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20 June 2011 | 18 Sivan 5771

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Home Anusim Arabs of Jewish Descent in Israel

Arabs of Jewish Descent in Israel

Up to 85 percent of Arabs in greater Israel stem from Jewish

ancestors, it is estimated. Some of them want to become fully

Jewish, but most are scared to even talk about it.

[Freeman Note: This does NOT mean 85% of Arabs, who are of a

different genetic structure. The researcher is talking about Arabs

living in Eretz Yisrael during the various Moslem invasions and

forcible conversions.]

In our search for the lost Ten Tribes in India and Afghanistan, we

seem to have forgotten to look for their descendants in our very

own backyard. So says the narrator in a new film about the

efforts of a former hi-tech pioneer named Tzvi MiSinai to search

out the Jewish roots of Israels Arab enemies and to inform them

of their Judaic heritage. [click here to see the video footage]

MiSinai has spent about a half-million shekels, he estimates, on

these efforts. They include visiting dangerous places deep inside

Palestinian Authority-controlled territory, hearing the stories of

Arabs who remember observing Jewish customs, and distributing

literature to Jews and Arabs alike.

One Arab say s his father told him the secret of his familys Jewishness on his deathbed, while another

one, on the backdrop of a photo of the saintly C abalistic sage Rabbi Abuchatzeira on his wall, says their

roots have been known in his family for generations. Wrapping what apparently used to be kosher tefillin

on his arm, he says, My father used to do this, and he taught us to do it whenever someone was sick or

n trouble.

The Jews Who Didnt Leave

It is generally accepted that most Jews left the Land of Israel after the failed Bar Kok hba revolt in 135

CE. Yet many remained, and of these, many are still here, after having been forced to convert to Islam.

It turns out that a large part of the Arabs of the Land o f Israel are actually descendants of forced

converts to Islam ov er the years, says Rabbi Dov Stein of the nascent Sanhedrin rabbinical council.

There are some studies that say that 85 percent of the Arabs in Israel are descended from Jews; others

say there are fewer.

Ben-Gurion Agree s

The claims are not new. Early Zionist leaders David Ben-Gurion and Yitzchak Ben-Tzvi wrote in a book

100 years ago: If we investigate the origins of the Felahim, there is no doubt that much Jewish blood

runs in their veins. The authors implied that these Jews loved the Land so much that they were willing to

give up their religion. The reference is probably to an edict in the year 1012 by Caliph el-Hakim, who

ordered the non-Muslims to either convert or leave the Land of Israel. It is estimated that 90 percent of

the Jews chose the former, though many continued to practice Judaism in secret. The decree was

revoked 32 years later apparently too late for about 75 percent of the converts.

Tzvi MiSinai continues to convince Arabs in Judea and Samaria that they are likely Jewish. The film shows

him passing through the Gush Etzion checkpoint and distributing pamphlets both to Israeli soldier s so

that youll know who youre checking here and to the Arabs waiting there so that youll know who

the majority of you are. Asked by an Arab if he is from the peace movement, MiSinai answers, Yes,

yes, peace, so that we can live together as one nation.

The Sawarka Bedouin Jews

One place where MiSinai has apparently found very strong Jewish roots is in the Bedouin tribe known as

the Sawarka. There are about 3-4,000 of them throughout the Sinai and the Negev, and they are all

Jewish, says a tribal leader in perfect Hebrew. With his face camouflaged for the came ras, the Bedouin

says, They had no choice but to convert; this was centuries ago I remember my mo ther and

grandmother wouldnt light fire on Sabbath, and they had a special mikveh

Others, in a Bedouin village east of Hebron, also remember burning a small piece of dough (reminiscent

of the Biblical command to separa te a sma ll piece of dough when baking bread), lighting candles at

graves, and tearing clothes and sitting shiva for seven days, and not three as is Muslim practice.

Even today, ritual circumcisions are car ried out after the seventh day of birth. Many homes in some of

the Arab villages have doorpost indentations for a Mezuzah, with a scroll placed in some of them.

