Metis Activist Provides Indigenous Case For Jews’ Legal Title To Israel

According to Bellerose, he believes he can be a more effective advocate for Israel, because he uses arguments that have been effective in establishing territorial claims everywhere.

“What sets me apart from Jewish people who tend to use religious language in their advocacy, is that I use the legal language that the United Nations and indigenous rights groups use,” in defending Israel’s right to exist.

In his view, if the indigenous rights of the Jewish people over Israel can be established by the entire global community, then the subject of establishing a lasting peace can only then begin to take shape: the lingering dispute of who is indigenous to the land is what is causing much of the conflict.

Bellerose equated the hopes and struggles of his people, with the Jewish people, albeit the latter having more success. He noted that the Metis have fought, and continue to fight, for their ancestral land rights.

There is a struggle against the attempted erasure of sacred lands.  In addition, there is an attempt to revive a dying language in Cree, intricately tied to their culture, “and we can use the Jewish revival of Hebrew as a template.”

As it stands, he noted, the United Nations and its branches are trying to erase much of Jewish history from Israel. He cited a recent example, of designating Rachel’s Tomb as a Muslim site: “Putting a mosque on the Temple Mount didn’t change how sacred it was to the Jews, and neither will this.”

With his unique background, coupled with legal-based arguments for Israel, Ryan Bellerose is the voice that Israel advocacy never anticipated, but most certainly need in these challenging times.