The lost Palestinian Jews

"We are of the same race and blood, and cooperation will bring great prosperity to the land," wrote Emir Faisal to Felix Frankfurter in 1917. Faisal was known for his affinity to the Zionists who had begun streaming to the Holy Land; in 1919, he signed a cooperation agreement with Chaim Weizmann, to whom he wrote that he was "mindful of the racial kinship and ancient bonds existing between the Arabs and the Jewish people."

But Faisal's proclamations of kinship with the Jews were more than lip service to a commonly held belief, says Tsvi Misinai, who knows perhaps more about the origins of the modern Palestinians than anyone.

"Faisal's paternal line was Hashemite," he says, "meaning he was directly descended from Muhammad. But the mother of his maternal grandfather, King On, was descended from a family of forced Jewish converts to Islam that immigrated to the east bank of the Jordan, later returning to one of the villages west of the Jordan. Unlike today, when Faisal was growing up, his grandfather's mother's Jewish origin was known, and they made no great effort to hide it. And what was known to Faisal is known to many Palestinians today as well."

This is a story of what may be one of the best-kept secrets in history - one that could, in time, heal the terrible rift that has torn the Land of Israel asunder. After years of research, Misinai says that he can declare with certainty that nearly 90 percent of all Palestinians are descended from the Jews. "And what's more, about half of them know it," he says.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1249418656478&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

were interbreeding from the very beginning. Many of the genealogies show that great historical personalities had heritage from both groups.

Judaism and islam and Christianity are all Abrahamic spiritual traditions and ALL of the descendants of Abraham's two sons, one a Jew(Isaac) by Sarah and one an Arab/Palestinian (Ishmael) by Hagar in that region are kin. And BOTH women are told by angels in dreams that their children will inherit the land and the kingdoms.

While traveling in Israel/Palestine a decade ago the conflict over Jerusalem and the Temple Mount became so much clearer: this is a battle between cousins over their inheritance.

The bogus arguments on both sides that the "others" do not belong are just rationales for hate and injustice (on both sides).

Genetic studies have shown the same thing, even among Ashkenazi (European) Jews; i.e. they are all pretty closely related to the Palestinians and to each other (and more closely to Palestinians than to northern and western Europeans).

So I believe this OP when he says that this knowledge MIGHT do much if spread widely to get both sides to show more respect to each other.

But like the Hatfields and McCoys getting fighting cousins to become kissing cousins ain't easy when an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is making everyone blind and toothless.

I guess some may look at this as a karmic lesson for these cousins: Hillel and jesus said it best: treat your neighbors as you would want to be treated and give even the stranger respect.

Tsvi Misinai's theories are based on the idea that the Palestinians have Jewish roots, and the evidence he presents for this claim is certainly persuasive. But does the fact that the Palestinians were once Jewish make them more eligible than any other gentiles to be considered Jewish today?

"Jewish they are definitely not," says Rabbi Dov Stein, a member of a rabbinical body that sees itself as the modern heir of the ancient Sanhedrin. A former IDF chaplain, Stein says that his organization is the only one in the world dealing with the philosophical and practical issues of the relationship between Jews and non-Jews.

snip

Stein has no doubt as to the veracity of Misinai's findings - and many of the Palestinians are "more Jewish" than many of the "lost tribes" who have rediscovered their Jewish roots in recent years. "For example, 200 years ago the town of Sakhnin was completely Jewish. If the residents there were forcibly converted and lived like Marranos for 200 years, they are a lot closer to their Jewish roots and past than Spanish Marranos, who have been hiding their heritage for 500 years."

Just how many Palestinians he believes have Jewish roots, he won't say. "It's possible Tsvi is right, and 90 percent of them have Jewish roots. But the question is, what do we do with that now?"

snip

"With a support system, many Palestinians would probably be interested in learning more about their heritage, perhaps starting out with a commitment to the seven Noahide laws" - the basic laws the Torah prescribes for non-Jews that are accepted by most civilized people anyway. "Even if they do not choose to convert, the fact that they get to know their Jewish past will perhaps help them to see that we are not their enemies, ameliorating their attitude toward us."

For Stein, that would be a fine result of Misinai's Engagement.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418656593&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

:sarcasm: ;-)

:)

such a simple solution!

:thumbsup: