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| | The '''State of Israel''' ([[Hebrew]]: '''מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל''', ''Medinat Yisra'el'' from ''' יִשְׂרָאֵל''' ''Yisra'el'', "Struggled with God") is a nation located in the [[Middle East]]. It is the world's only Jewish state, having emerged from [[Zionism]] in Europe and the U.S. in the 1880s-1940s. It grants citizenship to anybody considered to be [[Jewish]], although this does not apply to anyone suspected or convicted of serious crimes or who the state otherwise considers a serious threat to its welfare. It also contains Arab Muslim and Arab Christian minorities who are remnants of the pre-1948 Arab majority, along with a small [[Druze]] community. It is the location of most Biblical events. | | The '''State of Israel''' ([[Hebrew]]: '''מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל''', ''Medinat Yisra'el'' from ''' יִשְׂרָאֵל''' ''Yisra'el'', "Struggled with God") is a nation located in the [[Middle East]]. It is the world's only Jewish state, having emerged from [[Zionism]] in Europe and the U.S. in the 1880s-1940s. It grants citizenship to anybody considered to be [[Jewish]], although this does not apply to anyone suspected or convicted of serious crimes or who the state otherwise considers a serious threat to its welfare. It also contains Arab Muslim and Arab Christian minorities who are remnants of the pre-1948 Arab majority, along with a small [[Druze]] community. It is the location of most Biblical events. |
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| − | It is the original historical homeland of the Jews.<ref>[https://thecjn.ca/perspectives/opinions/jews-aboriginals-make-powerful-team/ Jews and aboriginals make a powerful team - The Canadian Jewish News], Jan 26, 2015 <br>— As Irwin Cotler is fond of saying “Jews were the aboriginal people of Israel.”...</ref> | + | It is the original historical homeland of the Jews.<ref>[https://thecjn.ca/perspectives/opinions/jews-aboriginals-make-powerful-team/ Jews and aboriginals make a powerful team - The Canadian Jewish News], Jan 26, 2015 <br>— As Irwin Cotler is fond of saying “Jews were the aboriginal people of Israel.”...</ref><ref>Ryan Bellerose, "[https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/bellerose-aboriginal-people Are Jews Indigenous to the Land of Israel? Yes.]" Tablet Mag. Feb 8, 2017. |
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| | + | As an indigenous activist—I am a Métis from the Paddle Prairie Metis settlement in Alberta, Canada—there is one question I am most often asked by the public, one that can instantly divide a community due to its intense and arduous subject matter. |
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| | + | Yet, regardless of the scenario, each time I hear the words, “Are Jews the indigenous people of Israel?” I’m inclined to answer not only with my heart but with the brutal, honest truth, backed by indisputable, thousands-year-old historical and archaeological fact: yes. |
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| | + | While evidence in favor of this view is overwhelming...</i></ref><ref>Rossella Tercatin, "[https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/jews-are-indigenous-to-israel-and-a-rabbi-should-know-it-scholar-says-634817 Jews are indigenous to Israel and a rabbi should know it, scholar says]," July 12, 2020. |
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| | + | “For a long time there was very little doubt on whether the Jews were indigenous here. The concept started to be questioned by the Arab anti-Zionist community,” Ilan Troen said.</i></ref> |
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