Israel Fails Every Definition of a Nation’s Right to Exist—Philosophical, Legal, and Religious
What Israel must do to deserve to exist
Zionists talk about Israel’s “right to exist” as though nations have rights, but they never ask the next question: What gives a nation the right to exist?
If a nation has a right to exist, it comes from three possible sources: for philosophers, it’s the consent of the local people; for legalists, it’s the approval of the international community; for the religious, it’s God’s will. Modern Israel fails all three.
1. Modern Israel fails the local people’s requirements
When Zionists say Arabs rejected the UN plan for Palestine, they mean two-thirds of the people living there rejected it. In 1947, twice as many Muslims as Jews lived in Palestine—to be precise, the largest ethnic groups were 1,181,000 Muslims, 630,000 Jews, and 143,000 Christians. Most of the Muslims and Christians were native Palestinians; most of the Jews were European colonists.
An overwhelming majority of the population rejected the UN plan because it called for dividing a land where Muslims, Jews, and Christians had lived in peace and giving over half of the land to a third of its people, the European newcomers who only owned 6% of the land.
Instead of negotiating a fairer plan, Zionists launched Plan Dalet, using their larger and better-armed army to drive 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and destroy 400 of their villages. Three decades later, Israel started the Six-Days War, again using its superior military to seize land. None of the conquered and dispossessed people have ever had a chance to vote on what Zionists did, so Israel does not have a philosophical right to exist.
2. Modern Israel fails the international community’s requirements
In 1948, the United Nations passed Resolution 194:
refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.
In 1949, the UN accepted Israel as a member in the borders it had taken, but that membership came with a condition that Israel has never met, the implementation of Resolution 194.
The refugees and their descendants have never been allowed to return to their homes and have never been compensated for property Israel confiscated, so it does not have a legal right to exist.
3. Modern Israel fails God’s requirements
Christian Zionists and the 30% of Israelis who are religious say a nation’s right to exist comes from God, but they won’t tell you that God withdraws the right to exist of nations that fail the Ezekiel Test:
Ezekiel 16:49 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
Nor will Christian and Jewish Zionists tell you that many Jews and Christians reject Zionism, a nationalist ideology whose founders included atheists like Theodor Herzl. In its early years, Zionism struggled to grow because devout Jews thought a new Israel was not supposed to exist until the Messiah came, a requirement that has yet to be met. Today, religious anti-Zionist Jews focus on the Three Oaths, a part of the Talmud which forbids making war to create a Jewish state.
As for Christians, many believe Christianity itself is the new Zion; as some put it, “Jesus is the new temple, the new Israel.” In 2007, the National Council of Churches USA shared a Response to Christian Zionism, which notes that the
theological stance of Christian Zionism adversely affects:
• justice and peace in the Middle East, delaying the day when Israelis and Palestinians can live within secure borders
• relationships with Middle Eastern Christians (see the Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism)
• relationships with Jews, since Jews are seen as mere pawns in an eschatological scheme
• relationships with Muslims, since it treats the rights of Muslims as subordinate to the rights of Jews
• interfaith dialogue, since it views the world in starkly dichotomous terms”[5]
Zionism rejects the Second Commandment:
Leviticus/Vayikra 19:18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
Zionism rejects one of Judaism’s greatest thinkers:
“That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. This is the entire Torah; the rest is commentary.” — Rabbi Hillel
Zionism rejects the founder of Christianity:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” — Jesus (Matthew 22:37–40)
So long as Israel treats Muslims and Christians in ways it would not treat Jews, so long as Israel does not love its neighbors, so long as Israel does not help the poor and needy, it does not have a religious right to exist.
Conclusion: What should Israel do?
Israel should invite international observers and let Israelis and Palestinians vote on two choices:
- Israel withdraws to its 1967 borders, and Palestinians create a state of their own.
- Israelis and Palestinians get full citizenship in a single state with two official names, Israel and Palestine, and two official languages, Arabic and Hebrew.
Either way, Israel must fulfill the requirements of UN Resolution 194, which would also fulfill the requirements of God and the land’s people. As an internationalist, I would hope the people would vote for the second choice, but if the segregationists win, each would have the opportunity to build a society that meets the requirements of the people, the law, and God.
