Israel Is Not the Last Colony. It Is One of History’s Great Decolonization Stories.
History remembers the twentieth century as the age of decolonization. European empires collapsed, foreign rulers withdrew, and nations across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East reclaimed sovereignty. Dozens of modern states emerged from the ruins of imperial rule, and their legitimacy is rarely questioned today.
There is one remarkable exception.
Israel, established in 1948 during the very same wave of decolonization, is routinely described as a colonial enterprise. It is a claim repeated so often that it has become accepted as fact in many circles. Yet history tells a very different story.
The modern Middle East was not shaped by ancient nation states but by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War. Britain and France divided former Ottoman territories through the League of Nations Mandate system, creating the political framework from which Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and other states eventually emerged.
Their borders were drawn by diplomats, not by centuries of national sovereignty. Nevertheless, the international community accepted these countries as legitimate expressions of self determination. No serious movement argues that Iraq or Jordan should cease to exist because their borders were established by colonial powers.
Israel alone is judged by a different standard.
One of the most common accusations is that Israel displaced a sovereign “Palestinian” state. The historical record simply does not support that claim. Before 1948, no independent Arab state called “Palestine” existed. The territory had been ruled successively by the Romans, Byzantines, various Islamic empires, the Ottomans, and finally the British Empire. “Palestine” was a geographical designation, not a sovereign country.
Even the name “Palestine” reflects imperial history rather than Arab statehood. After suppressing the Jewish revolts, the Romans renamed the province Syria Palaestina in an attempt to diminish the Jewish connection to Judea. The name remained in use under successive empires, but no independent State of “Palestine’ emerged during nearly two thousand years of foreign rule.
During the British Mandate, the term “Palestinian” referred to all inhabitants of the territory. Jewish institutions proudly carried the name. The Palestine Post, the Palestine Symphony Orchestra, the Palestine Football Association, and the Anglo Palestine Bank all reflected that reality.
Equally overlooked is the fact that Arabic speaking residents before 1948 did not identify as “Palestinians”. They identified as Arabs, as members of local communities, or as part of Greater Syria. Significant Arab immigration into the region also occurred during the late Ottoman and British Mandate periods, attracted by growing economic opportunities created by Jewish agricultural development, commerce, and infrastructure. The distinct Arab “Palestinian” national movement developed primarily during the twentieth century and became especially prominent after the establishment of Israel.
This diminishes the existence of an Arab “Palestinian” identity. Indeed, Nations evolve over time. However, national identities are shaped by history, politics, and shared experience. That is true across the world. It does challenge the claim that Israel destroyed an ancient sovereign Palestinian nation, this is a false narrative invented by Egyptian born terrorist leader Yasser Arafat, together with the Russian KGB.
If decolonization means restoring political independence to an indigenous people after centuries of foreign domination, then Zionism belongs within the story of decolonization, not colonialism.
The Jewish people are indigenous to the Land of Israel. Their history there stretches back more than three millennia. Ancient Jewish kingdoms existed long before the rise of Rome or the spread of Islam. Archaeology, historical records, inscriptions, and continuous religious tradition all confirm this connection.
Even after repeated conquests and expulsions, Jewish communities never disappeared from the land. Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed, and Tiberias maintained continuous Jewish populations for centuries. Across the diaspora, Jews preserved their language, traditions, prayers, and identity through an unbroken attachment to Zion. For nearly two thousand years, Jewish prayers ended with the words, “Next year in Jerusalem.”
Colonialism usually follows a familiar pattern. A foreign empire conquers territory, extracts resources, and governs for the benefit of a distant capital. Israel fits none of these characteristics. There was no imperial sponsor. No mother country enriched itself through Jewish settlement. No overseas empire directed Zionism. Instead, an indigenous people returned to their ancestral homeland and restored their national sovereignty after centuries of exile.
The revival of Hebrew alone stands as one of history’s greatest cultural achievements. A language that had survived primarily in prayer and scholarship became the living language of a modern nation. Few examples of national revival compare.
History offers many examples of states born amid conflict, partition, and mass displacement. India and Pakistan emerged through one of the largest population exchanges in history. Greece, Turkey, Poland, Germany, and countless other countries experienced profound demographic upheavals during their formation. Yet their legitimacy is not endlessly debated generations later.
Israel remains unique.
Criticism of Israeli governments is entirely legitimate. Democracies invite scrutiny, debate, and disagreement. What is not legitimate is applying standards to Israel that are applied to no other nation. Challenging specific policies is one thing. Denying the right of the world’s only Jewish state to exist is something fundamentally different.
The persistent portrayal of Israel as a colonial project reflects a historical inversion. A movement that restored an indigenous people to their ancestral homeland has been recast as foreign conquest. A nation born from the collapse of empire is labeled an empire itself.
History deserves better.
Israel is not the last colonial project of the twentieth century. It is one of its most extraordinary stories of decolonization, national revival, and indigenous self determination. Recognizing that reality does not require abandoning debate over contemporary politics. It simply requires applying the same historical standards to Israel that the world applies to every other nation born from the end of empire.
Only when history is judged consistently can the conversation move beyond slogans and toward truth.
CEO of Time to Stand Up for Israel, a nonprofit organization with a powerful mission: to support Israel and amplify its voice around the world. With over 200,000 followers across various social media platforms, our community is united by a shared love for Israel and a deep commitment to her future.
My journey as an advocate for Israel began early. When I was 11 years old, my father was deployed to the Middle East through his work with UNTSO. I had the unique experience of living in both Syria and Israel, and from a young age, I witnessed firsthand the contrast in cultures and realities. That experience shaped me profoundly.
Returning to the Netherlands, I quickly became aware of the growing wave of anti-Israel sentiment — and I knew I had to speak out. Ever since, I’ve been a fierce and unapologetic supporter of Israel. I’m not religious, but my belief is clear and unwavering: Israel has the right to exist, and Israel has the duty to defend herself.
My passion is rooted in truth, love, and justice. I’m a true Zionist at heart.
From my first breath to my last, I will stand up for Israel.