Did Zionists Start Every Violent Clash in Palestine between 1882 and 1930?
The evidence suggests yes. The basic pattern: Zionists initiated, Palestinians retaliated
“Palestine, thinly populated, in which the Jews constitute today 10 per cent of the population, must be evacuated for the Jews.” — Nachman Syrkin, founder of Labor Zionism, 1898
“We are a generation of settlers, and without the steel helmet and gun barrel, we shall not be able to plant a tree or build a house.” — Moshe Dayan, Israeli Minister of Defense, 1956
When I began studying the creation of modern Israel, I saw something that surprised me: Before 1930, every major violent incident in Palestine was either clearly or plausibly started by Zionist settlers. None were clearly started by native Palestinians.
A general fact surprised me too: Unlike European Jews who went to countries like the US, most Zionists were segregationists.
“Let us not be too familiar with the Arab fellahin lest our children adopt their ways and learn from their ugly deeds. Let all those who are loyal to the Torah avoid ugliness and that which resembles it and keep their distance from the fellahin and their base attributes.” — Moshe Smilansky, 1890
“A preservation of…