Zionists = Puritans

The New Puritans

By Dan LiebermanSeveral conflicts have been compared to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Each narrative contained claims for land, clashes with indigenous peoples and a desire for separation due to fear and insecurity. Each conflict left a legacy that deserves consideration. Most prominently mentioned are:

(1) Apartheid South Africa

(2) Colonial Algeria

(3) Northern Ireland conflict

(4) The American destiny

(5) The Puritan experience

Which of these conflicts is most comparable with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict? Realizing that the contestants of the 21st century conflict are culturally advanced in comparison to the contestants engaged in the earlier century conflicts and accounting for different eras and different stages in civilization, the most relevant comparison is the Puritan experience.How so?The Puritans arrival in America, which eventually became the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and their fatal encounter with the native population, set the stage for the settlement of the entire coast to coast territory. Insecurity and mistrust guided the relations between what became a nation of Americans and the indigenous populations. Superiority of US military forces enabled American pioneers to move inexorably from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. Wherever the Americans arrived they found native peoples. Wherever they settled, the native peoples, even those who cooperated, like Chief Joseph and his Nez Perce tribe, were decimated.

The Zionist Jewish narrative closely follows the Separatist Puritan narrative. The early years of the development of the nation of Israel parallels the Puritan experience in America. Let’s hope the trajectory will be detoured and the Israelis don’t prove to be the New Puritans.Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Indian-Palestinian Connection.