The more that I learn about the Crusades, the more similarities that I see between them and the Herzlian occupation of Palestine. The parallels are almost shocking.

In embarking on the First Crusade, Pope Urban II aimed for the displacement of all Turks, pagans (including Muslims), and non-Latin Christians. The stated purpose of such mass displacement was to purify the Holy Land and make it suitable for Latin stewardship.⁴⁴ Perhaps given the spiritual significance of the Holy Land, this policy’s overtly sectarian nature was not condemned as forced conversion unlike Castilian settlement. Despite no universal policy of either ethnic cleansing or mass conversion, both did occur in the Latin Kingdom on a localized scale.⁴⁵

Major cities along the Syrian and Palestinian coast were often the sights of devastating massacres, where crusaders targeted Muslims and Jews specifically. Jews and Muslims were also forbidden from residing in Jerusalem during Frankish rule. Much like Castilian settlement, Frankish rural settlements were also established in depopulated areas, though this displacement was the result of locals fleeing violence during wartime rather than a concerted, organized effort after the fact.

The deficit of European settlement in the Latin Kingdom necessitated the preservation of local populations where possible, however settlements in depopulated areas were nevertheless established.

(Emphasis added. Source.)