Talk:Criticism of Judaism/Proposed section on Middle East land-ownership conflict

''Note: the following content is proposed for inclusion in the encyclopedia, in the Religious Zionism article. Please include any comments in the on-going discussion at Talk:Criticism_of_Judaism (in other words, this Talk sub-page is just to hold the proposed content, not for discussion itself).'' --Noleander (talk) 14:03, 20 March 2010 (UTC)

Judaism's precepts have led to land ownership conflicts and expulsion of peoples
Critics claim that Judaism's precepts have led to land ownership conflicts and expulsion of peoples in the Middle East.
 * Saleh Abdel Jawad (2007) "Zionist Massacres: the Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem in the 1948 War" in Israel and the Palestinian refugees, Eyal Benvenistî, Chaim Gans, Sari Hanafi (Eds.), Springer, p. 78.
 * Specifically, some critics cite the Hebrew Bible's notion of a "Promised Land" (ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat) - which promises to the Jews the "Land of Israel" (Eretz Israel) - as a factor in the settlement of the Middle East, as described by one analyst: "Zionism aspires to restore the Biblical promised boundaries. It is a new manifestation of the ancient aspiration for the Land of Israel promised in the Bible."  Critics also claim that verses from the Hebrew Bible are used to provide justifcation and motivation for confiscation and expulsion, citing specificially :
 * "... And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying:'Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places. And ye shall drive out the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein; for unto you have I given the land to possess it.... But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye let remain of them be as thorns in your eyes, and as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell."
 * Saleh Abdel Jawad (2007) "Zionist Massacres: the Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem in the 1948 War" in Israel and the Palestinian refugees, Eyal Benvenistî, Chaim Gans, Sari Hanafi (Eds.), Springer, p. 78.
 * Specifically, some critics cite the Hebrew Bible's notion of a "Promised Land" (ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat) - which promises to the Jews the "Land of Israel" (Eretz Israel) - as a factor in the settlement of the Middle East, as described by one analyst: "Zionism aspires to restore the Biblical promised boundaries. It is a new manifestation of the ancient aspiration for the Land of Israel promised in the Bible."  Critics also claim that verses from the Hebrew Bible are used to provide justifcation and motivation for confiscation and expulsion, citing specificially :
 * "... And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying:'Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places. And ye shall drive out the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein; for unto you have I given the land to possess it.... But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye let remain of them be as thorns in your eyes, and as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell."
 * Saleh Abdel Jawad (2007) "Zionist Massacres: the Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem in the 1948 War" in Israel and the Palestinian refugees, Eyal Benvenistî, Chaim Gans, Sari Hanafi (Eds.), Springer, p. 78.
 * Specifically, some critics cite the Hebrew Bible's notion of a "Promised Land" (ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat) - which promises to the Jews the "Land of Israel" (Eretz Israel) - as a factor in the settlement of the Middle East, as described by one analyst: "Zionism aspires to restore the Biblical promised boundaries. It is a new manifestation of the ancient aspiration for the Land of Israel promised in the Bible."  Critics also claim that verses from the Hebrew Bible are used to provide justifcation and motivation for confiscation and expulsion, citing specificially :
 * "... And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying:'Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places. And ye shall drive out the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein; for unto you have I given the land to possess it.... But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye let remain of them be as thorns in your eyes, and as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell."
 * Specifically, some critics cite the Hebrew Bible's notion of a "Promised Land" (ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat) - which promises to the Jews the "Land of Israel" (Eretz Israel) - as a factor in the settlement of the Middle East, as described by one analyst: "Zionism aspires to restore the Biblical promised boundaries. It is a new manifestation of the ancient aspiration for the Land of Israel promised in the Bible."  Critics also claim that verses from the Hebrew Bible are used to provide justifcation and motivation for confiscation and expulsion, citing specificially :
 * "... And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying:'Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places. And ye shall drive out the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein; for unto you have I given the land to possess it.... But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye let remain of them be as thorns in your eyes, and as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell."
 * Specifically, some critics cite the Hebrew Bible's notion of a "Promised Land" (ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat) - which promises to the Jews the "Land of Israel" (Eretz Israel) - as a factor in the settlement of the Middle East, as described by one analyst: "Zionism aspires to restore the Biblical promised boundaries. It is a new manifestation of the ancient aspiration for the Land of Israel promised in the Bible."  Critics also claim that verses from the Hebrew Bible are used to provide justifcation and motivation for confiscation and expulsion, citing specificially :
 * "... And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying:'Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places. And ye shall drive out the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein; for unto you have I given the land to possess it.... But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye let remain of them be as thorns in your eyes, and as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell."

In addition to the Hebrew Bible, critics claim that the Talmud and writings of important Rabbis are used to justify expulsion and land acquistion, such as Nahmanides's commentary on, where he wrote "it is a positive commandment to inherit the land [of Israel] and dwell therein." However, noted Jewish scholar Maimonides disagreed with Nahmanides on this issue, and Maimonides did not include Numbers 33:53 in his list of 613 commandments in the Book of Commandments (Sefer Hamitzvot).

Some critics regard the Jewish settlement in the Middle East as a primarily religious effort: one researcher into Arab attitudes towards Israel wrote "By regarding Zionism as only a manisfestation of Judaism, [the Arab authors] add a dimension of historical and cultural depth to their analysis.... Zionist settlement and Zionist belligerence in 1948 are only links in a long chain of trespasses and insatiable lust for the property of others.  Fundamental Zionism is manifested in the claim that God is the God of Israel, and other nations have no part in him.... [W]hen they [the Arabs] examine Judaism as a religious and historical phenomenon, they find that it always had an attachment to the Land of Israel.  This means that it is 'Zionist' in essence and history, so that Judaism and Zionism are one and the same."

However, authorities point out that Zionism is generally regarded as a secular movement, distinct from Judaism, and in fact many Jews believe that Zionism is contrary to religious precepts because the Messiah has not yet arrived.