Indigenous Peoples and the Land of Israel
By Prof Wayne Horowitz
(A translation to English from the Weekly Information Letter of Kfar Adumim)
A short time ago I returned home from visits to Australia and New Zealand where I continued my research into the cuneiform tablet collections that reached these two southern lands from far away in time Assyrian and Babylonia, today’s Iraq. There, in the land of the Kangaroos and Kiwi-birds I am part of a project to publish the 500 or so cuneiform tablets that have found their way south of the equator. So much for the main purpose of my visit.
In addition, my research also gave me the opportunity to continue my activities with the Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem, who represent Israel supporters amongst indigenous peoples including the Māori of New Zealand, Aborigines of Australia, First Nations of Canada and the United States, the Inuit, and the indigenous peoples of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands, here in Israel. The Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem recognizes us, the Jews, as an indigenous people in our own right, the People of Israel in the Land of Israel, as we ourselves state in the opening passages of the Israeli Declaration of Independence:
ERETZ-ISRAEL (Hebrew) - the Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.
After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.
Impelled by this historic and traditional attachment, Jews strove in every successive generation to re-establish themselves in their ancient homeland. In recent decades they returned in their masses. Pioneers, ma'pilim [(Hebrew) - immigrants coming to Eretz-Israel in defiance of restrictive legislation and defenders, they made deserts bloom, revived the Hebrew language, built villages and towns, and created a thriving community controlling its own economy and culture, loving peace but knowing how to defend itself, bringing the blessings of progress to all the country's inhabitants, and aspiring towards independent nationhood.
Just as other indigenous peoples of the world, we have a historical connection with our land that stretches back to our origins as a people. This connection bridges the centuries of galut, exile and displacement, that separate Ancient Israel from our modern state. Over this vast period of time (and still today) Jews around the world pray in our ancient language Hebrew, celebrate our holidays according to the agricultural seasons of the Land of Israel: Sukkot in the fall even in the snows of Siberia, Poland, and often Minnesota; Tu-Bishvat (the New Year of Trees) in the cold of northern hemisphere February – and all Jews pray in the direction of our ancient and modern capital, the city of Jerusalem where our Temples once stood proudly on the Temple Mount.
In our meetings of October 2024, I had the honour of joining with my colleagues at the Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem for a visit with President Herzog at the President's House in Jerusalem. There, I too was able to state for President Herzog my tribal affiliation, being from the tribe of Levi who served our priests (Cohanim) in the temple services in ancient times.
That afternoon, we walked to the Western Wall, the Kotel. On the way, we surprised a group of soldiers who were waiting that night for induction into the Israeli Army. They indeed seemed to be surprised as a delegation of indigenous peoples in native dress emerged out of the alleyways of the Old City singing "Am Yisrael Chai' (the People of Israel live), and 'Heveinu Shalom Eleichem' (We bring you greetings of peace).
The next day was our academic conference at the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem. There a number of speakers spoke out about the indigenous nature of the Jewish People in the Land of Israel. Included among these was the representative of another indigenous people in the land, the Assyrians, Aramaic speakers who live in a number of villages in the hills of the Galilee.
I believe that this type of activism is the best answer to the false claim of so many around the world who see us as interlopers, colonialists, who do not belong to the Land of Israel, and call for our forced expulsion or worse!
It is my hope that recognition of our indigenous status in the Land of Israel will be a major step forward in bringing peace to all the peoples of our region in a spirit of shared love for this little piece of land between the Jordan and the Sea.
Wayne Horowitz, June 12, 2025