How Palestinianism wages war on Zionism and Jewish history - opinion

The theory of "Palestinianism," a term coined by the author, is fundamentally a negation of Zionism and an attempt to undermine Jewish nationalism, according to Yisrael Medad.

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I first coined the term Palestinianism back in 2006 and described its essential purpose as being the negation of Zionism and the undermining of Jewish nationalism.

Medad argues that Palestinianism has little to do with an actual Palestine or Palestinian people. Instead, he contends, its primary purpose is to serve as a cover for antisemitism, making anti-Jewish sentiment more socially acceptable. He asserts that the animosity towards Jewish nationalism and the concept of a Jewish state drives this ideology, aiming to deny Jews their national identity and erase their history, particularly their historical ties to Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel.

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In other words, it really had little to do with an actual Palestine or a Palestinian people. Its purpose was to serve as a cover for antisemitism, since being pro-Palestine is a more acceptable form of Jew hatred.

The author claims that Palestinianism necessitates the creation of "facts" that are essentially untruths regarding Jews, Jewish history, and Zionist history. These fabricated narratives include claims that Zionism is purely European, that there was no continuous Jewish presence in the Land of Israel for 18 centuries, and that Jews globally did not consistently support those living there financially. Furthermore, he states that Palestinianism invents an Arab national identity where none existed and promotes imagined claims of ancient Arab presence to erase Jewish nationalism. Medad points out the irony of Arabs asserting a Palestinian identity while using a foreign Latin name for their supposed homeland, as Arabic lacks a 'P' sound, leading to the term "Filastin."

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Palestinianism and its need to be recognized necessitates a process of inventivity. That is, it creates ‘facts’ which, simply put, are untruths regarding Jews, Jewish history, and Zionist history.