#A Tribe Called Judah | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

drifting-pieces-blog-blog · 7 months

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SO WHAT'S THE REAL DEAL WITH ISRAEL? A history of a nation, a people, and a whole lot of conflict.

There is a LOT of misinformation going around in relations to the history of Israel and Palestine. I’m going to do my best to provide you with a comprehensive overview of this land and what’s going on.

Is it going to be perfect? No. But it’s going to be a lot better than the crap I came across today of an infograph that was filled with wrong information set to fuel the desire that people seem to have to ‘be on the right side’ of a war.

This is going to be LONG. But I’m going to try to make it interesting. I hope that at least one person that enjoys history gets something out of this. And please, feel free to ask questions!

And I do mean questions and not just hate screaming out ‘facts’ that you read once from someone with no sources on a badly photoshopped image of two women talking about how Israel isn’t a real place.

I’m not here to spread hate. I’m here to give you the facts so that hopefully things can be understood a little better and maybe we can start choosing to help and not simply fuel the fire of hate.

I’m going to use a lot of Wiki links because I would like to encourage people to go read the articles and do a little wiki deep dive for themselves. It’s fascinating, and hey, you might learn a few random cool things on the way. I'd also encourage further reading if you are really interested or have questions. Wiki can only get you so far.

I’m also going to avoid talking about religious history in depth and simply stick to the people.

SO! Let’s get into it! Let's actually LEARN something for once!

We start with 14 tribes in the Bronze age 1175-900 BCE

We get into some sketchy history that dates back to King David. Early records are rough because of all the war and destruction from back then...also that it was 1175-900 BCE and record keeping was often difficult at best when it wasn't being burned down.

Essentially, the 14 tribes did what everyone did back then (and arguably still do) and they fought. A lot.

King David (1005 BCE - 968 BCE) is credited as the one who gathered up a group of people that had been fighting with another group of people and kicking the ever loving shit out of these people with slingshots (a standard weapon used by shepherds to fight off thieves and LIONS) and the use of a nice newly created metal called Iron (welcome to the Iron Age!)

He got mythicised a bit and the whole David vs Goliath became the story. It's where record keeping got a bit off... But there is proof of this man existing.

After the war, he united the split up tribes and became King of Judah and created the capital of Jerusalem ((hey look! They got their name because they were from Judah. They were the Judes. The Jews. The Jewish People. See how language evolves over time?).

The next king, one you may have heard of, was King Solomon (968BCE-928BCE). He is credited as being in charge of the building of the first Temple.

The first temple was an incredibly sacred place and where a lot of the things that defined and made the Jewish culture were kept.

After he died, there was no clear succession line and the kingdom split into two. The Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the south.

Let's head on over to Wiki and see what they have to say about this piece of land.

"The earliest known reference to "Israel" as a people or tribal confederation is in the Merneptah Stele, an inscription from ancient Egypt that dates to about 1208 BCE, but the people group may be older."

So yeah, we got Israel mentions that date back to 1208 BCE. Before the splitting of the religions and people.

But WAIT. What's that strip of land to the west called the Philistine states???

It isn't what you think it is.

The Philistines were a group of people who lived in Canaan during the Iron Age, roughly 1175 BCE.

They often had tiffs with their neighbors over land and identity, which often left their relations with Jerusalem not the best.

Now, during this time, many of the settlements throughout what is now Israel was sparsely populated and the original inhabitants (the Canaan people) were dwindling and fading out. It wasn't uncommon during this time to come across completely abandoned settlements and ruins.

Most of the population was centered around Jerusalem.

You see, back in the late Bronze age, Egypt called all the shots. Take a look at the map down below. Look at all that Egypt territory!

(keep an eye on that purple bit. It’s about to get important).

Egypt had final authority on all land disputes in this area. They considered the whole area to be a part of their domain. Their records were a little....outdated. They still listed everything as being run by the Canaanites! In fact, it wasn't uncommon for the lingering Canaanites to run to Egypt any time they had issues with the other tribes and demand that it be settled in their courts. When we start to see mention of Israel in Egyptian records, it is referring to a people (think ethnicity) and NOT a state! And the Egyptians were starting to see them as a problem.

So what happened to the Canaanites? They got absorbed by the tribes that were taking over the land: Philistines, Phoenicians (Hey, I know that word from middle school history!), and the Israelites.

In 539 BCE, a little nation called Neo-Assyrian Empire took the northern part of Israel. Then they slowly expanded into the Assyrian Empire.

Wait a moment. Zoom in. Enhance. Look at Jerusalem hanging out all alone over there as an unconquered little square surrounded by orange.

You see, Jerusalem was built as a fortress. A fully walled in city surrounded by unforgiving hill country, and land that worked in their favor.

And then, Babylon happened. They were having a pretty good run and getting a pretty good reputation as being a HUGE thorn in the side of the rising empires.

You see that bright purple bit on the other map up there? Yeah, it’s about to get a LOT bigger.

(This is a VERY simplified map. Because this is early Neo-Babylon and it absolutely expanded further than this over time. )

They expanded around 911-505 BCE and wiped the Philistine people out. POOF. GONE. These people most likely were killed off and taken as slaves by Babylon and then assimilated into the Babylonian people.

What's interesting is that the Hebrew Bible (which is a record of the Jewish People, their history, and their story of survival as well as laws) is the primary source of the mention of the Philistines due to the conflict with them. (It’s also mentioned in the Quran.)

So what happened?

In-fighting. Lots and lots of in-fighting. But that's over simplifying it. If you are Jewish, you know what I'm talking about (this is why there is a rule about how "A Jew is a Jew is a Jew". Division is what leads to weakening of a people and leads to what happens next). The fracturing of the kingdom and disputes over rulers and laws caused them to divide their loyalties and left them open to bad things. Very bad things.

Remember Babylon? And how they wiped out the Philistines?

They didn't exactly avoid Israel on their voyage to wipe out the Philistines.

720 BCE, The Kingdom of Israel fell to the newly forming Babylonian Empire.

King Nebuchadnezzar II grew tired of Jewish revolts against the new empire (see the unconquerable city of Jerusalem) and well...

They attacked Jerusalem. This is called "The Fall of the 1st Temple" in Jewish history (589–586 BCE).

Jerusalem fell and the Jewish People were exiled (taken as slaves) to Babylon. This is recorded history!

It was during this that the Israelite religion really started to form and come together.

You see, when the temple was wiped out, it was a blatant attempt to destroy not just a people, but a record of a people and erase them and all mentions of them from the face of the earth (See the Philistine people who pretty much only exist because of a few Jewish records about their disputes).

But the people retained their stories in exile and really got together and formed the corner stone for the way the world's first Monotheistic religion worked: Judaism. (People of Judah. Get it? It's based on a people from a place!)

The exile lasted for a long....long time. Exile not just as slaves, but with strict laws that forbid the Jewish people from setting foot in their old land.

What happened next? King Cyrus! (At this point, Persia existed 550 BCE).

I'm not going to get into the history of Persia (though it is FASCINATING and I recommend you look at it if you want to know the history of the middle east.)

Now good king Cyrus told the Jews that they were all free to go in 538 BCE. So naturally the Jewish people packed up and made a run for Judah.

This was called "The Return to Zion".

What does that mean?

"Zion is a placename in the Hebrew Bible, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole."

So that’s where that word originated from!

OH. You know what else is called Zion? Mount Zion. A mountain located to the south... It has SIGNIFICANT biblical meaning, as well as the location of strongholds and other things. Look it up.

So, the Jews were allowed to return to Judah, but it still fell under Persian rule. They were just considered a 'Self-governing Jewish Province".

Some returned. Some stayed. They'd lived in Babylon so long that they figured they had made a home there. I’m also willing to bet that there was reluctance to leave due to 1. The great distance they had to travel (like some sort of…exodus?) and 2. Fear of it being a trick and getting captured again. Hmmmm…. Sounds like a familiar story?

You may be asking yourself about Egypt right about now. What's this exodus and ten commandment thing and the plagues and all that fun business I heard about in the bible/torah/Quran. (Hi Moses! in Hebrew his name is Moshe. In the Quran it's Musa! But in Muslim, it's a different story and not exactly the familiar one against Pharaoh!)

Well, I'm not going to get too deeply into the religious stories for a lot of reasons, but a lot of the original Bible (old testament)/Torah was based off of stories told while the Jewish people were in exile in Babylon! They told these stories as a way to keep their faith, traditions, and cultural identities alive while being forced to assimilate. (The story of Noah and the flood mimics a Babylonian flood myth: Gilgamesh Flood! It's a fascinating read).

But that isn't to say that Judea didn't have complicated and often nasty relations with Egypt.

But, as the Jewish people slowly started to return to Judah, a more distinctive Jewish identity, culture, and religion started to form.

And it was at this time that the Second temple was built.

