MK Amichai Chikli (Yamina) brought a harsh dose of reality to a Knesset Caucus discussing the “tragedy” of the 1967 Six-Day War by citing the Bible to emphasize that since “Palestine” has been under 3055 years of Jewish “occupation,” it was only fitting to invite the Jebusites to the Knesset event.

The Knesset Caucus for Ending the Occupation, chaired by Joint Arab List MK Aida Touma-Slimancaucus, met last Wednesday to discuss the harmful effects of 55 years of “occupation.”

It should be noted that before 1967, Judea, Samaria, and much of Jerusalem were illegally occupied by Jordan. Israel’s legally conquered these regions in the defensive war, and their status is currently pending negotiations.

Left-wing extremists and anti-Israel NGOs attended the caucus.

Meretz MK Moshe Raz was among the organizers.

“For 55 years, we have ruled, contrary to our morals, justice, and both our and their interests, another people,” Raz said in a statement. “This rule harms all facets of Palestinian life and costs both people’s lives and security. This is probably the most important issue affecting our lives here, which is why it needs to be raised and discussed in the Knesset. Thank you to the important human-rights organizations and those struggling against the occupation to participate in the event.”

In a statement, Touma-Suleiman said: “Land grabbing, settlement expansion, settler terrorism, arrests without trial, the killing of protesters, and a criminal blockade, these are the faces of the occupation. These are all the faces of Israel under the ‘change’ government.

“From the Knesset, it is our obligation to remind Israel and the world that the cycle of horror will not stop as long as the Palestinian people live under occupation and blockade. Only establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel will ensure freedom and security for both peoples,” she said.

MK Ofer Cassif, a Jewish MK representing the Arab Hadash party, claimed in the caucus that Israel’s “occupation” of the Palestinians is the “biggest terror” in the region.

Cassif has denounced Zionism as a racist ideology that espouses “Jewish supremacy.” Politically, Cassif identifies as a Marxist and a socialist.

“The accepted definition of terror is not political,” he explained. “Terror is a form of violence, including the threat of violence, against innocent civilians in order to achieve political aims,” he said, noting that this precisely applied to Israel.”The occupation is exactly this. It acts against innocent civilians [using] violence and oppression and the threat of it against millions of innocents when the objective is political,” Cassif said. “The occupation is the biggest terror [that exists] in the entire region, certainly when it comes to Palestine/Israel.”

He went on to justify Palestinian violence.

“When such a terror exists, there is resistance,” he said, adding that there is no such thing as a benign occupation. “No nation will live under a foreign government without resisting.”

It should be noted that Cassif lives in Rehovot, a city in central Israel. 99.7% of Rehovot’s 143,000 residents are Jewish, and only .3% are Arab. 

MK Amichai Chikli (Yamina) countered these opinions and challenged the narrative based on 55 years of Jewish occupation. As a reference, Chikli cited the Bible:

David was thirty years old when he became king and reigned for forty years. In Chevron, he reigned over Yehuda seven years and six months; in Yerushalayim, he reigned over all of Yisrael and Yehuda for thirty-three years. The king and his men set out for Yerushalayim against the Jebusites who inhabited the region. David was told, “You will never get in here! Even the blind and the lame will turn you back.” (They meant: David will never enter here.) But David captured the stronghold of Tzion; it is now the City of David. II Samuel 5:4-8

“And that’s Zion which we know from the chronicles of Zionism,” MK Chikli continued. “David conquers, occupies, 3055 years ago, conquers Jerusalem and the Jebusites.”

קפצתי לכנס ״55 שנות כיבוש״ כדי לתקן טעות נפוצה: דוד כבש את ירושלים מהיבוסים כבר לפני כ-3,055 שנה. והאמת, מאכזב שנציגי היבוסים לא טרחו לבוא ולכבד אותנו במעמד הזה. pic.twitter.com/A4cc9sSTj8

— עמיחי שיקלי – Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) June 8, 2022

Chikli said there was a claim that “we are not the natives here, but we are the natives of this area, of Judea and Samaria.”

“We can hold a debate on this,” he noted and was interrupted by Chairwoman Touma-Sliman, who said, “So, that’s when the occupation started?”

“That’s when we conquered the Zion citadel,” Chikli responded, adding, “It’s a shame that representatives of the Jebusite community didn’t make the effort to come and honor this event.”