Franz Krausz, 1936

It Didn’t
Start in 1917

The antizionist story of Israel and Palestine begins with European Jews arriving in someone else’s land. This project starts earlier — with Jewish origin in Judea, centuries of exile without disappearance, and a history in which Jews were also subject to subordination and violence in Palestine itself.

Without that context, Jewish return looks like colonialism. With it, it looks much more like decolonization.

The Story Widely Claimed

Jews were persecuted in Europe, came to Palestine, and made victims of Palestinians.

What’s Usually Left Out

Jews are from the land, remained tied to it in exile, and were also victims in Palestine before Israel existed.

Why It Matters

Once that history comes back into view, the entire frame changes.

Five Facts That Change the Frame

Jews Are From Judea

Judaism is not just a religion. It is the civilization of a people from a land.

Apartheid Before Israel

For 1,270 years under Islamic rule, Jews in their homeland lived under codified legal inferiority.

Why Jews Were a Minority

Jews didn’t become a minority by choice. Centuries of expulsion and legal restriction kept their numbers low.

Jewish Jerusalem

Before modern nationalism, Jews were already central to Jerusalem’s life and demography.

The Other Nakba

The modern story of displacement is incomplete without the parallel story of Jewish dispossession across the region.

Bring This Talk to Your Community

“It Didn’t Start in 1917” is a 55-minute talk with visuals and Q&A, built for synagogues, JCCs, schools, campus groups, and Jewish organizations.

It’s designed for audiences who know the conversation has been distorted, but want a grounded, teachable way to explain why.

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Ed Weinberg

Ed Weinberg is an American writer who’s written about the antisemitism of Hanukkah gnomes for The Forward, the legacy of Soviet antizionism for Times of Israel, the problem with calling Jews white for Newsweek, and many other things for his day job writing about the stock market. His father was the president of Alden Films, a Jewish documentary film distribution company. Ed also runs the personal history company Timekeeper Archives.

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