This is where things are going to start getting complicated.

Second temple period! (520 BCE-70 CE)

Because of what happened in Babylon, it became more important than ever to revise how they did things.

The second temple became a bigger deal and the way the city was run changed.

Hey look, Persia has a new king! And he's not liking what he's seeing in Judea. These guys are starting to get a little too big for their britches.

BUT WAIT! Look over there! It's Alexander the Great! And he's conquered Phoenicia and Gaza!

The Greek Syrian empire is starting to spread out. But there's a small truce with Judea. They’ll protect them from Persia and the Jews can keep doing their thing as long as they aren't a problem.

However, the Seleucid Empire is starting to push into Judea and take control. The Seleucid empire was a Greek power during the Hellenistic period (312 BCE) founded by the Macedonian Empire...Ruled by Alexander the Great. And they are big into worshiping other gods and forcing people to worship their gods and rulers. This is a big no no for the Jewish people and kingdom of Judea.

They start to send envoys to Greek trying to get the rulers there to listen to them. It’s not long before their envoys start coming back with bad news….and then stop coming back.

The Jewish people have seen this before.

And guess what? Jerusalem has become a problem. They aren't liking all the Hellenistic influence happening in Judea or the fact that the empire is starting to put a stranglehold on them.

Alright, all my Jewish people? It's time to revolt with the Maccabees! (167-140 BCE) Jerusalem was under siege and the walls are breached! The city is taken and the temple has been captured by the enemy.

Remember about the hostile countryside I mentioned earlier?

Time for some Guerrilla warfare! The Maccabees retake the city and spend 8 days fixing up the temple after it was desecrated and all they got is just a little oil that stretches out way longer than it should have lasted (Hanukkah cliff note story version).

But, there are other powers that are threatening them. Egypt has fallen and the Seleucid Empire is pretty pissed at them.

We get revolt after revolt. Judea wants the Greeks gone and Rome is the power to do it.

140 BCE - 63 BCE. The Hasmonean dynasty takes control of Judea. They expand outward.

The Hasmonean dynasty was a ruling dynasty of Judea that is WAY more complicated than I'm willing to get into because I barely understand it. But here it is if anyone wants to take a crack at it.

Basically, with the Seleucid Empire falling apart, Judea gained autonomy and expanded into neighboring regions (Perea, Samaria, Idumea, Galilee, and Iturea).

The Roman Republic stepped in at some point and it became a "client state" of Rome.

Now, those of you that know your Greek/Roman history know that some big power changes are starting to happen.

Enter King Herod (37 BCE) (And all the Christians in the room say BOOO.)

Now SOME of you may be paying attention to the dates. We stopped going down and started going back up.

All the Christian’s here know what that means. A certain Jewish man has been born, caused problems for the Romans, and then was killed by the Romans for causing problems.

We now have the birth of Christianity. At this point it’s just seen as a division of Judaism and not a real separate entity.

We got Julius Caesar and Pompey and Mark Antony and Augustus happening over there in Rome and Judea is doing its best to stay alive and independent. They need protection from the other places that are trying to take them out and they know Rome is the key. So they make deals with one ruler only for that ruler to be killed and replaced by other rulers. It's getting hard for them to keep up.

6 CE Rome is their ally. 44 CE Rome sends someone to preside over them and Judea is considered a "Minor province."

Powers are changing hands so fast that no one knows who is in charge anymore.

The Hasmonean Kingdom eventually falls, but the Jewish desire for independence continues. Only now, they are at war with Rome.

This whole time period is a cluster of problems and it’s honestly hard to keep up with who was allies and in charge and ruling and expanding and fighting. Just know that Caesar wasn’t the only one getting knifed in the back and by the time a face was stamped on a coin there was a new face in charge. It was rough.

The important thing to know is that in the year 70 CE, Rome besieged Jerusalem.

Emperor Titus was done with the Jewish issue.

They held out as long as they could. And then the walls fell.

The city was burned and the temple was looted and burned. The majority of the population that wasn't killed in the fighting was outright massacred and the rest were taken as slaves.

The Jews that managed to make it out of the city ran for the countryside and hillside. Many were hunted down and killed by waiting soldiers. The Jewish population was sold and scattered across the roman empire.

The loot taken from the temple was paraded through Rome with the slaves. They even made a monument for it!

Arch of Titus, which still stands in Rome today. You can see them carrying the holy Menorah through the streets.

There is plenty of Archeological evidence that supports what happened at the destruction of Jerusalem.

Massive stone collapses from the Temple Mount's walls were discovered laying over the Herodian street that runs along the Western Wall.

It's theorized that 1.1 Million people, the majority of the Jewish people, were killed during the siege.

I can't convey enough just how big this event was.

All Jewish people were forbidden from setting foot in Judea.

We now come to 73 CE, Christianity is considered its own distinct religion.

So what happened to the land?

All the Jews were gone. Banished, enslaved, or dead. So who got the land?

Well... Firstly, the city of Jerusalem was gone. When Rome wanted something gone, they made it gone.

There was rubble and not much else.

Know what else they did? The forest was burned down. The land was razed to a point where even today, it is still struggling to recover.

Jewish areas around Jerusalem were systematically destroyed one by one. There were still uprisings here and there, but they were quickly put down.

The Roman emperor Hadrian decided that he'd had enough of revolts and set out to destroy Judea once and for all. And while he did kick it in the teeth, he never succeeded in destroying the people. (They got real good at surviving and real stubborn about not getting eradicated). Small Jewish areas did survive in various outlier areas and small farming places that were otherwise overlooked. But life was certainly not made easy for them.

Judaea was changed to Syria Palaestina.

Sound familiar? Two empires that were enemies to the Jewish people. Remember when I said the Greek records were really out of date and still listed the Canaanites as in charge of the area? Well… They also still called the area Palestina. You see, Hadrian got the name "Palaestina" from Herodotus' Histories from nearly 500 years before. But Herodotus only called the strip of land along the coast "Palaistine" after the Philistines. He wasn't referring to all of Judaea. And the reason Herodotus called that strip of coastline "Palaistine" was because the Philistines were Mycenaean Greeks, so he was recognizing a (long since dead) former settlement of Greeks. (When Rome wants you gone, they want you GONE and to suffer).

Rome built a colony on the ruins of Jerusalem, Aelia Capitolina. Eventually, former Judea became a Christian pilgrimage and was settled by Christians. The land became known as Palestine.

Not what you were expecting, huh? Bet you didn’t think the Christians would get involved in this Jewish vs Muslim issue.

So 900 BCE to 70 CE, it belonged to the Jewish people (with the brief exception to the period of exile to Babylon).

Then the Christians took over from Rome when Christianity took over and mass conversions started to sweep the world.

Eventually, the population became a mixed bag of Romans and migrants from nearby provinces.

361-363 CE - The Roman Emperor says the Jewish people can return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. In fact, he encourages it! He’s excited about it and starts to fund it and gathers up all the leaders, who are confused but cautiously optimistic.

The Emperor is assassinated before anything gets underway and the Jewish people are banished from the holy land again.

438 CE - Jews are now allowed to visit the Temple site. Note how it's visit, not live. A few times a year they are let into the city to visit where the Temple once stood so they can pray, then they are forced to leave again.

Oops! Back up a it! What’s happening over there during all this? It’s the 7th Century and Islam has now become a major religion! Any Jews hanging out in the Arabian Peninsula? Convert or get out. They’re going to keep their eye on what’s been happening with Rome, the Jews, and the Christians in regards to ‘Palestine’.

After all, Islam is a cousin to Judaism and they do share similarities to the holy sites.

And there have been MANY wars over the holy sites. Sieges, betrayals, false alliances, and an overall repeated attempt to eradicate and massacre people over the land.

Now, we all know the Roman Empire eventually fell. But the Jewish people? Still banished. They became the Diaspora. Attempting to settle in place after place until they are either massacred, converted, or kicked out. They have no home. Just a place to sit for a bit until the next massacre forces them to flee.

That's not even getting into the Crusades of the Christians against Islam in Palestine 1095-1291!!

So... Skipping over a LOT of history and massacres and terrible things....

Oh boy oh boy. I'm going to skip a LOT. Because the crusades are a mess of WTFery and I'm not writing a thesis here (right?).

But... 1917, enter Britain. Because of course Britain has to get involved at some point. You wouldn't be telling a world history tragedy story without Britain somehow getting involved.

They take control of Palestine from the Turks. Basically, WWI just ended and the Ottoman Empire lost big time. Their punishment? Britain now rules their land (I’ll get to that in a bit).

A decree is issued establishing Palestine as a national home for Jewish People, so long as nothing is done to cause prejudice or remove the civil rights or religious rights of the existing people that live there (Non-Jewish communities).

Many Jewish people interpret this to mean that ALL of Palestine is now a Jewish State.

