Most people believe that today's Jews are Israelite descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that they represent all twelve tribes of the nation of Israel. As has been demonstrated, the second half of this claim is inaccurate because the Bible never identifies the Judahites with all twelve tribes of Israel.
According to many Jewish authorities, the first half of this same claim - that the majority of today's Jews represent all or any Israelites - is also untrue. The Jewish Almanac succinctly states another fact that will surprise most people:
Strictly speaking, it is incorrect to call an ancient Israelite a "Jew" or to call a contemporary Jew an "Israelite" or a "Hebrew."31
In the 1960s, Nathan M. Pollock was professor of Medieval Jewish History at Tel Aviv University. In the San Diego Union, August 28, 1966, Leo Heiman remarked about Professor Pollock's research supporting The Jewish Almanac's startling admission:
He has devoted 40 of his 64 years to trying to prove that six out of 10 Israelis and nine of 10 Jews in the Western Hemisphere are not real Jews' Jews [genetic Judahites], but descendants of fierce Khozar tribes which roamed the steppes of southern Russia many centuries ago. For obvious reasons the Israeli authorities are not at all eager to give the official stamp of approval to Pollock's theories. "For all we know, he may be 100 per cent right," said a senior government official. "In fact, he is not the first one to discover the connection between Jews and Khozars. Many famous scholars, Jews and non-Jews, stressed these links in their historical research works."32
Notice that the connection between the Jews and the Khozars was acknowledged by a senior Israeli government official. This same official emphasized that "many famous scholars, Jews and non-Jews, stressed these links in their historical research works." Those famous scholars include Bernard Lazare, Robert Quillan, James Yaffe, Paul Meyer, the authors of The Jewish Encyclopedia, The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia Judaica, The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia, The New Encyclopaedia Britannica and many other scholars and reference works.33
Following are portions of a letter written by Jewish author Benjamin H. Freedman to the New York National Economic Council, Inc. and published in their Council Letter No. 177, October 15, 1947. Although Freedman was specifically addressing the exploitations of Zionism,* he also expounded upon the fact that most of today's Jews are not descendants of Jacob Israel:
Popular ignorance of ... political Zionism is beyond calculation. Vaguely most Christian Americans have the idea that the Jews claim Palestine because it was the "Promised Land" in which they lived for a period of a few centuries that ended 2,000 years ago. And the thought of a people returning to its "homeland" seems emotionally satisfying and good. But here are facts most Americans do not know: Political Zionism is almost exclusively a movement by the Jews of Europe. But these Eastern European Jews have neither a racial nor a historic connection with Palestine. Their ancestors were not inhabitants of the "Promised Land." They are the direct descendants of the people of the Khazar [alternate spelling for Khozar] Kingdom, which existed until the 12th century. The Khazars were a non-Semitic ... Mongolian tribal people.... About the 7th century A.D., the King of the Khazars adopted Judaism as the state religion, and the majority of inhabitants joined him in the new allegiance. Before that date there was no such thing as a Khazar who was a Jew [Judahite]. Neither then nor since was there such a thing as a Khazar whose ancestors had come from the Holy Land.......these Eastern European, Yiddish-speaking Jews who form the Zionist group practically in toto, have neither a geographic, historic nor ethnic connection with either the Jews of the Old Testament or the land known today as Palestine.34
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*Zionism is a national and political movement that maintains the Jewish people are entitled to a national homeland. Formerly founded in 1897, Zionism eventually selected Palestine in 1917 as their home. Since 1948, Zionism's main aim has been the development, support and defense of the modern State of Israel. The term "Zionism" was coined in 1890 by Nathan Birnbaum.
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H.G. Wells, in his Outline of History, reached the same conclusion regarding today's Jews:
The main part of Jewry never was in Judea and had never come out of Judea.35
In The Master Bible's "Archaeological Supplement," George Robinson quoted the late Henry Morgenthau's autobiography All in a Life Time, which "Zionism is the most stupendous fallacy in Jewish history." Robinson declared that the Zionists are not Judahites:
The Zionists are not Jews according to race. Rather, they are the descendants of a hoard of pagans who pressed into Russia in the first century of our era and in due time became proselytes to Judaism. In 692 A.D., they formed the Khazar kingdom. In 955 A.D., Russia conquered them. They are neither Jews by race, nor are they genuinely Jewish in religion. They pass as Jews and pretend that they are the descendants of Israel and therefore, have a right to Palestine as their national homeland, but they are false in their claims and irreligious in their living.36
The previous quotations are documented as historically accurate in the remarkable book The Thirteenth Tribe written by the well-known Jewish author Arthur Koestler. This book is summed up in the following statement:
In this last chapter I have tried to show that the evidence from Anthropology concurs with history in refuting the popular belief in a [modern] Jewish race descended from a biblical [Israelite] tribe.37
In his book What Is A Jew?, Rabbi Morris Kertzer testified that many ancient Jewish Rabbis were non-Israelite gentiles:
Several of the ancient rabbis, in fact, including some of those who created the Talmud, traced their ancestry to Gentiles who had been converted to Judaism.38
Consequently, the descendants of those ancient rabbis would also be non-Israelite gentiles. To serious students of the Bible, none of this should come as a surprise. Yeshua (Jesus' given Hebrew name) warned of imposters who falsely claim to be Israelites:
I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Judahites,* and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. - Revelation 2:9Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Judahites, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. - Revelation 3:9
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*The word "Jew(s)" does not accurately convey the biblical intent of the original Hebrew and Greek words Yahuwdi and Ioudaios. To accurately reflect that intent, I have inserted Judahite(s) where appropriate.
