Philistines lived only in the time of the Bible, and have no connection or correlation with modern Palestinians despite their similar-sounding names. 

The next 1500 years were filled with early Islamic conquest and Christian crusaders, however in the grand scheme of defending the validity of modern Zionist philosophy, they play minor roles. It is important to note however, that for these 1500 years, Jews were not allowed to live in Jerusalem, with various periods of exile for Muslims and Christians as well. 

Afterwards came the Ottomans, who largely neglected the land for about 400 years. The population was sparse, the land was underdeveloped, yet Jewish communities existed continuously, most notably in Jerusalem, Safed, Tiberias, and Hebron. After WW1, the Ottoman Empire collapsed and the land had no enumerated authority. For the entirety of time since Roman rule, this land has been referred to as the Roman toponym, Syria Palaestina. 

Near the end of 1917, the British Mandate of Palestine began. This is largely accepted as the beginning of our modern state’s short, but complex history. The British recognized the historical connection of the Jewish people to the land and supported a Jewish national home. Jewish immigration and development dramatically improved agriculture, infrastructure, and public health. Nearby Arab leadership, though, rejected this compromise and violently opposed Jewish self-determination, not dissimilar to today. 

As WW2 and HaShoah came to an end in 1948, Britain, along with most of the world, recognized the need for a sovereign Jewish State. The Peel Commission was established in 1937, proposing partition of the land into two states: one Jewish and one Arab. There were several issues with the partition, like giving the Jews only the unusable land of the Negev with fragmented borders that were hard to defend, but the Jews still accepted it. The Arabs, on the other hand, rejected this plan entirely and chose war instead. 

In 1947-49, Israel fought a defensive war for independence after Arab states invaded following UN approval. Later in 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israel captured the territories of the Golan Heights, Judea and Samaria, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Gaza Strip. 

Hold up, Judea and Samaria? I thought you said that this land hadn’t been called that for 2000 years. It’s a confusing name, because it's to the east of Israel. However, the term “West Bank” originates from Jordan’s illegal 1948 occupation of the area west of the Jordan River. Historically and legally, the region is Judea and Samaria, the heartland of ancient Jewish civilization. The modern term obscures Jewish historical ties and prior sovereignty. That’s why the term “occupation” in reference to Palestinian territories is misleading. Occupation implies the land belonged to a recognized sovereign state, which it did not. Jordan’s prior control was illegal and recognized by almost no one. Therefore, the territory is also disputed, not occupied.

And now for the big question: how can we be colonizers in our own land? Colonization is when an external power seizes a territory, imposes its culture, exploits its resources, and displaces the people who live there. We are not colonizers. We are returning to the land of our ancestors, the land that gave us our name, our identity, and our faith. Like Native Americans reclaiming ancestral territory, Jews have returned to rebuild, defend, and thrive in our own homeland, not to exploit it, not to settle someone else’s land, but to reclaim our own.

This is not the complete story. There are many perspectives, countless details, and the last fifty years are yet to be explored. But I hope this serves as a starting point for your education and understanding, a foundation for the intellectual defense of our country and our people. We may not wear uniforms, but we are on the front lines every day, standing for the Jewish people’s right to exist. Take pride in that responsibility, embrace it fully, and carry it forward with knowledge, courage, and conviction.

Kol HaKavod.