What the Jews can teach oppressed groups about success

Torn posters of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas were some of the saddest things that I saw when I was in Toronto. It’s heartbreaking because the Jews are Filipinos’ long-time allies. The Philippines was the only Asian country that supported the creation of the modern state of Israel. We also opened our borders to Jewish refugees during World War II when much of the world was shunning them. The children of Israel have also made positive contributions to the Philippines. Jews helped modernize our country through public education and entrepreneurship during the American colonial period. Until now, we help each other through our military and economic partnerships. I won’t be surprised if a greater number of Jews living all over the world will immigrate here in the coming years to flee antisemitism. They will most likely make significant contributions that will boost the Philippine economy. If Palestinians also want a prosperous state, all the more should they coexist peacefully with Israel. Why? Because the Jews have a lot to teach the world about thriving in the midst of adversity.

Eretz Yisrael

If we define “Palestinian” as a person with ancestral roots in Palestine, then both Jews and Arabs are Palestinians. Jews have been in Palestine long before Islam became a religion. They’ve been there centuries before Muslims — gasp! — colonized the Middle East and the Jewish homeland! Yes, you read that right: the Palestinians’ Arab predecessors were colonizers. Muslims conquered parts of Europe, Africa, as well as much of the Middle East. In the Bible, YHWH commanded the Israelites to replace the inhabitants of Canaan because the Canaanites’ human sacrifices were detestable in His sight. The Lord made Canaan the land of Israel, which the Roman Empire later called, “Syria Palaestina”. Since then, the children of Jacob have been living in Palestine even after the fall of Jerusalem that led to the Jewish diaspora. Many Jews are now returning to their homeland because they believe that living in Israel will be their best safeguard against antisemitism. 

On the other hand, there was never a Palestine that was an independent Arab ethnostate before 1988. There could have been one if only the Palestinian Arabs agreed to the UN Partition Plan of 1947. They could’ve carved out a path to coexist peacefully with the Jews had they followed the Trump Administration’s Peace to Prosperity Plan. Alas, many Palestinians opt to attack highly-educated, heavily armed Israel! Israelis have naturally been succeeding in defending themselves, which they have every right to do. Not only is Israel overcoming its enemies militarily. Despite anti-Semites’ concerted efforts at annihilating them throughout history, the Jews have been flourishing wherever they have the freedom to pursue economic opportunities.

A Successful Minority

There are many reasons why Jews tend to be successful. But for me, the best reason why they’re prosperous is because for the most part, they never use oppression as an excuse for becoming a failure. Jews have been constantly stripped of human rights in the countries where they migrated. They were barred from owning land and entering certain professions even in states that did not systematically attempt to murder them. They got to a point wherein the Word of God was all they had. So, they poured out much of their time and effort into studying the Torah. The Messianic Jews even had the awesome privilege of benefiting from both the Old and the New Testaments.

God’s Word has many precepts about how to excel in life. Historically, both religious and secular Jews have vigorously applied many Biblical principles in trades that they were allowed to engage in. Jews do not merely want to go to paradise after they die compared to other religious groups. They also want to make the present world a better place, which is what Biblical stewardship is all about. Because God’s Word is true, Jews naturally reap success whenever their vocations are aligned with what God wants. 

The Jews prioritized education to equip themselves with the tools of literacy to understand the Bible. Consequently, they are now the most highly educated religious group in the world, with an average of 13.4 years of formal schooling. Attending universities not only prepared them to compete in the market. It strengthened their professional connections too. On the other hand, Muslims only have an average of 5.6 years of formal schooling despite the many Arab states that should have invested in their educational opportunities. Palestinians are probably even less educated! So how on earth can they govern themselves? 

Goodbye, Two-State Solution?

For me though, the Jews still need to strive to make it their end-game to keep their word that they will concede certain areas of Palestine to the Arabs. After all, Israel agreed that they would only control Area C of the West Bank as stipulated in the Oslo II Accord. They were also supposed to transfer 13% of Area C to Fatah under the Wye River Memorandum. Instead, Israeli civilians have been settling in many parts of Areas A, B, and C, thus making a separate Palestinian state less viable. Israel could be doing this for security purposes given the history of Palestinian attacks against them. Perhaps Israel can temporarily station their armed forces in the West Bank and Gaza while the people there are hostile to the Jews. But they shouldn’t be allowing Israeli civilians to settle there as that would be illegal. 

Israel shouldn’t be creating a migrant crisis in other countries either just because they refuse to obey God’s command to be kind to Arabs. The Netanyahu government must therefore stop ultra-nationalist Israelis from harassing Palestinians. Likewise, Palestinians can’t claim ownership over lands in the occupied territories if they don’t have the land titles to settle there. Apparently, many of them don’t. Yes, it’s the 21st century yet for some reason, they’re not maximizing the use of land titles and official receipts to settle land disputes. How on earth can Palestinians have their own state if they can’t do something so basic? Without proper education, Palestine will only become a hotbed of chaos and terrorism. 

This brings to mind what Jose Rizal said: “An immoral government assumes a demoralized people…like master, like slave; like government, like country! Why independence if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow? And they would be, without doubt, BECAUSE HE LOVES TYRANNY WHO SUBMITS TO IT.”* Well, guess who voted for Hamas and is most likely to support their tyranny?

That Rizal quote applies to all of us regardless of our ethnicity, including the Jews. As a fan of Israel, I’m heartbroken over the fact that most American Jews unleashed terrors upon their fellow Jews and the liberal democracies that host them by supporting woke policies. The resulting mass migration flooded Europe and North America with voters that delivered the West to the likes of Joe Biden, whose weakness enabled the rising tide of antisemitism. I won’t be surprised if liberal American Jews will support Gavin Newsom should he decide to run for president. There’s a good chance that he will! If Michelle Obama runs, they’ll probably vote for her. That’s because she’s supposedly an oppressed individual that deserves power despite her lackluster abilities.

Throughout history, the Jews have taught us that we must never let oppression be an excuse for becoming a failure. They are correct! That’s why American Jews must stop voting for policies which grant privileges to migrants that call for their genocide just because these barbarians are supposedly oppressed. 

*From Soledad Lacson-Locsin’s translation of “El Filibusterismo”