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In other words, there were and are imposters who claim to be descendants of Jacob Israel from the house of Judah. After quoting the previous verse of Scripture in The Life of an American Jew in Racist Marxist Israel, Jewish author Jack Bernstein pointed to today's Jews as "...the people to whom God was referring"39 in Revelation 3:9.
Arthur Koestler was unable to genetically trace the majority of today's Jewish people to Jacob Israel. But, he did trace their Khazar ancestry to non-Israelites:
...genetically they are more closely related to the Hun, Uigur and Magyar tribes than to the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Should this turn out to be the case, then the term "anti-Semitism" would become void of meaning.40The Khazars and their King are all Jews [by conversion to Judaism].... Some are of the opinion that Gog and Magog are the Khazars.41
Joseph [one of the Khazar kings] then proceeds to provide a genealogy of his people. Though a fierce Jewish nationalist, proud of wielding the 'Sceptre of Judah,' he cannot, and does not, claim for them Semitic descent....42
According to the article 'Statistics' in The Jewish Encyclopedia, in the sixteenth century the total Jewish population of the world amounted to about one million. This seems to indicate ... that during the Middle Ages that the majority of those who professed the Judaic faith were Khazars.43
Today's descendants of yesterday's Khazars cannot be Israelites. A point even more pertinent is that the Khazars have the biblical and spiritual marks of Esau Edom's descendants.44 Some historians maintain that the Turkish tribes, from whom the Khazars are descended, can be traced to Teman, the grandson of Esau. The Jewish Encyclopedia recounts a Khazar tradition that originally places some of their progenitors near the land of Edom:
Hasdai ibn Shaprut, who was foreign minister to Abd al-Rahjan, Sultan of Cordova, in his letter to King Joseph of the Chazars (about 960 [AD]) ... speaks of the tradition according to which the Chazars once dwelt near the Seir (Serer) Mountains.45
Mount Seir and the surrounding area was the Edomites' homeland:
And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. - Genesis 32:3Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom. - Genesis 36:8
At the time of Esther, approximately 475 BC, it is certain that relatives of Haman and other Edomites, who were a part of the Persian population, became known as Judahites by converting to their religion:
And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Judahites had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the [non-Judahite] people of the land became Judahites; for the fear of the Judahites fell upon them. - Esther 8:17
According to three Jewish encyclopedias and Flavius Josephus, the entire Edomite nation was forced into converting to Judaism and became known as Judahites at the time of the high priest John Hyrcanus (Maccabaeus):
...in the days of John Hyrcanus (end of the second century B.C.E.) ... the Edomites became a section of the Jewish people.46They were then incorporated with the Jewish nation....47
...from then on they constituted a part of the Jewish people, Herod [King of Judea] being one of their descendants.48
...they submitted to the use of circumcision, and the rest of the Jewish ways of living; at which time ... they were hereafter no other than Jews.49
By their own testimony, the vast majority of today's Jews are not racial Israelites or even Judahites. History reveals that most of today's Jews are Khazars and Edomites because of forced conversion in the seventh and second centuries BC, and voluntary conversion in the seventh century AD. The Edomite connection with today's Jews is an important piece of the puzzle that will be addressed in more detail in Chapter 10.
31. "Identity Crisis," The Jewish Almanac, compiled and edited by Richard Siegel and Carl Rheins (New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1980) p. 3.
32. Leo Heiman, "The Jews That Maybe Aren't," San Diego Union, 28 August 1966.
33. God's Covenant People: Yesterday, Today and Forever, by Ted R. Weiland, reveals from the testimony of the Jews themselves that most of today's Jews are not Israelites. God's Covenant People may be read online, or it may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363 for a suggested donation of $14.*
34. Benjamin H. Freedman, "Economic Council Letter, No 177 (October 15, 1947)," Palestine (New York, NY: National Economic Council, Inc., 1947) quoted in Destiny Magazine, 28 January 1948.
35. Herbert George Wells, The Outline of History (New York, NY: The Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc., 1923) p. 494.
36. George L. Robinson, "Archaeological Supplement," The Master Bible, p. 1398-G.
37. Arthur Koestler, The Thirteenth Tribe (New York, NY: Random House, 1976) p. 199.
38. Rabbi Morris N. Kertzer, What Is a Jew? (New York, NY: Collier Books, 1960) p. 203.
39. Jack Bernstein, as told to Len Martin, The Life of an American Jew in Racist Marxist Israel (Costa Mesa, CA: The Noontide Press, 1991) p. 20.
44. Who is Esau-Edom? by Charles A. Weisman (Burnsville, MN: Weisman Publications, 1991) presents numerous Edomite characteristics found in the Khazars and in their modern Jewish descendants.
45. "Chazars," The Jewish Encyclopedia (New York, NY: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1905) Volume IV, p. 3.
46. "Edom," Encyclopaedia Judaica (Jerusalem, Israel: Encyclopaedia Judaica Company, 1971) Volume 6, p. 378.
47. "Edom, Idumea," The Jewish Encyclopedia (New York & London: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1904) Volume V, p. 41.
48. Cecil Roth and Geoffrey Wigoden, "Edom (Idumea)," The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1977) p. 589.
49. Flavius Josephus, "The Antiquities of the Jews," Josephus, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1960) Book XIII, Chapter IX, Verse 1, p. 279.
*In keeping with 2 Corinthians 9:7, this ministry is supported by freewill offerings. We are admonished in Matthew 10:8 that “freely ye have received, freely give.” Therefore, we will be pleased to provide you with whatever you need for whatever you can send.