Every Israeli schoolchild is taught that this happened during the period of Roman rule, in 70 CE. The nation remained loyal to its land, to which it began to return after two millennia of exile. Wrong, says the historian Shlomo Zand, in one of the most fascinating and challenging books published here in a long time. There never was a Jewish people, only a Jewish religion, and the exile also never happened - hence there was no return. Zand rejects most of the stories of national-identity formation in the Bible, including the exodus from Egypt and, most satisfactorily, the horrors of the conquest under Joshua. It's all fiction and myth that served as an excuse for the establishment of the State of Israel, he asserts.
According to Zand, the Romans did not generally exile whole nations, and most of the Jews were permitted to remain in the country. The number of those exiled was at most tens of thousands. When the country was conquered by the Arabs, many of the Jews converted to Islam and were assimilated among the conquerors. It follows that the progenitors of the Palestinian Arabs were Jews. Zand did not invent this thesis; 30 years before the Declaration of Independence, it was espoused by David Ben-Gurion, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi and others.
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Prof. Zand teaches at Tel Aviv University. His book, "When and How Was the Jewish People Invented?" (published by Resling in Hebrew), is intended to promote the idea that Israel should be a "state of all its citizens" - Jews, Arabs and others - in contrast to its declared identity as a "Jewish and democratic" state. Personal stories, a prolonged theoretical discussion and abundant sarcastic quips do not help the book, but its historical chapters are well-written and cite numerous facts and insights that many Israelis will be astonished to read for the first time.
If the Saudis know something, no one around there is going to be playing much soccer in coming weeks.
Saudis order their nationals out of Lebanon one day after US ships show up off shore
I know some of you need a break from the campaign fol-de-rol, or at least think you do. Well, you’ll be sorry. Looks like the Administration is trying an indirect method to provoke Iran and its surrogate, Hezbollah, to do something provocative.Deeper and deeper we go, into the rabbit hole, meanwhile, instead of the F.B.I. investigating these fucking war criminals, their allies and supporters, they entertain us with Baseball’s Steroids "Scandal".
Are we preparing to start a New Middle East Fire? asks, Larry Johnson...
sigh...
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