1921: Britain changes their mind. All of Palestine east of the Jordan River is closed to Jewish settlement, but not to Arab settlement.

Oh boy.

1923: Britain says Arabs can immigrate but NOT Jewish people to Syria and Lebanon.

What? What are you doing Britain?

Remember that Western Wall rubble that was found in Jerusalem? The last remains of the Temple? By 1929: Muslims and Jews have been fighting over that wall for ages. Riots break out in Palestine and Jewish people are massacred.

Annnnnnd that takes us to 1933 when Hitler rises to power. Jewish people everywhere attempt to start to emigrate and flee to what they hope are safe countries.

1939: British government limits Jewish immigrants to 10,000 a year. Jewish people are trapped and the Holocaust catches up.

1945-1948: Post Holocaust refugees try to find the only place that they may call home: Palestine. The British government detains them and prevents their entry.

1946-1948: Things start to get violent in Palestine and British rule is unsure if they want Jews there or not.

1947: the UN approves the creation of the Jewish State and an Arab State in British ruled Palestine.

1948: Israel declares independence as a Jewish State and opens up to all Jewish people trying to find a safe place to live after the Holocaust. Essentially, it becomes a refugee state and if you are Jewish in any manner of the word, you are now a citizen and have a country to escape to when the massacres happen.

A Jewish Exodus from Arab and Muslim lands results as they flee or are expelled.

Egypt invades and Israel holds fast, expanding its borders as a result.

Egypt continues to attack and threaten Israel until the Six Day War in 1967 when Israel captured the West Bank

(Pictured here)

The West Bank is considered the heart of Palestinians. This is known as the Gaza Strip.

Many Israelis see this area as their ancestral Homeland. Many Israeli settlements are starting to push into this area in a ruthless attempt to take it back. I DO say ruthless because they have been using violence against those living there and farming there.

There is international law that states that this area is off limits to Israelis.

"1890: The term "Zionism" is coined by an Austrian Jewish publicist Nathan Birnbaum in his journal "Self Emancipation" and is defined as the National movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish Sovereignty in the Land of Israel. "

Now, the term Zionism has taken on different roles and meanings over the years. I mentioned above what the word means and comes from. But it was later claimed by right wing Israelis who want the Arab nations out of Israel. It was later taken back again to being used as a simple declaration of nationalism for the right for Jews to have a place to call their own.

It's...complicated. I think Zionism can only really be defined by those who claim they are Zionists. Which ideology they follow may vary and much like any notion of nationalism, there are problems and dangers.

Is it wrong to be a Zionist? Depends. But the answer is not a straightforward yes or no.

The Jewish people deserve to exist in a state. But so do the Palestinians.

Let's talk about Palestine!

Historically, you got nothing until Judea is destroyed and the people are taken as slaves and killed in 70 CE.

Then you have a bunch of Christians wandering around it declaring all the historical sites to be theirs. Which, since Christianity comes from Judaism, they happen to share a lot of the same spiritual and historical sites.

But so does Islam.

There are repeated revolts, wars, disputes, and claims to the area by MANY different factions.

Many times the Jewish people attempted to retake the area only to be put down again and again.

In the late 6th Century, Islam was founded. They conquered Palestine in 636. Unlike previous rulers, they allowed Jews and Christians the freedom to practice their religion in peace.... but they had to pay a special tax and be submissive to Muslims. But, they did lift the centuries long ban on Jews being banished from Jerusalem.

Guess who wasn't a fan of all this?

Time for Crusades to 'liberate' Jerusalem from the Muslims.

European Christians campaigned against Muslims to reconquer the 'Holy Land' of Palestine.

Hey look! The Ottomon Empire (1466 CE) decided to show up!

As I mentioned above, the Ottoman Empire had sided with the Germans and lost. They were driven from Palestine and British rule took over.

Remember how I mentioned that the British government declared Palestine to be a Jewish State in 1916? Well it turns out that just one year earlier, in 1915, it had been declared an Arab State in which the UK agreed to recognize Arab independence. BOTH declarations were seen as giving full control to either the Jewish People or the Arabs.

Good job Britain. Way to do what you always do and cock it up.

Here’s the biggest problem with saying that you side fully with Palestine. Internationally recognized terrorists political movement of: Hamas.

Hamas is an Acronym that translates to 'Islamic Resistance Movement'.

It's a political military movement that governs parts of the Gaza Strip.

They have taken charge and governed the Gaza Strip since 2006 and have periodically attacked Israel. They promote Palestinian Nationalism in a strictly Islamic context.

In fact, they propose that Israel NOT be recognized as a state and that a strictly Palestinian State be formed.

All the truces they offer to Israel over the years? Incredibly Antisemitic. They have carried out numerous terrorist attacks against the citizens of Israel and continue to 'advocate' for the return of Palestine without Jews.

They tend to be the 'dominant political force' in Palestine because of their anti-israel stance. They pretend to want a two state solution, but will repeatedly reject talks and demand "From the River to the Sea". Their end goal is to remove ALL of Israel and return the entire region to Palestine, thus making it an Islamic State.

It’s important to know that this is a radical group that unfortunately has a lot of control and uses its own people to terrorize and hide behind in an effort to bring about fear and hate and death. The actual Palestinian people do not deserve that.

It’s also important to know that the Israeli people do not all support their own government or leaders who have decided to take up an extremist approach to attempting to eradicate the terrorist movement.

MANY Israeli and Palestinian people believe in trying to find a negotiation that will benefit both sides and share a land that in a long lengthy way does represent three major religions.

It is important to know what Charities are supporting. Where the money is going, and who is only furthering violence on both sides.

It’s also important to know your history.

When I was little, If you said someone was Jewish, I imagined a white European man. Why is that the common image of a Jewish person? How is it possible to be a colonizer if your people come from that country in the first place?

So I'm going to ask you a question, and I REALLY want you to think about this.

If someone owns land and comes from a land, they are forcibly removed from the land for a LONG amount of time, someone else comes in and makes a home of this land and lives there for a long time, and then the first people want that land back.... Do they become colonizers? Are they wrong? Do they not deserve their land back?

If you think the answer is yes, you need to go have a conversation with the Native Americans.

BUT, as we all know... What do you do about the people that currently own and live on that land that was stolen from the first people? Maybe you didn't do the stealing, but you acquired stolen property and if you give it back then now you have nowhere else to go.... What sort of conversation needs to happen now? How do you solve this problem?

If you made it to the end, I thank you so much for taking the time to be curious about history and how it impacts current events. If you have questions, please let me know.

#History #Palestine #Israel #Stop letting tik tok tell you what to think #Antisemitism isn't the answer #Long post #Taking a risk here but it's worth it #Jewish history #jumblr #Over simplification of events but still useful I hope #Please read #please at least skim it

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krindor · 4 months

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Jewish Life Pre-Diaspora: Women's Hair

back in april @mylight-png made a post expressing a desire to learn about small details of "ancient Judean" life such as clothes, jewelry, hair, etc. and I've found the idea of addressing what I, as a Jewish archaeologist, could in that post intriguing. these types of questions are some of the most interesting, but also the most challenging, for archaeology.

Defining "ancient Judeans"

In this, I'm looking for ancient Judeans as defined by Light's quote "I wish to know what traditional, pre-occupation, pre-exile Jewish life was like." which I'm taking as before the babylonian diaspora in 586 BCE, because anything after that date is post-diaspora, and while there were occupations before 586 BCE, I want to be able to give some answers.

Women's Hair

The only definitive visual depiction of Judean women I could find came from the Lachish Relief, a wall decoration in Sennacherib's Southwest Palace in Nineveh, which is in modern-day Iraq. It depicts the outcome of the siege of Lachish in 701 BCE, where the Assyrians sacked the Judean city as a part of Sennacherib's campaigns into Israel and Judah (the same campaign that led to the diaspora of the 'ten lost tribes')

In the relief, women are displayed as wearing long headscarves (below) so unfortunately this tells us little about their hair (in the relief, children are shown as miniaturized adults, so we also learn nothing about girls hair from the relief).

(Image credit: Amanda Borschel-Dan/Times of Israel)

Hope for learning anything about women's hair isn't lost though, thanks to a type of artifact called a Judean Pillar Figurine (or JPF's for short). These figurines are split into two groups: those using well detailed molds, and handmade, more abstract pieces.

(Deutsch, 2022)

Hundreds of JPF's have been found, with over 50% of them coming from the Jerusalem area and all dating to the 9th-6th centuries BCE, which is the time period we're looking for. The primary issue is that we don't know what exactly they were used for, or who they represent. They could be depictions of Judean women, but it's also likely that they are depictions of Ashera, a local fertility deity that was worshiped alongside El/Hashem in domestic settings (religion in pre-diaspora Israel and Judah is messy, I should probably do one of these about it), and it's even been theorized that they are children's toys. The two types may even be used differently, we just don't know. So while I'm going to show the JPF hairstyles, keep in mind that these may not be the actual hairstyles Judean women wore.