In another village just south of Hevron, Muhammed Amsalem a descendant of Spanish Jews told

Aharon Granot ofMishpacha magazine that everyone in town knows he and his clan are Jews: Our

elders tell us that our forefathers came to this land during the [15th century] Spanish Inquisition, via

Morocco. They settled in Ramle. Then the Mamluks forced them to convert to Islam, and they moved to

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Messi an ic J ewish Emuna: Power o f P ra is e and Wo rship Keep your Kippah! What abou t Shau l?

the South Hevron area.

Amsalem says they decided to reveal their Jewish roots after the 1967 Six Day War when they learned

that a Jewish community had been reestablished in Hevron. But the Jews saw we had no knowledge of

their religious practices and refused to accept us If the Jewish community would be willing to receive us

today, we would join them with great enthusiasm.

In the area of the South Hevron Hills, half of the Arabs are aware of the Jewish origins. They used to talk

about it openly, though no longer. One man who recently publicized a silver Chanukah menorah that had

been passed down to him from his father and previous generations was hung by terrorists by his feet for

six weeks, leaving him with permanent injuries.

Genetic Studies Back Claims

At the Hadassah Medical School labs, Prof. Ariela Oppenheim of Hebrew University performed annternational genetic study that backs up conclusions of Jewish-Arab genetic similarities. We found that

despite the dispersion of Jews around the world for 2,000 years, they essentially kept their Jewish

continuity, Oppenheim said. In addition, we found that the Jewish population is surprisingly close,

genetically, to the Arabs living here in Israel.

She said that the study shows that both the Arabs of Israel and the Jews are descended from the Kurds

of Aram in Babylon the birthplace of the Patriarch Abraham.

Its clear that were all from the same family, Oppenheim concludes. Most unfortunately, however,

there are conflicts even within families, and sometimes brothers fight as well. I wish this is what will bring

the Redemption, but Im very sad to say that I dont think so.

Some Want to Return to Observant Judaism

South of Hevron, in Yatta, there is a large formerly-Jewish presence and some even want to return to

active Judaism. It is widely known there that half the residents are of the originally-Jewish Mahamra clan

a name that means winemaker, a trade that is forbidden according to Islam. The people in these

areas converted to Islam later in history, MiSinai says, and therefore more customs and knowledge andartifacts have been preserved. These include Jewish stars over the entrances to homes, while in at least

one house, the family has hidden a mezuzah and tefillin in creative hiding spots. One man pulled out a

small Hebrew booklet of Psalms and Tanya with which he says he continues to secretly pray.

Miro Cohen, a Jew from Tekoa, in eastern Gush Etzion, is very friendly with the Arabs in a nearby village

known as Kawazbe a name that he and they agree is merely a corruption of Kuzeiba, the original name

of the famous Bar Kokhba.

These people are the descendants of Bar Kokhba, C ohen declares. One Arab sitting with him can count

his ancestors eight generations back, ending with a grandfather named Kawazbeh. Another village elder

says openly that his grandfather was a Jew who converted to Islam. Some of the residents want to

return to Judaism; they dont call it converting, because they are already Jewish. On the other hand,

Arabs with the name Kawazbeh have been arrested for terrorist activity against Israel.

Other areas where Arabs of Jewish descent reside are Kfar Anzah in Samaria, Samoa in southern Judea,

villages in the Tel Arad area, and more. Rabbi Stein says, We know that up to about 200 years ago, the

Galilee village of Sakhnin was a Jewish town, with an active synagogue. The Turks pressured them to

convert to Islam, but the people there know that they are of Jewish origins.

www.IsraelNationalNews.com

Av 20, 5769, 10 August 09; by Hillel Fendel

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Filed Under: Anusim, Islam, Jewish Roots, Jewish Studies

Tags: arabs, bar kokhba revolt, converts to islam, dangerous places, deathbed, forcible conversions,

genetic structure, invasions, jewish ancestors, jewish customs, Jewish Roots,judaic heritage, land of

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