On Saturday October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, infiltrating by land, air, and sea while also firing thousands of rockets from Gaza into Israel. The Hamas terrorists brutally murdered hundreds of people, injured thousands and brought over one hundred hostages into Gaza. Since then, Israel has launched Operation Iron Swords attempting to dismantle Hamas in Gaza and bring the hostages home (Unpacked, JFNA).

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is Zionism?
Zionism is the movement for the aspiration of the Jewish people to return to their ancestral homeland, the land of Israel. Zionism has come to describe the belief in Jewish self-determination through the establishment of the State of Israel, and that Israel has a right to exist in peace as a Jewish state.

Are Jewish people indigenous to the land of Israel?
Indigenous peoples refer to a distinct group of people with ancestral ties to a specific region. There is indisputable historical and archeological evidence that Jews are indigenous to the land of Israel as they have been living continuously on the land for nearly four thousand years.

Is Israel a settler-colonial state?
Colonization is defined as an act of taking political control over another country, displacing its indigenous people and occupying it with settlers.

According to Hillel International, “the false claim that “all Israelis are settlers” denies Israel’s legitimacy and right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state. It is used to justify terrorism against Israeli civilians by dehumanizing them as “settlers” rather than citizens of sovereign nation.” (Hillel International, 2023)

The Jewish people have a legitimate claim to self-determination in their historic homeland. The claim that Jews are foreign colonizers erases Jewish history as Jews have always had a historical presence in Israel, and the immigration of Jewish refugees from Europe and North Africa was widely the result of expulsion and persecution. Jewish immigration to Israel did not aid a home country or empire as a colonial project would.

Is Israel occupying Gaza?
Occupation is defined as the control or possession of a foreign territory through the means of hostile armed forces. Israel withdrew all troops and control of the Gaza strip in 2005 after which in 2007 Hamas, a terrorist organization has since gained control.

What is Palestine?
In today’s context, “Palestine” typically refers to the Gaza Strip and West Bank adjacent to the State of Israel. The Romans coined the label “Palestine,” and under the subsequent Ottoman rule “Palestine” referred to the region south of Syria, some parts of modern-day Jordan, and the modern-day State of Israel. In the late nineteenth century, a separate national identity emerged, and people began to identify as Palestinian. Before 1948, the region was under British Mandate and was never an official state of Palestine. (Unpacked, 2023).

For a deeper dive on the history of the label “Palestine,” see this video from Unpacked.

Who is Hamas?
Hamas is a fundamentalist Islamic terrorist group, who aims to destroy the state of Israel and eradicate the Jewish people as stated in their charter.

What is “apartheid”? Is Israel an “apartheid state”?
Apartheid refers to the political system of institutionalized racism and racial segregation present in pre-1990s South Africa.

Israel is the only democratic state in the Middle East where Jews, Arabs, and people of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds can vote, serve in government and all parts of society, and there is no institutional racial, ethnic, or religious segregation. Many critique the use of this term to describe Israel as “calling Israel apartheid trivializes the term and appropriates the painful legacy of the Black South African community.” (Hillel Intl, 2023).

Is Israel committing genocide or ethnic cleansing against Palestinians?
Genocide is an internationally recognized crime where acts are committed with the intention to destroy in part or in entirety a specific national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. These acts include the following five categories as defined by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The term “genocide” was created to describe the Nazi’s systematic murder of the Jewish people during the Holocaust.

Ethnic cleansing refers to the systemic forced expulsion of a religious or ethnic group from a certain area through the acts of deportation, displacement, or even mass killing.

According to the U.S. census bureau, the population growth rates in the West Bank and Gaza are among the highest in the world, and the Israeli government has no such intention to destroy any specific national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.  (Population Reference Bureau, 2022)

The IDF is targeting Hamas in Gaza and does not target civilians, though Hamas often uses civilian human shields, utilizing hospitals, mosques, and schools for terror organizing. Since the start of the war, the IDF has coordinated the entry of over two thousand trucks into Gaza containing water, food, supplies, and medical equipment. (JFNA, 2023)

What is a ceasefire?
A ceasefire is a temporary halt of fighting between warring parties.

The call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is challenging as a ceasefire would allow Hamas to have time to replenish their armaments and regain leverage in their stated purpose, which is the destruction of the State of Israel and murdering of all Jews.

On November 28^th, there was a weeklong ceasefire in place as part of Israel’s strategy to return hostage’s home. The ceasefire has since ended as Hamas fired rockets into Israel and failed to respect all aspects of the hostage deal.

What is proportionality in war?
“Proportionality” is a core principle of the laws of war that means using only the force needed to prevent future attacks. It is not based on an objective calculation or an attempt to balance lives lost.

What does the phrase “From the river to the Sea, Palestine will be free” mean?
“From the river to sea, Palestine will be free” is a controversial slogan commonly used by pro-Palestinian activists. While it calls for a sovereign Palestinian state, it references that such a state should extend from the Jordan River (the river) to the Mediterranean Sea (the sea), which would involve dismantling the State of Israel as it exists today. Thus, many interpret the phrase as an antisemitic slogan because it threatens the sovereignty of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland. (Anti-Defamation League, 2023)

What does the phrase “globalize the Intifada” mean?
The Intifada is an Arabic word meaning “to shake off” or “uprising.” In the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Intifada refers to two of the most violent periods in the history of the conflict in which terrorists killed over 1,000 Israelis.

The chants “globalize the Intifada” or “there is only one solution, Intifada revolution” is a reference to these violent Palestinian uprisings, thus leaving many Jews and Israelis around the world feeling threatened by what is perceived as a call for further violence.

Sources and Resources for Further Reading:

Anti-Defamation League
Boundless Israel
Hillel International
Israel Unpacked
The iCenter
Population Reference Bureau 
The Times of Israel
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

TheInsight Israel Forum (IIF) is a program of The Associated that facilitates opportunities for Baltimore Jewish community leaders to deepen and enhance their understanding of Israel, and to strengthen leaders’ abilities to have respectful discourse about difficult topics, especially the nuances of Israel.

To learn more about The Associated’s response to the war in Israel and the evolving needs of our partners here in Baltimore and on the ground in Israel, including in our partner city of Ashkelon, please visit Associated.org/Israel.