The mold-made faces consistently have "voluminous cheek- or chin-length hair framing a face with full cheeks, a mouth that may smile slightly, a chin, nose, and almond-shaped eyes." (Ben-Shlomo and McCormick 2021, 27, image below from the same, 29).

This hairstyle is seen in the area as early as the 12th century BCE, on an ivory flask "bottle figure" from Lachish, which is pre-Israelite, so this hairstyle has been in the region for a while. (Niditch 2008, 44), and may resemble an Egyptian wig in its form, owing to Egypt's cultural influence over Canaanite and early Israelite culture (Deutsch 2022).

This consistency and longevity in the features is also used as an argument that they represent a single individual (again, Ashera), rather than this hairstyle being ubiquitous among Judean women.

Among the handmade, pinched face JPF's, there is naturally more variety, and a possible hairstyle can be seen in them from Tell en-Nasbeh. Some of these handmade JPF's have a headband that has two side locks coming from underneath it (below), and while none displayed side locks without a headband, the reverse isn't true, though exceptionally rare (2 of the 37 JPF's found had a headband without hair).

(Ben-Shlomo and McCormick 2021, 29)

Conclusion

Due to the undetermined nature of the JPFs, and the lack of other evidence at the moment, it's impossible to definitively say "this is how ancient Judean women styled their hair." That being said, I hope I've presented some current ideas from my field that are interesting, and shed a little light on such an ephemeral topic.

TLDR: I couldn't find much, but there is ongoing research into this topic in archaeology.

#jewish stuff #archaeology #ancient israel #israeli archaeology #long post #op is me #JLPD Project

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my-midnight-musings-xoxo · 2 months

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Major spoilers for MadK!

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As mentioned, it’s J’s turn to be picked apart! It’s not an in-depth analysis either, sorry. It is a ramble about his character design! I apologize in advance if this is obvious or boring!

Alright, we’re starting at the bottom, literally.

Lions symbolize courage, nobility, royalty, protectiveness specifically in a familial way. What’s intriguing is that lions represent both the devil and Jesus in the bible, befitting of J. (Note this isn’t an assumption of Ryo Suzuri’s religion, purely just speculation on design. I’m not religious but this along with the angel wings made me think of it).

In 1 Peter 5:8 the devil is likened to a roaring lion: “seeking someone to devour,” referring to his deceptive and destructive nature. On the other hand, in Revelation 5:5, Jesus Christ is referred to as “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah,” epitomizing His divine authority, majesty, and ultimate victory over evil. - The Lion In Biblical Symbolism: A Powerful Emblem of Courage, Majesty, And Justice by Digital Bible

I wouldn’t call him a father figure, but he does take on this caretaker-esque role by bringing them to the brothel to “teach them”, it feels like a twisted sense of raising. He seems to take young people such as Datenshou, who in Vol 3 Chapter 16 was shown to be a young incensate when taken in by J. The obvious view is young and vulnerable people are easier to mold into what you want. I think this leans into J viewing himself as the mentor Wald was to him, but also finding people similar to him, re-raising himself, or at the least self projection. His younger self in Vol 3 appears in chapter 15, and at one point J refers to himself as Wald’s greatest creation. (As much as I’d love to ramble about the metaphors of owning names, this will already be long)

Both J and Makoto cannot see themselves outside of their creators, with J’s third eye that he gouges out alluded to being Wald’s as J says “It was the eye of someone who cursed me a long, long time ago. Though I guess you could say I went to them to be cursed.” Earlier in the chapter younger J wanted to choose how he died if he couldn’t choose where he started. The only physical difference between Wald and J’s fate is that J fully passed on at the end, but Wald was forever stuck in his mansion. J was trapped mentally and physically for centuries after Wald, taking on the role of nobody led to no one truly knowing him. With Makoto he could finally rest, Vol 2 at the end of Chapter 16 J says while embracing Makoto after he forced him to kill his own father, “Hate me all you like…and quickly climb up here with me.” (The art is stunning here oh my gosh I could gush about it forever!) Once again J is choosing how he wishes to die, but it succeeds. I guess in this way you could argue it’s a metaphor for J killing himself, he’s transferred so much of himself into Makoto, but maybe that’s a reach who knows.

Onto the wings! Obviously, they’re associated with angels (honestly I would’ve loved it if he said ‘be not afraid’ like those biblically accurate angels when Makoto and him first met, it would’ve been beautifully ironic but that’s just me) but they quickly made me think of Lucifer. I highly doubt this was intentional, I just find it interesting that J is called an Archduke and that Archangels (from my research!) are sent to personally oversee and assist humans with a range of issues, do with that what you will.

Something I appreciate is art seeming touchable. A popular example for me is Vittorio Reggianini, please do yourself a favor and look up his paintings! The way he paints such vivid textures not only shows his understanding of art but also his dedication and skill.

Not only does Ryo Suzuri draw wings beautifully, but she also draws them in a way where I feel like I could reach through and feel them. The silky feathers, the soft and curved bone. I admit it looks quite nice to be wrapped in those wings, not only do they look soft to the touch they look safe to be embraced within, their size encouraging the appearance of safety, being shielded away from the outside.

Oh and the hair!! I am a sucker for seeing how different artists draw hair, and even more so for curls. I’ll admit part of that is my inability to draw them, but the first thing I thought when I saw J for the first time was, he has great hair! It’s just so luscious! There’s a scene in Vol 1 Chapter One when J is comforting Makoto and I stared at it for at least 30 seconds. He has this devilish angel quality that I mention so frequently because it’s so wonderfully done I refuse to shut up about it.

The way his hair frames his face almost like smoke as he gazes up at Makoto with eyes full of acceptance and promise, his assured smirk with Makoto in his grasp, ugh!

What I wouldn’t give for an artbook of this manga, I’ll make my own deal with a demon if I have to.

T_T

One day I’m just going to gush about my favorite panels, it’ll probably be soon because I have so many thoughts!!

I meant for this to be posted yesterday so I scheduled it, but I must've done something wrong because it never posted. I'm sorry about that!

#suzuri ryo #madk manga #madk

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miochimochi · 6 months

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Simplified History of Canaan/Israel/Palestine

A good story starts at the beginning. In this case, about 15 thousand years ago in Canaan. The Canaanites were a Northwest Semitic people in the late bronze age comprised of a number of tribes: the Edomites, Amalekites, Phoenicians, Samaritans, and the Israelites, among others.

One of these tribes, the Israelites, revered the Canaanite god Yahweh above the rest. He would be worshiped alongside his consort Asherah and fellow gode El, and Baal. Over time, Yahweh came to lead the whole of the pantheon and became the sole subject of worship - a stage in the Israelite religion dubbed Monolatrism. This would later develop into a Monotheistic position, with gods like Baal being subject to demonization and El being to various epitaphs of Yahweh such as El-Shaddai. This change happened over a number of centuries, although we're unsure how many. What we do know is that the Monolatrist Yahwism was still a major religion in the region around 600BC.

Then came the Iron Age and the establishment of an Israelite kingdom in 1047BC. Saul rose as the first king of the now united Israel. It would continue until Jeroboam's Revolt in 930BC which would split the kingdom into two. Israel to the north, Judah to the south. Israel held control from east of the Jordan to the Mediterranean sea. Judah, on the other hand, had only the Jordan as its bordering water. The west side of Judah was held by the Philistine city states in what is today Gaza.

The Kingdom of Israel, also called the Kingdom of Samaria, had 4 capitals over its short time: Shiloh, Shechem, Tirzah, and Samaria. They lasted for 210 years before being subjugated by the Assyrians. The Assyrian Exile saw the forceful relocation of thousands of Israelites. There were 2 waves out of Israel up into Assyria and 1 other relocation that happened later in Beth-Eden out to Media. They took the northern Israel and dubbed it the province of Semarina. But the Assyrians would find themselves up against the Babylonians who sought the land for themselves. The Neo Assyrian Empire fell to the Neo Babylonian Empire and the lands of Israel, down to Judah as well, would be under Babylonian control.

Jerusalem was the capital of Judah, part of what was known under the Neo Babylonian Empire as the province of Yehud. Judah was not very happy about or compliant with their Babylonian captivity. The Judahite revolts lasted about 15 years and concluded with the Neo Babylonian Empire laying seige to Jerusalem. The seige lasted 2 years, ending in 587BC, ending the Kingdom of Judah after 343 years with the Babylonian exile. The Kingdom of Judah was later granted permission by the Babylonians to return, but no such Edict was made for the Kingdom of Israel. The split is said to be 2 tribes returning to Judah, 10 tribes still in exile. Fun fact: there are actually 13 tribes, the 13th being the Tribe of Levi, a tribe with no territory!

