Ryan Bellerose is a member of the Metis nation of Alberta Canada and is an indigenous rights activist. In this talk he explains the theoretical foundation of indigenous rights and apply it to the conflict between Jews and Arabs over the land of Israel.
Read more: Judea Capta: Indigenous Rights in the Land of IsraelThe Classical Forum for Contemporary Issues: Addressing Jewish Identity and Indigenous Rights
The Classical Forum for Contemporary Issues was founded in response to the October 7th massacre and the widespread support for it from activists around the world. These events have exposed a long-standing ideological disagreement that has now become impossible to ignore.
In a recent discussion, the forum examined a key claim of the radical anti-Israel movement—the assertion that there is no Jewish people and that there has never been a Jewish land. This idea contradicts both the historical identity of Jews worldwide and the well-documented historical record. It also challenges the principles of indigenous status and indigenous rights.
To explore these themes, the forum welcomed Ryan Bellerose, an indigenous rights activist and member of the Métis Nation of Alberta, Canada. Ryan provided a compelling perspective on indigenous identity, self-determination, and the historical legitimacy of Jewish claims to their ancestral homeland. He dissected the ways in which anti-Israel activists have misused the language of indigeneity while explaining why Jews meet all the established criteria for indigenous status in Israel.
Ryan also highlighted the strategic manipulation of historical narratives in the political discourse surrounding Israel, discussing how misleading arguments have been used to frame Jews as “colonizers” while ignoring the deeper historical and cultural connection of the Jewish people to their ancestral land.
This discussion underscored the importance of recognizing Jewish indigeneity and historical continuity, refuting distortions that attempt to erase Jewish identity in favor of revisionist narratives.