[Podcast] Here Come the Anousim

In this podcast, I speak with Ashley Perry of the Knesset Caucus on Bnei Anousim [Marranos] and his work through Reconectar. There are so many facets this podcast touches on and shows why this movement is perhaps one of most important causes in the broader Jewish world today. There are literally millions of descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jewish origin. Ashley’s work is already having a tremendous impact.

Learn more at Reconectar.

The Biology of Terror

While the world scrambles to deal with the continually growing threat of radical Islam, the true underlying causes of this phenomenon are grossly ignored. Governments – local, federal and international – are considering various strategies to contend with this unprecedented danger in various ways: militarily, politically, criminally and culturally, all the time ignoring the biological root cause of Islamic terrorism. The world runs the risk of continued peril if it does not quickly come to terms with the following politically incorrect fact: radical Islamic culture, in its various fanatic forms, leads to severe mental and emotional impairment. The conclusion, even more politically incorrect than the hypothesis, is that the culture of radical Islam must be shut down in all countries that believe in human freedom and mental health. A further conclusion is that political or cultural arrangements that allow for the preservation of this deranged culture can only lead to disaster.

Several important researchers, such as John Crayton, Jerrold Post and Richard Pearlstein, take the “terrorist as mentally ill” approach in trying to make sense of the phenomenon of individual acts of terror. Post asserts that individuals drawn to terrorism rely on the psychological mechanisms of ‘externilization’ and ‘splitting’. These psychological mechanisms are, according to Post, found in “individuals with narcissistic and borderline personality disturbances”, disturbances that usually occur during childhood and early adulthood. The ability to healthily integrate the good and bad sides of one’s personality is lost and thus their split personalities are split into “me” and “not me”, the one capable of inflicting violent damage on the other, including suicides that destroy their surroundings as well.

Is it not only possible, but rather probable, that societies that raise their young under a constant atmosphere of violence, rape, fear, jealousy, disciplinary stringency, an erased and even deprecated sense of the feminine self, may just be a breeding ground for violent fanaticism?

For instance, female genital mutilation, a practice common to much of Islamic society, can result in severe bleeding, neurogenic shock, haemorrhagic shock, severe pain, shame and trauma; it goes without saying, all this without the requisite medical and psychological help given to the victim. Honor killings have risen greatly as of late amongst Arab societies with horrendous affects not only for the hapless woman, but for family as well. A Palestinian reported that after a woman was killed for suspected adultery, her children were left “for two weeks, incapable of sleep, crying for their mother.”

Child rape, both male and female, and by both mother and father, is common in many segments of Muslim society, and now it has spread to those that would respect the religious and cultural mores of their Muslim immigrants. In a 2014 BBC report on the Muslim immigrant population, it was reported that “at least 1,400 children were subjected to appalling sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013…..children as young as 11 were raped by multiple perpetrators, abducted, trafficked to other cities in England, beaten and intimidated.”

Domestic violence against women, according to many but not all scholars of Muslim jurisprudence, is allowed and not subject to punishment. Add to this the roaring role of the Imam in the mosque and the constant message of violence against the infidel, the total and utter lack of sensitivity in the killing of animals for consumption (compare  Jewish ritual slaughter or Western government-approved slaughter with Halal slaughter), children and women being made to stand in front of their men as protection, and an entire list of similar atrocities. It seems a pretty good bet that if we examined these segments of Muslim populations  psychologically, we would see a large segment of this population suffering from ‘externalization’ and ‘splitting’. In biological terms, we would see different patterns of brain region activation, epigenetic negative influence on normal gene expression and even anatomical differences caused by trauma on the developing brain.

Can solving this problem really be seen as something that has to do with good will and multiculturalism? Can any political deal made with these people really produce something longer lasting than the ink on the document? Is it any wonder that so many non-Muslim grown psychopaths are finding their way to radical Islam (perhaps radical Islam represents to them one form of “not me” that they can easily identify with)?