It's likely that this Babylonian exile was a big catalyst for the monotheistic Judaism we know now and a good portion of the Tanakh was written during this time. This was the period in which the Hebrew identity really began to take shape. From their faith, to their politics, and even the writing of their history. It's possible that either the majority of Judah was exiles or that only the few elites, now embittered by their exile and the taking of their land by those who were below them, were the only ones taken into exile.

Keep in mind that since the seige of Jerusalem, the Israelites did not have their temple. It was almost a century later under the Persian empire that the second temple would be built, starting a new age of Hebrew identity. The Persians were rather open to Jewish self-governance, allowing an autonomous kingdom of Israel to rise in the province of Yehud Medinata.

Israel stayed relatively undisturbed for centuries after. The Greeks would conquer Persia and establish the province of Celesyria. The Hasmonean dynasty took rise in 140BC and lasted until 37BC. It was first under the Seleucid empire and then gained a brief period of autonomy until the Hasmonean Civil War broke out and the Roman empire took the opportunity to intervene and subjugate the kingdom in 63BC. The dynasty would collapse with the rise of the Herodian dynasty.

This Herodian Kingdom would continue to be a client state of the Roman empire. After the death of King Herod, the Romans divided the kingdom among his children, marking the beginning of the Herodian Tetrarchy. This too would come to an end and Provincia Iudaea and Iturea would take its place. It was during this time that a man named Yeshua had done his teachings - teachings which would have a great effect on the region in later years. It was also during this time that the Second Temple period came to an end when the Romans besieged Jerusalem in the First Jewish-Roman War.

Provincia Iudaea would find itself changing as a result of the Bar Kokhba Revolt. The region would be named Provincia Syria Palastina in its restructuring and the Jews once again found themselves in exile. Those who remained after the defeat and execution of Bar Kokhba would be themselves executed or enslaved. But the Roman Empire began its decline and would break apart some time later. The region would fall into the hands of the Byzantine Empire. The Jewish land was now under the first empire to be Christian from its founding.

This Christian control would hold until the Muslim conquests began. These conquests fundamentally changed the cultural and demographic landscape of the whole Levant. What was once Northwestern Semitic was now decisively Arabic, a Central Semitic culture. The land of Israel was split between Jund Filastin and Al-'Urduun. It would remain this way under three separate caliphates until the Pope declared the First Crusade which established the Kingdom of Jerusalem which lasted for almost 200 years, then had a 5 year gap in which it was under Muslim control again, and then a nearly 100 more years after it was recaptured with the Third Crusade.

From here, the lands gets continuously taken and divided between various Caliphates, Sultanates, Emirates, and Principalities. But none of them quite got a great hold of the region until the Ottoman Empire got in the game. The empire lasted over 600 years, although the first half of it did not have the region under its control. A joint effort of British, French, and Arab forces would take control of the region away from the Ottoman empire in 1917, and in 1920 there was the establishment of Mandatory Palestine.

In the 1800s, a nationalist movement arose among the Jewish diaspora within Europe called Zionism. The movement called for a Jewish homeland to be reestablished within the region of Palestine, at the time under the control of the Ottoman Empire. It partly rose as a response to the Haskalah, an intellectual movement among Jews in Europe and the Middle East. The Haskalah saw a turn away from traditional dress and institutions, but, likely more importantly, a revival of the Hebrew language. You see, Hebrew at this point was only a liturgical language, the way Latin is in Catholicism. The Haskalah sought for it to be used among even secular society. The Haskalah helped to unify Jews, especially in Europe.

Zionism was always a diverse movement with various leaders holding various different positions, but all agreed on the thing that unified the whole ideology: a return to Israel at any cost. At this point, Jewish identity was still scattered and the bloodlines were muddled by centuries of exile. The Jews were found throughout Eurasia and Africa, but it was particularly the European Jews that had the biggest push towards resettlement and the reestablishment of an Israeli state. The Aliyah had picked up more in earnest.

It's believed that less than 1% of the Jewish diaspora were living in the Palestinian region in the late 19th century. Many Jews began to make aliyah to the region in the 1880s and they began to settle into the land. This was further spured on by the various persecutions Jews had faced in various places, making for a refugee settlement within the land. Through the involvement of the British, French, and Arabs, the political landscape shifted around these new settlers until 1948 when Israel officially became a sovereign nation. In 1950, Israel issued the Law of Return, calling for the global Jewish diaspora to return to the region and be granted citizenship within Israel.

There were clashes between the Jews and Arabs in Palestine during their migrations, but it was at the founding of an Israeli state that tensions soared. Both Israel and new Palestinian states of Gaza and the Jordanian Annexed West Bank argued over their capital. East Jerusalem was held as the Palestinian capital and West Jerusalem was held as the Israeli capital, but both wanted full control of Jerusalem. The conflicts would see the scales tilted most towards the side of Israel, with Palestinians taking the most casualties since Israel's founding.

Thy founding of Israel wasn't a peaceful one. The Arab League was instantly hostile to David Ben Gurion declaring an independent Israel and on May 14th 1948 attacked. The war was decisive, but bloody. Israel lost around 6,000, two thirds of that being civilians, while the Arab League had a combined loss upwards of 20,000 soldiers and civilians. This conflict established the All-Palestine Government, Egyptian occupation of Gaza, the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, the cementing of Israel as a new nation. The Nakba occurred during this war and is what contributed most to the civilian casualties on the side of the Arab League. This event is seen as an ethnic cleansing of Palestine, with many targeted massacres of Arab majority towns and villages. Israel had displaced over 750,000 Arabs from the region during this time.

The Armistance signed at the end of the war was being observed by the parties involved but there was tension over the Straits of Tiran. This culminated in an Israeli invasion of Egypt when Egypt closed off the Suez Canal to Israel. This invasion reopened the canal and placed UNEF forces at the Egypt-Israel border. Israel would then threaten Egypt with a casus belli should they close the canal again. About a decade later, Egypt would mobilize troops to a defensive position at the border, call for the UNEF to leave, and closed the canal again. The UNEF obliged and began to leave. In response to all of this, Israel launched airstrikes against Egyptian airfields and other locations. Israel would simultaneously invade the Sinai peninsula and Gaza sparking the Six Day War. Jordan would launch attacks aimed at slowing the Israeli forces. Syria would join in the fifth day with attacks in the north, and on the sixth day Egyptian president Nasser would call for an evacuation of troops and civilians from the peninsula. The casualties were in the thousands for one side and the hundreds for the Israeli side. Israel didn't even believe Egypt would attack Israel, as the troop movements were not significant enough to engage an offensive.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) would exchange fire at the Israel-Lebanon border, resulting in a number of soldier and civilian casualties on both sides. Back in the UK, a gunman tried to assassinate Israeli ambassador Shlomo Argov. Prime Minister Menachem Begin blamed the PLO for the attack and launched an invasion of southern Lebanon. In reality, the PLO had nothing to do with it - in fact, it was one of the PLO's enemies, the Abu Nidal Organization, that attempted the assassination. With the help of a number of domestic Lebanese-nationalist Christian groups, Israel occupied territory in southern Lebanon. Again with thousands dead on one side, hundreds on the Israeli. The invasion led to an Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, to the chagrin of their Christian allies who had proclaimed the land the Free Lebanon State.

In the 80s, a series of protests and acts of civil disobedience occurred in the Israeli occupied Palestinian territories. People would take to the streets, fights would break out, and people would be killed. It lasted until 1993 with the Israel-PLO mutual recognition letters. These letters saw the PLO recognizing Israel as a sovereign state and Israel recognizing the PLO as the legitimate Palestinian authority. This set the groundwork for the Oslo I accords which resulted in the creation of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Upwards of 200 Israelis were killed and almost 2,000 Palestinians were killed, about 350 of those were killed by other Palestinians.

The accords would call for a 5 year period of peace in which plans for permanent peace could be negotiated. The PNA were to have administrative control of Palestine and the IDF would withdraw from Gaza and the West Bank. Oslo II would be signed in 1995 as an agreement by Israel to transfer authority of the Palestinian Council while also making it so the only armed groups allowed in Palestine would be the Israeli police, Israeli military, and Palestinian police. This would bar Palestine from any formal military or militia.

In 2001, Netanyahu would be secretly recorded as he said "They asked me before the election if I'd honor [the Oslo accords]... I said I would, but [that] I'm going to interpret the accords in such a way that would allow me to put an end to this galloping forward to the '67 borders. How did we do it? Nobody said what defined military zones were. Defined military zones are security zones; as far as I'm concerned, the entire Jordan Valley is a defined military zone. Go argue."

