Exceptional Citizens: Religion, Genocide, and Land in the United States and Israel/ Palestine
Eric Cheyfitz
Volume 19, Number 2 (2020) 19 (2): 114-121
Keywords Genocide, Religion, Land, Colonialism, Exceptionalism; Indigenous land rights; Incremental genocide, Exceptionalism, Indigenous Land Rights, Incremental Genocide, Puritan religious agenda; Manifest Destiny ideology; Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories; US occupation of Native American lands, Puritan Religious Agenda, Manifest Destiny Ideology, Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Territories, US Occupation of Native Lands
Abstract
This article by Eric Cheyfitz explores the religious and ideological foundations of land dispossession in both the United States and Israel/Palestine, drawing compelling parallels between the historical and ongoing displacement of Indigenous peoples and Palestinians. It critically examines how exceptionalist narratives—rooted in Puritan religious ideology and Zionist theology—serve to obscure and justify settler-colonial violence and systemic land theft. The discussion traces the evolution of these narratives from foundational myths to contemporary claims of democracy, which coexist with practices of apartheid and territorial occupation. Legal frameworks and policies such as Manifest Destiny and the Israeli occupation are scrutinized for their role in legitimizing incremental genocide and erasing Indigenous sovereignty. By connecting these two geopolitical contexts, the article highlights shared patterns of colonial domination, resistance, and the enduring struggle for land rights, sovereignty, and justice among Native American and Palestinian communities.
Eric Cheyfitz
Published January 1, 2020
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Mahmoud Darwish, Journal of an Ordinary Grief, trans. Ibrahim Muhawi (1973; Brooklyn, NY: Archipelago Books, 2010), 31.
Perry Miller, Errand Into The Wilderness (1956; New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1964).
Philip Weiss, "Bill de Blasio ruins the liberal Zionists' glorious hour, "Mondoweiss, October 4, 2014 - See at: http://mondoweiss.net/2014/10/liberal-zion-ists-glorioustm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_cam-paign=464b18b236-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b86bace129-464b18b236-398512405 - sthash.ZE4AUlFi.dpuf
Pauline Turner Strong, Captive Selves, Captivating Others: The Politics and Poetics of Colonial American Captivity Narratives (Boulder: Westview Press, 1999), p.85.
Eric Cheyfitz, The Disinformation Age: The Collapse of Liberal Democracy in the United States (New York, Routledge, 2017), 15-17.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315222837-2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ-ORmMlTFQ
David H. Getches, Charles F. Wilkinson, and Robert A. Williams, Jr., Cases and Materials in Federal Indian Law, 4th ed. (St. Paul: West, 1998), 71.
"Trail of Tears" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears.
Russell Thornton, American Indian Holocaust, and Survival: A Population History Since 1492 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987, 43.
Thomas Kaplan, "Iroquois Defeated by Passport Dispute" at https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/17/sports/17lacrosse.html.
https://www.quora.com/What-percent-of-US-land-is-still-owned-by-Native-Americans.
The Center for Constitutional Rights, "The Genocide of the Palestinian People: An International Law and Human Rights Perspective," at https://ccrjustice.org/genocide-palestinian-people-inter-national-law-and-human-rights-perspective.
Mark Levine and Eric Cheyfitz, "Israel, Palestine, and the Poetics of Genocide," in Jadaliyya at https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/34248/Israel,-Pal-estine,-and-the-Poetics-of-G, May 2, 2017.
City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York (544 US 197 [2005] ) and Cayuga Indian Nation of New York v. Pataki (413 F.3d 266 [2d Cir. 2005]).
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/13/us/as-crime-rises-on-indian-lands-policing-is-cut-back.html.
Eric Cheyfitz and Shari Huhndorf: "Genocide by Other Means: US Federal Indian Law and Violence against Native Women in Louise Erdrich's The Round House" in Elizabeth S. Anker and Bernadette Meyler, eds. New Directions in Law and Literature (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017), 264-278.
Clayton E. Swisher, The Truth About Camp David: The Untold Story About The Collapse Of The Middle East Peace Process (New York: Nation Books, 2004), 134-44.
Norman Finkelstein, Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 36, No. 2 (Winter 2007), pp. 39-53.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Camp_David_Summit#Securi-ty_arrangements
https://web.stanford.edu/group/sper/images/Palestine-Isra-el_Primer_MERIP.pdf
Johnson and Graham's Lessee v. William M'Intosh (21U.S.543 [1823]).
Theodor Herzl, The Jewish State (New York: Dover Publications, 1988). Kindle Edition. Location 1675.
Gershon Shafir, "Changing Nationalism and Israel's 'Open Frontier' on the West Bank," Theory and Society, Vol.13, No.6 (Nov., 1984), 804.
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Submissions
