Israel Marks its 100th Embassy with the Opening of Indigenous People Embassy

 

Image courtesy of Twitter Screenshot

Joel Kontinen

What does indigenous mean for Jews and the people around them? For Arabs it means that the Jews only came to Israel in 1948, which is a lie, and they were held as colonialist invaders.

However, indigenous people from around the world, including the Maori, have set up their embassy in Jerusalem.

Wearing colorful traditional costumes, native peoples from around the globe made speeches, sang, danced, beat drums and, in one case, sounded a giant ram’s horn on Thursday to celebrate the inauguration of the Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem.

The embassy will serve as a much-needed antidote to the false claims by the Palestinians that there is no evidence of any Jewish life in Israel prior to 1948, when Jews ostensibly arrived as colonialist invaders.

The embassy is in part due to the efforts of the Indigenous Coalition for Israel (ICFI), a New Zealand-based group founded by native counter the false narrative about the Israel-Palestinian conflict that has “taken hold amongst indigenous peoples” and “has often bled into antisemitism,” its website says.

“We recognize that Jews are the indigenous people of this land, and we stand with you and your struggle,” ICFI co-founder Sheree Trotter told the 200-plus audience, noting that the Land of Israel is the place where the Jewish “nation was forged, its language and sacred literature developed, the beliefs, customs and traditions began.“

The embassy will also host academic symposia and become a tourist attraction. 

Source:

David Issac, 2024. Israel Marks its 100th Embassy with the Opening of Indigenous People Embassy | United with Israel 5 February.