Hamas was founded in 1987 and was an opposition force to, not only Israel but, the ruling party of Palestine: Fatah. It formed out of a charity affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. By 2006, they had won the majority vote in the Palestinian legislative election and in 2007 they seized control of Gaza from Fatah. Their position was a reinstatement of Mandatory Palestine, but over time they declared they would settle for the 1967 border. They offered a truce with Israel should they honor the '67 border, to which Israel rejected.

Hamas had received backing from Israel during its foundation, according to Israeli officials Yitzhak Segev and Avner Cohen. It was meant to act as a sort of balance to act against the PLO and Fatah. This means that Hamas, considered a threat to Israeli security, began as a sort of proxy for Israel, although likely unknowingly. Israel would find themselves regretting this decision as Hamas would commit multiple acts of violence against Israeli citizens and soldiers over the years since their creation. Even with as much as there is documented, though, much of what is attributed to them is rather unclear as to whether they were actually their acts.

On October 7th, Hamas would launch a small scale attack around a music festival. Israel is believed to have also contributed to the fatalities that day. More people would be killed amidst the fallout of this event and many unsupported accusations would be made by Israel, such as a claim that Hamas engaged in mass rape during this event. Netanyahu would use this event as a springboard for what he viewed as just cause to launch an invasion of Palestine, focusing heavily on the Gaza Strip. Since then, there has been documented atrocities committed by Israel, little reliable coverage of what Hamas has been doing during this time frame, and a lot of unsubstantiated claims from both Israel and Palestine. Among the documented atrocities committed would be: humiliation and execution of Palestinians (including children), firing upon medical personnel and journalists, giving as little as only 5 minutes of warning before dropping bombs in heavily populated areas, firing upon Israeli hostages Hamas had released while they waived white flags, invaded a hospital and killed people (including children) lying in hospital beds, kidnapping, and executing an unarmed old man begging for his life at his bedside.

I've brought everything here up to show that history is not as simple as people like to present it as. There are many ups and downs, twists and turns, and even fabrications. I've seen people on both sides of the aisle present false information, deny history, and act like everything is entirely black and white the whole way down. And when I speak, I'm accused of supporting the worst things imaginable. Ancient Israel and the Israelites has been a topic of interest for me at different points in my life, I've done my digging. It would be wrong to say that the Arab Palestinians are the indigenous people and that ethnic Jews aren't. It would also be wrong to say that Israel has done no wrong, acting only in defense.

I don't take a side between Israel and Hamas. I take my side with the people caught in between this conflict that's been going on for a long time. It did not start October 7th. It all started much much much more long ago. Knowing your history is important to understanding today.

Also I wrote this on and off for about a month now and I just want to finally finish and post it, I'm not proofreading to make sure everything's entirely cohesive and strung together the best way possible, don't ever just trust some rando on the internet, do your own research.

No, I'm not pro-genocide nor antisemitic. I just like history and hate statists. Fuck this all. Heartless bastards always running the show and the people pay the price.

#israel #palestine #fuck israel #palestine genocide #israel hamas war #israel hamas conflict #Hamas #hamas is isis #history #canaan

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judaismandsuch · 9 months

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On...This Nonsense

So, I saw this graph in a group I am a part of, and it is so increadibly wrong that I need to rant about it:

K, this is dumb for .... a lot of reasons. I am sure Muslims and Christians can see a load of issues that I can't, but that aint my focus.

I'm just going to talk about the Jewish religions, the flow, and use Christian and Muslim religions as comparisons.

First of all, the term of the parent religion: "Judaism". The term comes from "Judean" or basically members of the tribe of Judah.

The first definite use of it as a general term for Hebrews is in the Scroll of Esther where it calls Mordechai "a member of the tribe of Benyamin, a Jew" (paraphrased for clarity). That takes place around 480-350 BCE (scholars argue about which Emperor is the one mentioned).

(the term is used elsewhere/earlier, but usually a refrence to a member of the tribe of Judah, or else in a way that could go either way).

Now the reason I mention that, is because:

"Northern Tribal" would never have used the term, as they are from the ten lost tribes, and had a separate kingdom (Israel) VS Binyamin and Judah who had the southern kingdom (Judea).

Samaritans consider themselves to be descendants of the tribe of Manasheh and Ephraim, so wouldn't use the term either.

So the top religion should really be Bnei Ysrael, or Hebrew, or Isrealite.

Next: what the fuck is "Northern Tribal"? The split b/w the ten tribes and the 2 was political, not religious. They remained the same religion until they stopped existing/were lost/ the Samaritan split happened.

I even googled "Northern Tribal Judaism" (and variations) and couldn't find jack shit. It really shouldn't be on there.

Now, when/how Samaritanism and Judaism split is both a theological and historical debate. (to the point that talmudically there were issues with drawing lines between the 2). Hell, I have hear people use the term "Samaritan Jew" before. But tbh, it is innacurate, and insulting to both religions imo.

But either way the first split should be: Judaism-Samaritanism

On the same level in the chart it has Saducee, Pharisee, Eseen, and Christianity.

Which is bonkers. There were difference between the three groups, but they were not on the level of being schisms or seperate religions like christianity.

If you wanted to argue that they are, then Christianity would be descended from one of them (or all three). Because there wasn't a monolith religion for all 4 of them to come from. The split was there when Jesus was born.

So After Judaism you either have "Christianity" Or you have "Pharisee" "Saducee" "Essene" and then a line below you get christianity.

Next Line: "Karaite" "Orthodox" "Sephardic"

That is the most bat shit thing I have seen in my life.

First of all: "Sephardic" isn't a religious movement or theology. It is a culture and set of traditions. Putting it in a flowchart as its own heading, the same way Christianity and Islam do is insane.

Secondly, even if you do so, the others in the split should be: "Ashkenazi" "Temani" "Mizrachi" and a couple of others. not "Karraite" and "Orthdox" Next, while Karraite does deserve it's own spot (I can do a dive into the theology of it later) It Should be as a descendent of Pharisee with the other branch being Rabbinic.

Next: "Orthodox" with descendents of "reform" "conservative" etc.?

No! The term "Orthodox" exists as a counter to those! And only (until very recently) in Ashkenazi Judaism!

Now maybe the reason that they divided Sphardic it's own heading was to indicate that they don't have sects like the Ashkenazi do, but still, wtf?

And Splitting Hasidic that way? like it is equivalant to any of the splits in Christianity or Islam is batshit.

So really after "Rabbinic Judaism" you should get: "Ashkenazi Sectarianism" and "Not that"

And put all that shit under Ashkenazi Sectarianism.

Anyway, this graph sucks, Maybe I'll improve it later.

#judaism #jewish #jumblr #Christianity #religion #Samaritanism #karaite #reform #orthodox #rabbinic judaism #Maybe one day I'll do write up on the issue with orthodox and reform #or karaite #but that'll be a lot of effort

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bobemajses · 1 year

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Do the Pashtun people of Afghanistan and Pakistan have Jewish ancestry?

The Pashtuns, now Afghanistan’s majority ethnic group and heavily involved in the establishment of the Taliban, sometimes call themselves "Bani Israel" and have a tribal legend which states that a Jewish group settled near the modern town of Herat and later converted to Islam after their leader met with Prophet Mohammed. Jewish Virtual Library writes that some Pashtuns have Jewish sounding names such as Asheri, Binyamin and Naftali, and that they practice Jewish customs such as marrying under a chuppah, lighting candles on fridays and circumcising their sons eight days after birth. This could also be explained through the Pashtuns’ connection with Jewish warriors, merchants, and administrative officers who traveled and settled on the Silk Road and left their influence on the local residents — but it is certainly intriguing.

The Assyrians conquered the kingdom of Israel some 2,730 years ago, scattering 10 of the 12 tribes into exile, supposedly beyond the mythical Sambation river. The two remaining tribes, Benjamin and Judah, became the modern-day Jewish people, and the search for the lost tribes has continued ever since. Some have claimed to have found traces of them in modern day China, Burma, Nigeria, India, Central Asia and Ethiopia. But it is believed that the tribes were dispersed in an area around modern-day northern Iraq and Afghanistan, which makes the Pashtun connection the strongest.

However, an Israeli government-funded DNA test found no genetic link between Jews and Pashtuns. They seem to share a greater affinity with Central Asian populations such as Tajiks or Turkmens, as well as with some Iranian and Caucasian groups. Whatever might be true, most Pashtuns today are strict Muslims with their own language and culture and have no interest in reconnecting with these assumed Jewish roots.

#pashtun #afghanistan #pakistan #jewish #pathans #afghan

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gay-jewish-bucky · 2 months

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image ID for infographics:

orientalism

If your Instagram bio has On [Indigenous name] land and you've been calling Israel "Isnotreal or Israhell", we need to talk.

Referring to "Israel" as "Isnotreal, Israhell, Isr*el, "Israel"," and such is anti-Indigenous, antisemitic, and Orientalist. Let's start with some history.

Archaeologists date the first archaeological record of a reference to Israel to 1205 BC.

