{"id":273195,"date":"2026-02-04T08:09:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T08:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/273195\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T08:09:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T08:09:22","slug":"the-blogs-decolonization-with-an-israel-exception-sabine-sterk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/273195\/","title":{"rendered":"The Blogs: Decolonization with an Israel Exception | Sabine Sterk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two Partitions, One Empire, One Double Standard\n<\/p>\n

In the mid twentieth century the British Empire collapsed under its own weight. Across the world Britain withdrew from territories it had ruled for decades, sometimes centuries. What followed was not harmony but upheaval. Borders were drawn. Peoples were divided. Violence erupted. Yet history judged most of these moments as tragic but necessary steps in the birth of new nations.\n<\/p>\n

There is one striking exception. The partition of the British Mandate for Palestine.\n<\/p>\n

To understand the double standard, we must look at two partitions that happened almost simultaneously, both under British rule, both rooted in ethnic and religious tensions, and both producing enormous human suffering.\n<\/p>\n

The first is the partition of British India in 1947. As Britain prepared to leave the subcontinent, it decided that Hindus and Muslims would be better served by separate states. India and Pakistan were created almost overnight. The consequences were catastrophic. Around one million people were killed in communal violence. Approximately fifteen million people were displaced, fleeing across new borders in terror. Families were torn apart. Entire regions were ethnically cleansed in both directions.\n<\/p>\n

And yet, despite this trauma, the world accepted the outcome. India is not accused of original sin. Pakistan\u2019s legitimacy is not questioned daily. No international movement exists to undo the partition. The suffering is acknowledged, mourned, and understood as part of history.\n<\/p>\n

Now consider the second partition.\n<\/p>\n

That same year, Britain ended its mandate over Palestine. The United Nations proposed a partition plan that would create two states, one Jewish and one Arab. This was not colonial favoritism but a compromise. Jews were indigenous to the land with an uninterrupted presence going back thousands of years. Arabs also lived there. Partition was meant to give both peoples self determination.\n<\/p>\n

The Jewish leadership accepted the plan despite the borders being far from ideal. The Arab leadership rejected it outright. They did not counter propose. They did not negotiate. They chose war. When Israel declared independence in 1948, five Arab armies invaded with the explicit goal of destroying the Jewish state.\n<\/p>\n

Israel survived.\n<\/p>\n

And here is where history takes a sharp and telling turn.\n<\/p>\n

The Arab state envisioned in the UN plan was never created, not because Israel prevented it, but because Arab leaders refused to accept any Jewish sovereignty at all. The war they launched produced refugees, just as the war in India did. But instead of resolving the crisis, Arab states made a fateful decision. Palestinian refugees were kept in camps. They were denied citizenship. Their status was preserved and passed down through generations, something done nowhere else in the world.\n<\/p>\n

At the same time, an even larger population exchange took place that is almost entirely erased from global memory. Around 850,000 Jews were expelled from Arab countries in the years following 1948. They lost homes, property, businesses, and ancient communities. Israel absorbed them. No international agencies. No permanent refugee camps. No global campaigns demanding a return to Baghdad, Cairo, or Damascus.\n<\/p>\n

So why is one partition treated as history, and the other treated as an ongoing crime?\n<\/p>\n

Why is the creation of India and Pakistan seen as legitimate decolonization, while the creation of Israel is framed as colonial theft?\n<\/p>\n

The answer lies not in facts, but in narrative.\n<\/p>\n

India and Pakistan accepted reality and moved forward. Israel\u2019s neighbors did not. The Arab world chose rejectionism over reconciliation, and the international community allowed that rejectionism to define the story. Responsibility was shifted. Aggression was reframed as victimhood. A war of annihilation that failed was rebranded as injustice.\n<\/p>\n

Israel became the only country whose birth is endlessly put on trial.\n<\/p>\n

No one demands that Pakistan dissolve to correct the suffering of 1947. No one argues that borders must be reversed seventy five years later. Yet Israel alone is told that time does not apply to it. That history must be undone. That compromise was wrong. That survival was a crime.\n<\/p>\n

This is not about compassion for Palestinians. Real compassion would have meant resettlement, citizenship, and state building decades ago. This is about politics, ideology, and an unwillingness to accept Jewish self determination in any part of the Middle East.\n<\/p>\n

Partition is ugly. It always has been. But it is how the modern world was formed. From Europe to Asia to the Middle East, borders were drawn through blood and tragedy. The world learned to accept that peace comes from accepting reality, not relitigating the past forever.\n<\/p>\n

If the world truly believes in decolonization, then it must admit that Israel is not the exception. If it believes in self determination, then Jews cannot be the only people denied it. And if it believes in justice, then double standards must be named and rejected.\n<\/p>\n

Two partitions. One empire. One set of rules for everyone else. And a completely different one for Israel\n<\/p>\n

Time To Stand Up for Israel\n<\/p>\n

Time To Stand Up for Israel is an independent foundation dedicated to fighting misinformation, countering antisemitism, and providing clear, fact-based education about Israel. We do not engage in internal Israeli politics. We stand on two core principles: Israel has the right to exist. Israel has the duty to defend itself.\n<\/p>\n

Support our work: Donate and\/or subscribe at: www.timetostandupforisrael.com<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\"\"\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tCEO 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.
\n
\nMy 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.
\n
\nReturning to the Netherlands, I quickly became aware of the growing wave of anti-Israel sentiment \u2014 and I knew I had to speak out. Ever since, I\u2019ve been a fierce and unapologetic supporter of Israel. I\u2019m not religious, but my belief is clear and unwavering: Israel has the right to exist, and Israel has the duty to defend herself.
\n
\nMy passion is rooted in truth, love, and justice. I\u2019m a true Zionist at heart.
\nFrom my first breath to my last, I will stand up for Israel.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two Partitions, One Empire, One Double Standard In the mid twentieth century the British Empire collapsed under its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-273195","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}