How the phrase ‘It was promised to them 3,000 years ago’ became a ubiquitous meme
The comment appears on every kind of Jewish content, but what does it mean?
What, exactly, was promised 3,000 years ago, and by who? Graphic by Getty Images/Mira Fox/Canva
By Mira Fox August 26, 2025
A video of an Orthodox woman and a flight attendant arguing over seats went viral with a caption joking that the Jewish woman believed a window seat had been promised to her 3,000 years ago.
“[Blank] was promised to them 3,000 years ago” has become unavoidable. It fills comment sections on any Instagram or TikTok post made by — or simply referencing — Israelis or Jews.
A video of Jewish content creators joking about bringing free shampoo home from a hotel? Well, they must think those toiletries were promised to them 3,000 years ago. A video of a Jew making, well, any kind of food? They’re appropriating another culture’s recipes because they were promised to them 3,000 years ago. A thread about Gal Gadot’s wooden line delivery as Wonder Woman? Well, it was promised to her 3,000 years ago.
That last one doesn’t really make sense, I know, but the phrase has become so ubiquitous that it has grown far beyond its original meaning.
The phrase goes back to debates over the Jewish claim to Israel, and the idea that Jews feel entitled to the land primarily because of biblical texts or religious beliefs about “the promised land.” And, indeed, in the bible, God promises Israel to the Jews several times — though the bible is not the only evidence that Jews have historical roots in the Middle East; there’s archaeological evidence as well, and there are Jewish communities that never left.
Pro-Palestinian advocates, meanwhile, often use much more recent history to support their claims to the land, such as families that lived in the area until they were forced out during Israel’s founding. And to some people, the idea of relying on the bible to support modern claims of land ownership is absurd, as is the idea of God weighing in on modern geopolitics. And that’s what the dismissive “3,000 years” reply references — something along the lines of: “Sure, some magic man in the sky waved his wand and gave this land to you! That totally makes sense.”
In fact, early Zionists were divided on religion’s role in choosing a place for the Jewish state they dreamed of. Some, like Theodor Herzl — widely considered to be the father of Zionism — were secular, assimilated Jews, and saw the area as a good option for a Jewish state largely because historical connections between Jews and Israel made it an easier sell. Others, like Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, did lean into the religious justification for Jewish claim to Israel.
But no meme can hold those kinds of historical nuances.
Initially, these comments were left on videos talking about the ongoing war — Israeli soldiers in Gaza, for example, or Zionist creators explaining their opinions. But then it expanded. Now, the “3,000 years ago” comments sneer from underneath videos about nearly any topic, as long as it is about a Jewish or Israeli person.
Though the response was originally — and still is, in some uses — used to signal anti-Zionist beliefs, it has become increasingly antisemitic. Now, it is used most often to imply that Jews are greedy and entitled.
That’s how you find the memetic reply in discussions about Gal Gadot — whose acting success admittedly does not hinge deeply on talent but also has nothing to do with her Jewishness. (It’s likely more related to the fact that she’s an attractive woman; she initially got famous by winning a beauty pageant.) Or about a car with Hebrew on it driving on the highway, which someone posted with the caption “the left lane was promised to them 3,000 years ago.” (Huh?) Or as part of debates over a bike lane running through Hasidic Williamsburg.
This is far from the first meme to appear, with little logic, in connection with anything Jewish. “Free Palestine” has long been a ubiquitous response underneath any post about Judaism or video made by a Jewish creator.
Recently, though, the 3,000 years ago meme began to leave Jews behind completely; its start as a snarky rejoinder seems to have turned it into a catch-all joke about entitlement. I just saw it captioning a video of a black bear walking into someone’s garage — because, they said, the bear felt it was promised to him 3,000 years ago.
