No, Jews Aren’t “White Settlers”—They’re Indigenous to Israel

Why do Jews come in so many different shades and appearances? The answer isn’t colonization—it’s exile.

As author and educator Ben Freeman explains, moving a people across continents changes how they look over time. Scientific studies show that skin tone can shift within 100 generations—about 2,000 years. And that’s exactly how long Jews were exiled from their native land: Israel.

But exile doesn’t erase indigeneity. Jews were expelled by empires like Babylon and Rome, but their spiritual, cultural, and historic connection to the Land of Israel never disappeared. This is evident from the agricultural holidays like Shavuot and Sukkot. No matter where they’re celebrated in the Diaspora, they remain rooted to this land.

Yet anti-Israel narratives today try to sever that connection—falsely labeling Jews as European colonizers. Freeman pushes back: “We are indigenous. Fact. Period.”