In a 2012 paper entitled “Dynamic Epigenetic Responses To Childhood Exposure to Violence”,  Jonathan Mill writes, “Of note, changes in DNA methylation following early life stress have been associated with long-term changes in gene expression and behavior and may contribute to both psychiatric disorders and physiological disturbances later in life.” He provides evidence of altered gene expression due to juvenile violence.

British researchers found significant differences between the brains of psychopaths and normal people, specifically in the uncinate fasciculus, while earlier studies have shown similar differences in the emotional and violence regulating center – the amygdala – and the orbitofrontal cortex, an area important for decision making. Lead researcher, Dr. Michael Craig states, “The suggestion of a clear structural deficit in the brains of psychopaths has profound implications for clinicians, research scientists and the criminal justice system.”

Dr. Craig should have noted as well that the implications for politicians and social scientists are no less important. Viewing Muslim terror in this way reveals, for instance, the utter futility and even great danger of ideas such as the Two State Solution between Israel and the Palestinians. Taking from Israel the ability to militarily patrol this breeding ground of psychopaths is insane.  It will never work. Psychopathic societies are never satiated (need we mention Global Jihad and the Global Caliphate?). Will the Muslims in Pakistan ever stop their murderous fury against the Hindus? I doubt it – unless they stop following radical Islam.

The world can help with this and put an end to radical Islam. But it must be understood that this is a problem for the World Health Organization, not for the UN proper; radical interpretations of Sharia Law as a global health problem. The very many Islamic apologists, Barack Hussein Obama included, must understand that if they desire to protect any vestige of goodwill towards Islam, they must help to eradicate those very many biological aspects that lead to gross mental regression. This means, first and foremost, reigning in Sharia Law. It is time to tame radical Islam, which means not only ISIS, but also a score of political movements that create this sickened and dark reality – Hamas and Boko Haram as just two examples.

There can be no political negotiations with the deranged. For Europe and America, there can be no cultural respect for those that lead their own down the slippery slope of mental illness.

Most importantly, it behooves those Muslims that reject the methods and ideologies of the radical Islamists to create strong societal borders even within their own communities, to not only theoretically reject but to functionally halt this growing plague. Should they not do so, the boundaries between radical Islam and Islam will be understandably blurred by outsiders in the Western world and the consequences that even the moderate Muslims suffer will be completely of their own making.

 

The Pashtuns are the Tribes of Israel

The Pashtuns, who live in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, have a very special tradition, which says they are Bene Israel, and is widely spread among some of the Pashtun tribes. In this article we intend to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this tradition is true, and they are in fact the descendants of the 10 tribes of Israel, who were taken to Afghanistan thousands of years ago.

The fact is that some Pashtun tribes have a tradition of being the people of Israel (Bene Israel), meaning they descended from our father Yaakov. It is even told that the Afghan king once asked the Afghan Jews from which tribe they are, when they answered they don’t know the king said that the Pashtuns do, and that the king is from the tribe of Benyamin. In particular, I heard myself from Pashtuns from the tribes of Lewani, Benyamin, Afridi, Shinwari and more, that their grandfathers told them they are Bene Israel, and it is well known that this tradition is spread through most (or all) of the Pashtuns tribes.

Some Pashtuns, especially from young generations, are doubting that this is true. In this article I’ll explore the possibilities of how this tradition could have originated. From this exploration it will become clear that doubting the truthfulness of this tradition is irrational. I would also outline some common traditions of Pashtuns and Jews, some of them are based on the Torah, which further confirm that this tradition is true and that Pashtuns are really Bene Israel. I’ll then say a few words about DNA testing and finally talk about the implications of this tradition.

The possibilities for the origin of the tradition

There are 2 possibilities for how this tradition could have originated. The simple one is that it is true. The more complex one is that it is false. If it is false, it had to originate somehow. There are 3 possible ways this tradition could have originated if it is false:

  1. At some point in time someone forced the Pashtuns into believing they are Bene Israel.
  2. At some point in time someone convinced the Pashtuns into believing they are Bene Israel.
  3. At some point in time some Pashtuns created this tradition in a major conspiracy.