And indeed, secular historical record clearly points to The Kingdom of Israel existing on this land. The Kingdom of Israel was a nation made up of tribal peoples called Israelites. Israelites are understood to have been descendants and not conquerors of Canaanites and then the Hebrew tribes. Today, several peoples have Israelite ancestry.

Jews and Samaritans are peoples whose ethnogeneses stem from Israel and who fit all the criteria for Indigeneity. Secular history, archaeology, anthropology, linguistics, genetics, understandings of ethnicity, migration, and Indigeneity, and more support this.

"Wait, I thought this whole land was called Palestine first?"

Nope! Let's pick up where we left off. Israel then got conquered by empire after empire. This is that imperialism you hate so much. Some of these rulers included: Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Crusader, Mamluk, Ottoman, and British.

During Roman Empire rule, the region was called Judea, after The Kingdom of Judah, which was a southern Israelite kingdom (Jew literally means of Judah). However, with the Indigenous Jews trying to revolt against imperial rule, the Roman imperialists renamed the land from Judea to Syria- Palaestina. Palaestina is understood to come from Pelishtim aka the Phillistines, a Greek people who had earlier come to settle on land in the region, battled the Indigenous Israelites, and are unrelated to modern day Palestinians. It thought that the Romans renamed the region this to humiliate and punish the Jews for attempting to resist imperialism and to try to sever their Indigenous ties to the land.

When future empires conquered the land, this name given to it by imperialists stuck. The Byzantine Empire used Palaestina Prima, Secunda, and Salutaris; the Arab Empire used Jund Filastin; the British Empire used Mandatory Palestine.

Why is it called Israel today?

Jews, who maintained a presence on their Indigenous land while being persecuted by conquering empire after conquering empire, finally declared independence from imperialism (the British Empire this time) in 1948.

This is an example of an Indigenous people seeking and achieving self-determination on their Indigenous land. As we've covered, Jews are a nation with tribal origins (despite the modern framing of them as more of a religious group, which comes in part from their colonizers' attempts to control them, by the way). Take a look at Cherokee Nation's mission: "The Cherokee Nation is committed to protecting our inherent sovereignty, preserving and promoting Cherokee culture, language and values, and improving the quality of life for the next seven generations of Cherokee Nation citizens."

Indigenous peoples all around the world want these things. When deciding what to call the modern state that would be a re-establishment of an Indigenous nation finally free again from imperial rule, Israel using a pre-colonial name like Israel was an act of decolonization. It is thought that they went with Israel (over, say, Judea) to be more historically geographically accurate and inclusive of non-Jewish citizens.

If you live in America and aren't Native American, you may have guilt over being a beneficiary of settler colonialism.

Writing On [Indigenous name] land in your Instagram bio may make you feel better about living on stolen land. It is also a fairly empty gesture in that it doesn't do a ton for Native Americans and takes essentially no sacrifice from you. You don't have to give up any of the privilege you've accrued as a beneficiary of settler colonialism. Telling people in SWANA to get off their Indigenous land may be a way you are assuaging said guilt. But let's be clear: this is anti- Indigenous, antisemitic, and Orientalist. The irony of your telling Indigenous people to get off land to which they're Indigenous while you chill on land to which you're not? Palpable.

Jews aren't a scapegoat for your guilt. Take a look in the mirror and at history and realize you are in a way more whom you accuse Jewish Israelis of being than they are, and you've said they were deserving of being burned alive in their homes, tortured, mutilated, SAed, and more. What might it be like to apply that logic to you? (Though to be clear, Jews are Indigenous to Israel whilst you are not to America.)

While land back by any means necessary may sound sexy and righteous to you for those people over there (again, it doesn't even accurately apply since Jews are Indigenous to Israel), if it were applied to you, you'd be the subject of violence. Promoting violence in SWANA but not wanting it for yourself reeks of Orientalism. Your comfort with violence against Jews enmeshed in erasure, double standards, and scapegoating is antisemitic.

If you care so much about Indigenous people, stop telling Indigenous people to get off their Indigenous land. Maybe focus a bit more on the Indigenous land you, not a Native American, are occupying.

Advocacy for Palestinians need not erase Jewish history.

Living in the West telling Indigenous peoples of SWANA who they are and what to do is Orientalist.

Disagreeing with actions of the Israeli government isn't a free pass making it ok for you to be antisemitic, anti-Indigenous, or Orientalist.

Soviet Antisemitism and Candace Owens:

The antisemitic Soviet propaganda that got Candace Owens, explained:

Background of Soviet antisemitism.

Many are unaware of how antisemitism, at its peak, inspired Soviet propaganda through anti-Zionism. The Soviet Union created and disseminated anti-Zionist conspiracies after initially siding with Israel, then becoming threatened by Israel's growing alliance with the U.S. Observing this threat, the Soviets quickly unleashed some of the most commonly known anti-Zionist theories, today often repeated by fringe leftists, such as:

"Zionism is racism" "Zionism is elitism" "Zionism is colonialism" "Zionism is American imperialism" "Zionism oppresses people of color" "Zionism is bourgeoise classism”, and the like.

In addition, the Soviets argued that anti-Zionism was "not antisemitism," because many Jews endorsed their theories.

Historians argue that the UN's adoption of Resolution 3379 determining that "Zionism is racism" (later revoked by resolution) was orchestrated by the Soviet propaganda machine.

Soviet Anti-Zionism quickly perpetuated communist circles, concretized in writing and becoming required reading in educational & military institutions.

Soviet Holocaust Distortion and Holocaust Inversion.

Alongside its widespread anti-Zionist propaganda campaign, Soviet propaganda is also responsible for much revisionist history known as "holocaust distortion" and "holocaust inversion."

Whether distorting the facts surrounding the holocaust (through denial, minimization, "universalization," or reversal of victim and offender) or inverting the Holocaust (accusing Jews of being Nazis), the central aim of this propaganda tactic is to convince its target audience, just as the Nazis had done, that the Jews are the cause of the world's problems, never the victims.

Examples of Soviet Holocaust Distortion

1) "Universalization"

Universalization sought to convince audiences that Jews were not the "main victims" of the Holocaust, that many others suffered, suffering was "universal," and even that the "real genocide" happened to other ethnic groups.

This is exactly the Holocaust distortion employed by Candace Owens, seemingly considering herself a masterful revelator of "hidden truths," but actually discovering dusty soviet propaganda that has long been explored and rejected as toothless.

The Nazis murdered 98% of Jews that remained during the occupation. No other groups were systematically and sweepingly targeted in the same way as Jews. No amount of distortion and revisionist history can make it so.

Examples of Soviet Holocaust Distortion

2) Denying and displacing victimhood

When the Soviets referred to Nazi Germany, they famously described the "innocent Soviet citizens" as the "real victims." This branched out to other ethnic groups, just as Candace points to the "innocent Germans that suffered genocide" as the "real ethnic cleansing."

While others were targeted before, during, and after the Holocaust, it is well understood that "not all victims were Jews, but all Jews were victims" Eli Weisel.

This is exactly the juncture where Candace's logic falls short and proves her untoward agenda. The insistence that Jews "love to play the victim" and "it really isn't about you," and "other groups suffered genocide" is the exact universalization of a specific Jewish tragedy and displacement of Jewish victimhood crafted by the Soviet propaganda.

Examples of Soviet Holocaust Distortion

3) Reversing Victim and Offender

Candace's opinion that Germans were the "real victims" is formulated in a void of historical understanding. The Nazi regime was never entirely separate from the people. It is well understood that the Nazi regime was a widespread and deeply infiltrated network, saturating the political, social, cultural, and economic sphere, and spanning from high officials to local Nazi activists, leaders, paramilitary organizers, the SS, the SA, and citizen informants and collaborators.

The "Final Solution" to "the Jewish problem" could not have been achieved without a deep network of collaborators and widespread citizen involvement, both inside and outside of Germany. Antisemitism was so deeply pervasive at the time that only a minority remained immune, with mass involvement at a military, paramilitary, and civilian level.

Candace's reference to "innocent German citizens" as "the real targets" of genocide is not only ahistorical and counterfactual, but more concerningly, a classic Soviet reversal of victim and offender, designed to vilify Jews as either "not the real victims," or worse, the "true aggressors," and thereby, the cause of their own decimation.

"Turn your pockets out!"

An old Jewish Expression goes, "the antisemite does not accuse the Jew of stealing because he actually thinks he stole something, he just enjoys watching the Jew turn his pockets out to prove his innocence."

One of the pleasures antisemites take in constant Holocaust Inversion (you are the real Nazis, prove that you're not), and Holocaust Distortion (you aren't the real victims here, prove that you are) is watching Jews turn out their proverbial pockets.

