Finally- A Land Without People for a People Without Land

This famous saying – “a land without people for a people without land” – is a well-known Zionist slogan. Coined by Lord Shaftesbury in 1839 (a British Christian supporter of Jewish settlement in Palestine), the slogan played a large role in the creation of the early Zionist ethos. The idea was that Palestine (a barren wasteland of a country that was inhabited by no one) should be settled the Jews of Europe (a pariah people that the Europeans were dying to get rid of). This idea informed much of the early Zionist efforts.

Today of course, we’re all well aware that prior to the first wave of Zionist immigration to Palestine (it was not called Israel until 1948), the land was inhabited by…Palestinians, of course! (Though at the time they were not officially called Palestinians…but that’s a whole other discussion…)

Fast forward to 2007, and guess what? My tribe has gone and found themselves an actual land without people! (For real this time!) This week the Globe and Mail reported that Israelis are buying up lunar land “faster than anyone else on the planet.” Apparently, 12 000 Israelis already own more than 4000 square kilometres of lunar land.

And who can blame them, really? After all- it doesn’t take a genius to realize that the Israeli-Arab conflict is likely beyond repair. I mean, shit- the Chief of Staff of the IDF just resigned, for Christ’s sake!

And so what if there’s no water or air- these are the people who made the desert bloom, dammit! Mark my words- in a few decades, Israelis will be making the moon thrive…cooperative moon-farms with cutting edge agriculture, technology and cultural sectors booming…and the best damned chocolate milk in the galaxy. But, if history is any indicator, the Israeli moon-makeover will likely bring with it those who think the Zionists don’t deserve to be there.