Historically, nations have come into being not as a result of friendly understandings and amicable contracts but as the result of hostility and bloodshed…all modern countries were conceived through acts of injustice. Walter Laqueur
The creation of most of the world’s nations caused the devastation of the indigenous populations through disenfranchisement, dislocation, and genocide. Indeed, violent depravity and massive annihilation have been the tragic norms of human history.
Israel’s creation in 1948, like the establishment of most modern nations, imposed an injustice on the indigenous people. Approximately 700,000 Palestinians – the vast majority of whom were not involved in violence against the Jews — were exiled from their homes and villages, in what is known as the Nakba, or Catastrophe.
For this injustice, Israel has been singled out from among all the nations as being an illegitimate state not deserving of existence. Few other nation faces accusations of illegitimacy or demands for dissolution. Moreover, whereas European colonizers had no prior connection to the lands they confiscated, the Jewish people had a lengthy historical affiliation to the land of Israel, including a presence of almost 3,000 years. That is, the Jews as well as the Palestinian Arabs were indigenous to the land,
Consequently, allegations that Israel’s creation was illegitimate and that it must cease to exist, are historically dishonest and hypocritical.
One important factor, however, that does differentiate Israel from other colonial nations is the fact that the latter have offered an apology to the peoples that were harmed — whereas Israel and Zionism have refused to acknowledge and atone for the Nakba.
Our atonement does not imply sole responsibility for the physical and emotional wounds unleashed by the 1948 war, nor for the conflict that continues into the present. Neither does our acknowledgement absolve the Arabs of their culpability in our mutual dispute.
Still, we atone for our forebearers’ role in the Nakba and the ensuing years of repression. Admission of and atonement for this painful truth will help heal the wounded and troubled spirit of Israel and world Jewry by releasing us from the harmful prison of denial.
If our Atonement is received by our Palestinian neighbors, it could be a crucial step towards reconciliation.
We call on Zionist organizations – including ultimately the Israeli Knesset – to adopt the Atonement into their bylaws. As well, we urge Jewish organizations of all denominations to incorporate the Zionist Atonement into their liturgy.