{"id":106335,"date":"2023-08-27T17:05:11","date_gmt":"2023-08-27T15:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=106335"},"modified":"2023-08-22T10:41:07","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T08:41:07","slug":"22-05-92","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=106335","title":{"rendered":"There is no such thing as an Israeli \u2018settler\u2019 in the West Bank – opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>There is no such thing as an Israeli \u2018settler\u2019 in the West Bank – opinion<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n

DAVID S. LEVINE<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Jews meet the UN definition of indigenous people. Therefore, they are not \u201csettlers,\u201d and the places they live are not \u201csettlements.\u201d So why are there \u201cArab villages\u201d but \u201cJewish settlements?\u201d<\/strong><\/span>
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KIRYAT ARBA: \u2018As citizens of the State of Israel, we are Israelis; period,\u2019 says the writer. \/ (photo credit: Wisam Hashlamounn\/Flash90)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a settler is, \u201ca person who arrives, especially from another country, to a new place in order to live there and use the land.\u201d A settlement, according to vocabulary.com, is, \u201ca colony or any small community of people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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However, these definitions take on negative connotations when it pertains to Israel and Israelis. Even Israeli media have headlines such as, \u201cSettlers arrested after deadly clash in Palestinian village<\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Various biblical texts refer to Israel as a \u201cland flowing with milk and honey.\u201d This description is in stark contrast to Mark Twain\u2019s observations in 1867 that Israel (then called Palestine) was a desolate and barren country in both people and vegetation.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was only after the start of the aliyah movement in the late 1800s, when many Jews joined their fellow Jews who had maintained a continuous presence in the Jewish homeland, did the land begin to bloom again with people and agriculture. The phrase \u201ca land flowing with milk and honey\u201d can be applied both in reality and metaphorically.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jews meet the UN definition of indigenous people<\/a>. Therefore, they are not \u201csettlers,\u201d and the places they live are not \u201csettlements.\u201d Which raises the rhetorical question: Why are there \u201cArab villages\u201d but \u201cJewish settlements?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jewish settlers look on during a march near Hebron in the West Bank, June 21, 2021 (credit: REUTERS\/MUSSA QAWASMA)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Why are Jews settlers if they are indigenous people?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

One unfortunate reason is a mistranslation of the Hebrew word Yishuv. The root of this word is shuv, to return. According to Wikipedia, the term Yishuv came into use in the 1880s to denote the body of Jewish residents in the Land of Israel<\/a>, and became the word to describe the Jewish population of Israel prior to the establishment of the modern State in 1948.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Hebrew word Yishuv translates to \u201ccommunity\u201d in the form of towns, population, inhabitants, neighborhoods, villages, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

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LET\u2019S LOOK at another misuse of terms that carry with it political overtones: migrant vs illegal alien.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The definition of \u201cmigrant\u201d is, \u201ca person who moves from one place to another, especially in order to find work or better living conditions.\u201d An example is a \u201cmigrant farm worker.\u201d Those workers migrate for work as the seasons and crops change. Importantly, it is implied that the individual is either a citizen or a foreign worker on a visa. While the definition of an \u201cillegal alien\u201d is \u201ca foreign national who is living in a country without official authorization.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yet the current American administration, and mainstream US media, now call all those who enter the US illegally via their southern border, the nicer word \u201cmigrant\u201d rather than the more negative term \u201cillegal alien.\u201d Sounds like \u201cvillage\u201d vs \u201csettlement,\u201d right?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Words have meaning. And choice of words has nuance.<\/span><\/p>\n

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As citizens of the State of Israel, we are Israelis. Period. You might be an Israeli-[fill in the blank], but if you\u2019ve earned citizenship, then you are an Israeli, not a \u201csettler.\u201d Period.<\/span><\/p>\n

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While we may not be able to convince The New York Times<\/em>, the Israeli media should start using other words such as town, neighborhood, or village, instead of the stigmatized word \u201csettlement.\u201d They should also use terms such as members, citizens, or Israelis instead of the derogatory and stigmatized word \u201csettlers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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We may not be able to elevate Israel in world opinion. But at the very least, we should speak the truth and be honest about our own identity.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The writer is a former NYC advertising & marketing executive and retired Rutgers University professor who lives in Israel. He is author of Hey Israel You\u2019re Perfect. Now Change! (free download: https:\/\/bit.ly\/455DIT2). Follow his blogs at: thetruthfulproject.blogspot.com. Twitter: @DavidsLevine<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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There is no such thing as an Israeli \u2018settler\u2019 in the West Bank – opinion DAVID S. LEVINE Jews meet the UN definition of indigenous people. Therefore, they are not \u201csettlers,\u201d and the places they live are not \u201csettlements.\u201d So why are there \u201cArab villages\u201d but \u201cJewish settlements?\u201d . KIRYAT ARBA: \u2018As citizens of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106335"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=106335"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106491,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106335\/revisions\/106491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=106335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=106335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=106335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}