Reading Progress:

I present the libertarian case for Palestine in my debate with Rafi Farber on the Tom Woods show over the legitimacy of the establishment of Israel.

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“Israel was founded on the basis of legitimate homesteading of land and reclamation of lost Jewish property from previous generations of Jews.”

That was the resolution I argued against in my debate this week on the Tom Woods Show. Arguing in favor was Rafi Farber, one of the authors of the recent paper, “The Legal Status of the State of Israel: A Libertarian Approach”, published in the Indonesian Journal of International Law.

Rafi’s main argument is that when the “Jewish state” of Israel was established in 1948, the Jews were the rightful owners of the land of historic Palestine (today Israel and the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip) based on their occupancy of the land 2,000 years ago.

I show that argument fails even on their own terms as presented in their paper.

Rafi and his coauthors attempt in their paper to deny the ethnic cleansing in their paper, but argue that even if Palestine was ethnically cleansed, this was legitimate since the land really belonged to the Jews. This is essentially also the argument Rafi presents during on the show.

I posit, on the other hand, that the ethnic cleansing of the Arab population by which Israel came into being was incompatible with libertarianism, and, specifically, the principle of non-aggression.

Have a listen!

If you enjoy what I have to say in the debate, you’ll definitely want to check out my books Obstacle to Peace: The US Role in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (2016) and The Rejection of Palestinian Self-Determination: The Struggle for Palestine and the Roots of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (2009). (And, particularly for you Libertarians of the Austrian economics persuasion, don’t forget Ron Paul vs. Paul Krugman: Austrian vs. Keynesian Economics in the Financial Crisis!)

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  • Thermite says:

    Rafi Farber’s entire argument is based on a Jewish exemption to the central point both agree upon – statute of limitations. This he unequivocally bases on “a very strong cultural memory, on repeated customs and genetic evidence” while openly questioning his own genetic roots (as an Israeli Jew).

    For added entertainment, he also claims all Muslim and Christian Palestinians are actually Jews. Interesting and hallucinatory.

    • Yes, I love his rhetorical device of saying he agrees Palestinians whose land was stolen from them have a right to return — so long as DNA testing shows they are Jews. In other words, he unequivocally rejects the right of Arabs whose families lived on and worked the land for generations in recent memory to return to their homes while claiming Jews who’ve never set foot in Palestine have a right to return because some other Jews once lived on and worked the land 2,000 years ago. And he calls this a “Libertarian” approach! Such chutzpah.

  • Steven Lance Fornal says:

    Jeremy Hammond argues his points as per the original context of Libertarianism. Rafi Farber does not.

    Farber’s “very strong cultural memory” (not to mention cultural “claim”) is a barely disguised reference to the Bible: Old Testament which was written by Judeans returning from the Babylonian Captivity. The first chapter (Genesis) contains the giving of Judea and Samaria to Israelites by the one and only God.

    That cultural claim has to be looked upon with great skepticism.

    I have read Mr. Hammond’s “Obstacle To Peace” and must say that he has put together an unassailable document that should be read by, if not all Americans, then surely American politicians.

    This conversation put forth a very credible historical view of the theft of Palestine by Zionists makes the creation of Israel an illegitimate endeavor.

    • Thanks for commenting, Steve!

      • Eamon says:

        Thanks for sharing all the information Jeremy, you are e real expert in the subject, could you recommend reading for an overview and understanding of how the situation reached such a terrible situation. I think its quite obvious that Israel is the aggressor and the one mostly to blame but i am hesitant to engage in conversation or debate in the subject without a greater understanding of the historical and current situation, many thanks.

      • Yes, of course I recommend my own book Obstacle to Peace: The US Role in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict for a thorough understanding of why the conflict started and why it persists.

        http://www.obstacletopeace.com

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