Brad Sherman on Israel's Borders and Historical Claims

Historical Context and Modern Borders

• 🗺️ Representative Brad Sherman argues that borders should be based on where people live now, not on historical maximum territorial control.
• 💡 Using historical examples like Mongolia or the Greeks, he illustrates the absurdity of defining current borders by past empires.
• 🎯 Sherman states that modern Zionism focused on the coastal plain, differing from ancient Israel's borders.

The Concept of Colonial Settlers

• 🌍 The idea that "every group of human beings is a group of colonial settlers" is presented as a universal truth, predating current populations.
• ⏳ He notes that lands now occupied by Turks, Poles, and Arabs were previously inhabited by Greeks, Germans, and speakers of Latin/Berber/Egyptian/Greek respectively.
• ⚔️ The Arab Empire and its caliphates are highlighted as significant imperialist enterprises in history.

Modern Peace Negotiations and Palestinian Stance

• 🚫 Sherman criticizes the slogan "from the river to the sea" as divisive, regardless of who uses it.
• 📉 He points out that Palestinians have repeatedly missed opportunities to establish a state, referencing the 1947 UN partition plan acceptance by Jews.
• ⚖️ The Palestinian leadership's demand for total control, despite having less military power, is described as an unreasonable bargaining position.
• 🕊️ Sherman emphasizes that history, while interesting, should not dictate the resolution of modern problems or the design of peace in the Middle East.