Every time a new Soviet conspiracy resurfaces, Jewry must rush to defend their history and are condemned to a life-sentence of proving their victimhood, even in the context of arguably the worst genocide in all history, specifically organized around and formed on millennia of virulent antisemitism.

Much like what this post is doing now.

This tactic forces Jewry into a perpetual state of self-defense, evoking pleasure in the antisemite who gleefully smirks as she watches the Jew turn her empty pockets out.

Ultimately, the goal of old Soviet antisemitic conspiracies are to convince the target audience that Jews are never victims, always aggressors, and with monumental historic twists, leaps, flips, and turns, the source of all the world's problems.

Ironically, this is exactly what led to the Holocaust in the first place, a lesson that is too quickly forgotten by antisemites who are so enthralled by watching the Jew turn her pockets out that she cannot see the Holocaust she is reenacting in the Holocaust she is denying.

#personcole #for my beloved friend ❤️

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newwavenewsandentertainment · 4 months

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Funke Akindele and Shaffy Bello Emerge as Top-Grossing Actresses in 2023!

The Queens of Nollywood Funke Akindele and Shaffy Bello have made history as the highest-grossing actresses in 2023, with Funke topping the list with a whopping N749 million! A Tribe Called Judah Breaks Records Funke’s movie, A Tribe Called Judah, earned over N1 billion, solidifying her position as a leading lady in Nollywood. The Top 10 Highest-Grossing Actresses in 2023 Funke Akindele –…

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#A Tribe Called Judah #Funke Akindele Bello #Shaffy Bello #Toyin Abraham

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marcescet · 11 months

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the israelites/jews are the indigenous people of that land. they had been there for generations before the philistines sailed across the ocean from the aegean and invaded northern egypt (egyptian pharoah ramesses III defeated them and banished them north.) look up the ancient kingdoms of israel and judah. "free palestine" and "from the river to the sea" is bullshit. the israelite tribes were in canaan a thousand plus years before islam even existed and ruled large parts of the levant when "palestine" was still a tiny strip of land called "philistia".

that was 2000 years ago, at least. that does not excuse the murder of innocent children, women, men & elderly people, it does not excuse the genocide of Palestinians who lived there for the 2000 years the indigenous people of israel lived in europe & america. it does not excuse the bombing, kidnapping, raping & hurting innocent civilians. if the land is truly theirs they would not try to kill innocent people, to cut off their internet and electricity so they can continue their slaughter without the world having to witness it. if the land is truly theirs they would not be threatened by children. so no, it isn’t bullshit. Palestine will be free from the river to the sea. i urge you to educate yourself on the matter before giving an opinion.

#save palestine #stand with palestine #palestine #gaza strip #stand with gaza

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mybeautifulchristianjourney · 5 months

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Devotional Hours Within the Bible

by J.R. Miller

Captivity of the Ten Northern Tribes (2 Kings 17:6-18)

The story of the ten tribes from the beginning, was a story of mistake and disloyalty. There was a divine promise to Jeroboam that if he would be true to the Lord, that blessing would follow him. “It shall be, if you will hearken unto all that I command you, and will walk in My ways, and do that which is right in My eyes, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as David My servant did; that I will be with you, and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto you.” But Jeroboam paid no heed to the divine Word. Almost immediately after the founding of his kingdom, he set up places of worship at two points in his kingdom, with calves of gold and priests, and established a national feast, that his people might be drawn away from the worship at Jerusalem. Thus at the very beginning the new kingdom, was characterized by a departure from God.

Starting thus in an open apostasy from God, the history of the nation was from beginning to end a continuity of idolatry and all evil. There were no bright spots in it. The Southern kingdom of Judah had its wicked kings and its periods of evil but the Northern Kingdom had nothing but sin in its story! In all its career its course was downward. It had nineteen kings but not one of them was a godly man. At last the end came. The king of Assyria captured Samaria, and carried Israel away. This was the end of the Ten Tribes, which are sometimes called the “lost tribes.” Doubtless many of them lost their nationality by marriage with the heathen. Some of the better ones, no doubt, joined the Jews who returned to Jerusalem under Ezra and Nehemiah.

The ten tribes had warnings enough but they disregarded them. Opportunities for salvation came, even down to the very last but the condition always was repentance and a return to God and the people would not accept the condition. So they went on from bad to worse and at last were destroyed. They fell into the hands of their enemies, and were carried away as captives.

While this story is before us, we may think of its parallel in the history of every one who persists in unbelief and rejection of Christ. Sin puts yokes upon men’s necks, and chains upon their limbs binding them hand and foot and carrying them away into hopeless bondage. The fatal end of such sinning, is illustrated in this carrying away of Israel. “There is no danger in my case,” says one; “I mean to be a Christian by and by after I have had a good time for a while.” But meanwhile the little threads of careless habit, of sinful neglect, of pleasant wrong-doing, are weaving themselves into cords, and the cords are growing into cables !

A sailor reported to the captain during a storm, that the water was gaining upon the vessel. The captain drove him away with angry words he was too busy to give attention to the sailor’s report. Again and again the warning was given, and each time it was unheeded. At last the barge was sinking and the men were ordered to the life-boat. There was not a moment to spare. A cable bound the boat to the barge, and the captain took his knife to cut it; but as he turned to do this his face turned pale with horror the cable was an iron chain !

This is the story of thousands of lives. Men do not know until the last moment, when it is too late, that they are hopeless captives, passing to their doom in chains which they cannot break. The time to throw off such chains the only time when it is possible to do so is before they grow into strength.

The historian goes back and tells us the reason for the pitiful doom that befell these tribes. “The children of Israel did secretly things that were not right against the Lord.” Secret sins bring ruin just as surely as sins that are open! Of course, one may keep a fair reputation among men, when committing only secret sins, wearing the white garments of a fair reputation ,while his inner life is spotted. But the sins themselves which are thus kept hidden work their ruin just as completely and inevitably as if they were open, public sins!

We must mark that it was sin which brought about this doom on the ten tribes. The historian may explain in natural ways, the cause of the downfall of the kingdom. But whatever the political or other reasons may have been the real reason was sin. Sin always brings calamity! Here is a man who grew up in a gentle, beautiful home. He had brightest prospects, finest opportunities. He was well taught, nurtured in an atmosphere of holiness, of purity, of prayer. Today he is a criminal, wearing chains, sentenced to twenty years for homicide. It is not an accident, a piece of ‘bad luck,” that he is now where he is. All this penalty came for his sinning against the Lord. The homicide was not the first sin it was the end of a long series which probably began in a boy’s little disobedience to his mother one day.

A definite form is given to the charge against these tribes. “They served idols.” Not only did they turn away from their own God but they turned also after the gods of the heathen. It is always so. Idolatry is not an extinct form of evil. We may not worship idols made of stone or wood but if we leave the true God we are worshiping some idol. We cannot keep our hearts empty. If God is not in them, some other god is in His place. These people, instead of following God and His ways, followed the ways of the heathen round about them.

We need to learn well, the lesson against conforming to the world. Many Christian people seem to be on astonishingly familiar terms with this world. They are not extreme or puritanical Christians. They have been emancipated from the bondage of the old-time, strict Church life, so they boast. Yes, yes emancipation, is it? So, no doubt, the Israelites talked as they indulged their heathen liberties. They were liberal Hebrews but what came of their liberty in the end?

They were not left without warning. The narrator tells us that the Lord had testified unto them by the hand of every prophet, saying, “Turn from your evil ways!” They could not say they had not been warned of the danger toward which they were drifting. Prophet after prophet had come and with solemn words and severe threatenings, declared to them God’s will, outlining to them the outcome of their course, unless they would turn away from it. Some of the noblest and most faithful prophets who ever spoke to men for God, delivered their fearless messages to the kings and people of this nation. One of these was Elijah, who thundered his stern warnings in the days of Ahab. Another was Elisha, whose ministry was long-continued and was faithful and almost Christ like in its tenderness.

God never fails to warn them and tell them of the way of safety. But men may perish in spite of the divine faithfulness. Many have been lost in the midst of holiest privileges. There is only one way of escaping sin’s penalties the sinner must turn from his evil course and walk in the paths of God’s commandments. No mere sentimental or emotional turning to God avails.

The charge is clearly made, that the people persistently refused to obey God’s commandments. “They would not hear but hardened their necks!” That is always the story. Men are not lost, because of any lack of goodness and mercy in God Himself. People sometimes say, “God is too good to punish sinners.” Very true, in a sense. God does not desire to punish. But men persist in their sins.

We need not think of God as being angry as men are; that is, of raving in fury. Yet God is angry with sin and cannot endure it. “Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of His sight!” After all the pleadings and warnings, all that the divine love could do this was the end. The same sad story happens in many a home. Father love or mother love never can save a child from sin if the child persists in his evil way. God cannot lift an impenitent sinner into the holiness of the heavenly kingdom, unless the sinner repents.

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