The United Nations criteria for indigenous status are the following:
1. Self-identification as indigenous.
2. Pre-colonial history in the region.
3. Strong link to the land.
4. Distinct social, economic, or political systems.
5. Distinct language, culture, and beliefs.
6. From a non-dominant group in society.
Jews have a history of living in Israel before colonization by the Greeks and Romans. The name Palestine was given to the land because we tried to throw off foreign rule.
We have many holidays tied to the land of Israel and our calendar is based on the weather cycle of eretz Yisrael. We literally have three holidays where everyone was required to do pilgrimage to Jerusalem! The Palestinians do not have any holidays linked to the land.
The Torah gives us a unique legal and political system, which is different from others. The Palestinians do not have a unique legal, economic, or political system.
We have a unique language (Hebrew) which, even in exile was used to study our holy texts. Although Hebrew was not always the language Jews spoke in diaspora (although we often spoke languages like ladino and Yiddish which combined Hebrew with the language of the surrounding community), it was always kept a part of our culture and our religious practice. The Palestinians speak Arabic, this is not a unique language. We have our own culture, which is closely tied to our religious observance and the land of Israel. The Palestinians do not have a distinct culture.
Jews are not a dominant culture, and the only reason we are the majority in Israel is because we had a successful reclaiming of our indigenous home land. We didn’t leave of our own volition in the first place. We were packed onto slave ships and sent to Rome. This is our homeland and to say we have no right to live here is absolutely absurd.
This doesn’t mean that I support everything the Israeli government has done and continues to do. But you will never convince me that Israel should not exist or be a Jewish homeland.
