The concept ofJewish supremacy accompanies discourse pertaining to theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict, asserting that theethno-nationalist views, policies, andidentity politics of someIsraeli Jews arise to the level of a form of supremacism vis-à-vis thePalestinians, who are anArab people.[1][2][3] The term has been used by a variety ofcritics of Israeli policies, with some arguing that it reflects a broader pattern ofdiscrimination against non-Jews in Israel.
In 2021, the Israeli human rights organizationB'Tselem classified theState of Israel as "a regime of Jewish supremacy from theJordan River to theMediterranean Sea" through lawsamounting to apartheid. It also took note of the fact that, after it was established in 1989, it initially focused on the legal and social situation in theIsraeli-occupied territories, but that "what happens in the Occupied Territories can no longer be treated as separate from the reality in the entire area under Israel’s control," owing to the fact that there "is one regime governing the entire area and the people living in it, based on a single organizing principle."[4]
Proponents of theone-state solution cite the development of Jewish supremacy as one of the main reasons for the necessity of a single country that applies democratic principles across all sectors of society, regardless of ethnic or religious affiliations.[5]
Ilan Pappé, anexpatriate Israeli historian, writes that theFirst Aliyah to Israel "established a society based on Jewish supremacy" within "settlement-cooperatives" that were Jewish owned and operated.[6]Joseph Massad, a professor ofArab studies, holds that "Jewish supremacism" has always been a "dominating principle" inreligious and secularZionism.[7][8]
Since the 1990s,[9]Orthodox Jewishrabbis from Israel, most notably those affiliated toChabad-Lubavitch andreligious Zionist organizations,[9][10] includingThe Temple Institute,[9][10] have set up amodern Noahide movement. These Noahide organizations, led by religious Zionist and Orthodox rabbis, are aimed at non-Jews in order to convince them to commit to follow theNoahide laws.[9][10] However, these religious Zionist and Orthodox rabbis that guide the modern Noahide movement, who are often affiliated with theThird Temple movement,[9][10] expound aracist and supremacistideology which consists in the belief that the Jewish people are God'schosen people and racially superior to non-Jews,[9][10] and mentor Noahides because they believe that the Messianic era will begin with therebuilding of the Third Temple on theTemple Mount inJerusalem to re-institute theJewish priesthood along with the practice ofritual sacrifices, and the establishment of a Jewishtheocracy in Israel, supported by communities of Noahides.[9][10]David Novak, professor ofJewish theology andethics at theUniversity of Toronto, has denounced the modern Noahide movement by stating that "If Jews are telling Gentiles what to do, it’s a form ofimperialism".[11][12][13]
In 2002,Joseph Massad said that Israel imposes a "Jewish supremacist system of discrimination" onPalestinian citizens of Israel, and that this has been normalized within the discourse on how to end the conflict, with various parties arguing that "it is pragmatic for Palestinians to accept to live in a Jewish supremacist state as third class citizens".[1][14]
In the aftermath of the2022 Israeli legislative election, the winning right-wing coalition included an alliance known asReligious Zionist Party, which was described by Jewish-American columnist David E. Rosenberg as a political party "driven by Jewish supremacy andanti-Arab racism".[15]
Various discriminatory policies and practices have been cited variously as perpetrating Jewish supremacy in Israel,[16] including the1952 Citizenship Law and[17] the2018 Nation-State Law.[18] The banned Israeli political partyKach, the phenomenon ofIsraeli settler violence, and all of theNetanyahu-ledIsraeli governments have been accused of pursuing a Jewish supremacist agenda, particularly against thePalestinians.[17][19]
In 2023, then Israeli minister of national securityItamar Ben-Gvir said[20]
My right, my wife's, my children's, to roam the roads ofJudea and Samaria are more important thanthe right of movement of the Arabs
Whereas the First Aliya established a society based on Jewish supremacy, the Second Aliya's method of colonization was separation from Palestinians.