In arguably the most scandalous conflict of the decade, many from around the world were only made aware of the Israeli-Arab conflict on October 7, 2023. Unlike the residents of the Arab part of the world, many foreign citizens from all around the globe were not exposed to the complexity of the over 70 years of Israeli occupation. An occupation not limited to Palestinian land, but an occupying force that (even up until today) still occupies several parts of other sovereign countries, including Lebanon and Syria, and plans to occupy much more. This article will focus on why "Israel’s" existence in the Middle East, and specifically, what many refer to as "the Levant", is controversial.

If you are an active social media user, you are bound to have been exposed to various comments and remarks made by Zionists and anti-Zionists on the historical and religious significance of the Israeli- Arab conflict. First and foremost, you have probably seen your average Zionist claim religious entitlement to the land, as in it was promised to the Jews by God. But the subject of the potential legal and moral entitlement to the land is often dismissed and swept under the rug.

Judaism itself forbids the Jews from having their own sovereign country until their believed Messiah returns. The founding fathers of "Israel", such as Theodor Herzl and David Ben-Gurion, are in fact atheists, which brings any reasonable person to the conclusion that religion was most probably used as a pretext to situate the West's biggest ally and proxy very strategically in the Middle East to guard the interests of its western allies such as the UK and other European nations, and later on the USA. According to Zionist prophecies, the rightful owners of the land of Palestine, and various other parts of sovereign Levantine countries, are the Jews. Believe it or not, these religious prophecies are utilized as a sole sufficient argument by Zionists in justifying the mass displacement of millions of Arabs in their own land. This particular claim is dangerous and problematic for various reasons.

I’m going to start off by taking you back to the infamous ISIS era. When the terrorist group was introduced in the region, no civilized or sane person could fathom or support the existence of ISIS for obvious reasons, but let’s go through them anyway since this article is titled "for dummies". First and foremost, ISIS is a terrorist group founded on religious extremism, and its goal was to enforce an extremist understanding of sharia law in Iraq and Syria, and ultimately, turn them into one Islamist supremacist state. A state where non-Muslims were to be prosecuted, tortured, and murdered. A state where even non-practicing Muslims were to be prosecuted, tortured, and murdered too.

ISIS was identified as a "Muslim" organization, but the overwhelming majority of Muslims (and Arabs) in the region supported the eradication of ISIS. Why? Because just like Western civilization, the Arabs and Muslims also want to live in peace, freedom, and harmony without the threat of terrorism which ISIS obviously presented to the region. The way the Arab world, which is predominantly Muslim, overwhelmingly supported the eradication of ISIS is proof that we, the Arabs, denounce terrorism under any circumstance, even if it’s under the guise of our religion and identity.

At this point, many "dummies’ are probably wondering how ISIS is related to "Israel", a state that preaches "democracy" and that is backed and funded by the majority of Western and "democratic" governments.

Hear me out. ISIS called itself the "Islamic State" of Iraq and Syria. "Israel" refers to itself as "the Jewish" state.

If ISIS had it its way, an Islamic State would have meant the torture, prosecution, and murder of non-Muslims. "Israel" has been torturing, prosecuting, and murdering civilians for over 70 years for the crime of not being Jewish. ISIS wanted to establish a Muslim-supremacist state built on the foundations of genocides perpetrated against millions of innocent civilians. "Israel" established a Jewish-supremacist state on the murder and destruction of millions of innocent civilians.

ISIS backed its claim to the land using extremist ideology, then shoved its extremist religious views down the throats of the global population. "Israel" backs its claim to the land using prophecies and extremist ideologies and shoves its extremist religious views down the throats of the global population. For context, some Jewish prophecies indicate that the Jews will return to what they refer to as their "homeland", and these prophecies were the inspiration behind the establishment of "Israel" and its "Jewish" founders. Are you starting to see where I am going with all this?

I’m not saying that all Jews support this claim, and as a matter of fact, unless you live under a rock, the average reader will have seen at least a few videos of religious Jews and Jewish organizations protesting "Israel’s" existence over the past few months, and this in itself speaks for the fact that it isn’t a Jewish issue. But a large population of "Israelis" identify with the claim that a large part of the Levant was promised to the Jews. If we were to tell this exact story but flip the roles, and a group of Muslims had come and murdered and displaced tens of thousands of Jews, and used Muslim prophecies as a claim to the land, how would the civilized world react? Why is this any different? Why is there a double standard when it comes to "Israel"? Why is "Israel" not internationally labeled as a terrorist organization, and condemned, just as ISIS is?

Let’s also look into how "Israel" is a Jewish supremacist "state". "Israel" has something called "A Nation State Law". In July of 2018, the Israeli parliament passed the "Jewish Nation State Law", a law that disregards the rights of anyone who is not Jewish and defines them as second-class citizens. Some of the basic principles of this law include "the State of Israel is the nation state of the Jewish People in which it realizes its natural, cultural and religious and historical right to self-determination" and "the realization of the right to national self-determination of the state of Israel is exclusive to the Jewish people". The basic principles of this law are crystal clear, "Israel" is for the Jews, thereby making it a Jewish supremacist state, as it does not take the one-fifth of the Arab population into consideration. Anyone who is not Jewish is not entitled to equal recognition, let alone equal human rights.

In the West Bank, which is legal Palestinian territory under international law since the "1967 borders agreement", settlers have invaded the territory, illegally. They are funded and supported by the "democratic state" of "Israel". As a matter of fact, Jews in the West Bank have different colour license plates from the Arabs so that the Israeli authority can distinguish them easily. Not to mention that there are several areas and roads that are accessible exclusively to Jewish people, and are off limits to the non-Jews, specifically, the Arabs, who are not allowed to use these roads. These are just a few of many special rights the Jews have over the Arabs, making the Jews self-proclaimed first-class citizens among the Arabs in their own legal land.

What many from the non-Arab parts of the world don’t know is that "Israel’s" claim to what it refers to as its Jewish homeland, under its extremist prophecies, is not limited to Palestine alone. "Israel" has never declared its borders, and this was not done by accident. What Zionists refer to as "greater Israel" includes southern parts of Lebanon, western parts of Jordan, southern parts of Syria (including the already occupied Golan Heights), and even the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. The Zionist agenda has always sought to weaken and destabilize the Levant (hence the decades of US and Israeli wars in the Middle East), and ultimately, expand "Israel". This is dangerous because even after over 70 years of Israeli occupation, what many ignore is that "Israel" is just getting started. Plans to terrorize the Arabs in their own land to fulfill extremist prophecies are all part of "Israel’s" plan. Fortunately, this plan has been wiped out due to the resistance movements that are strategically deployed all across the Levant.

The controversy around "Israel" isn’t that the Arabs don’t want to live alongside the Jews, quite the contrary. The main controversy behind "Israel’s" existence is that it is a self-proclaimed Jewish supremacist "state", that was established on terror. Had the Jews agreed to live alongside the Arabs, under a dignified and equal state, things would have been very different, and the Arabs would have lived alongside the Jews harmoniously, just as they live alongside the Christians all across the Levant and in extended parts of the Arab region. But the mere fact that the Israelis want to achieve a supremacist state exclusively for the Jews, built on the murder of innocent indigenous people, all across the Levant is the pill that the Arabs can’t and will never agree to swallow. We, the Arabs, will never forgive, and will never forget.