Anyone who has doubts in this tradition must explain how it originated. We will now go through those possible explanations (assuming the tradition is false) and show that each of them is far-fetched and as close to impossible as it gets.

Someone forced the Pashtuns into believing in this tradition

According to this explanation for the origin of this tradition, at some generation A, someone (or a group of people) came along and threatened the Pashtuns that if they won’t teach their children they are Bene Israel, something terrible is going to happen to them. Time had passed, and at generation B the tradition was already so acceptable, that not only many (probably most) of the Pashtuns believed it, but they completely forgot that once, at generation A, someone forced their ancestors into believing it (it is a fact that now no one remember of such a person who forced the Pashtuns into believing in this tradition).

For this explanation to be rationally accepted, we have to believe that:

  1. Someone had a motive for forcing the Pashtuns into believing they are Bene Israel.
  2. That person had the means to force generation A into believing it.
  3. In some of the generations that followed generation A, there had to be someone who shared this motive and those means, or else, after 1-2 generations this tradition would have been recognized as false and it would have disappeared.

I think that it is safe to say that we have no rational reason for believing that any of those conditions is true, because:

(1) It doesn’t seem reasonable to believe that anyone had ever had a motive for forcing the Pashtuns into believing they are Bene Israel.

(2) In addition, we clearly see today that Pashtuns would not let go of their traditions without a fight, and we have no reason to think it was different in any previous generation. Therefore, even if anyone had the motive, he would probably have to kill many Pashtuns before he could force this tradition upon them. If that happened, it would have been remembered, both by the Pashtuns themselves and by their neighbours, and there would have been some archaeological and historical records of this genocide. As far as I know, there isn’t any such evidence.

(3) Finally, if believing it was possible at one generation is far-fetched, believing some people did that for many generations is close to insanity.

(4) Even if we ignore the problems outlined above, it would still be highly unlikely that this event of forcing this tradition upon the Pashtuns would have been forgotten.

Therefore, the belief that Pashtuns are not really Bene Israel cannot be rationally based on this explanation.

Someone convinced the Pashtuns into believing in this tradition

According to this explanation for the origin of this tradition, at some generation A, someone (or a group of people) came along and convinced the Pashtuns that they are really Bene Israel, although they never heard of it before. Time had passed, and at generation B the tradition was already so acceptable, that not only many (probably most) of the Pashtuns believed it, but they completely forgot that once, at generation A, someone invented it and convinced their ancestors it is true.

For this explanation to be rationally accepted, we have to believe that:

  1. Someone had a motive for convincing the Pashtuns into believing they are Bene Israel.
  2. That person had such strong arguments that he managed to convince people they are something they are not.
  3. In some of the generations that followed generation A, people who questioned this tradition were convinced again and again that it is true using those arguments.
  4. The Pashtuns at generation A had to have no tradition of their true origin, or they let go of their previously held tradition because the arguments they are Bene Israel were so strong.

I think that it is safe to say that we have no rational reason for believing that any of those conditions is true, because:

(1) Like we said before, it doesn’t seem reasonable to believe that anyone had ever had a motive for convincing the Pashtuns into believing they are Bene Israel.

(2) What could have been those arguments? If we ignore the tradition the Pashtuns are Bene Israel, even with the other common traditions of Pashtuns and Jews, there aren’t strong enough arguments to convince anyone, especially not the Pashtuns themselves, that the Pashtuns are something they are not (remember that at generation A the Pashtuns didn’t have any tradition of being Bene Israel according to this explanation).

(3) Even though some people are stupid, there are always, in every nation, those who are smart and ask questions. If enough people, at generation A or at the following generations, were smart, there’s no way this tradition would have been accepted, and I don’t think it is rational to believe that some generations of Pashtuns were so stupid. In fact, a lot of Pashtuns are very intelligent people, and from that we can safely conclude that their ancestors were intelligent too.

(4) There’s no historical record for this event of convincing the Pashtuns they are something they are not.

(5) It is unlikely that the Pashtuns in generation A let go of a previously held tradition, no matter what arguments were given to them. We’d have to believe they had no idea who they are.

(6) Even if we ignore the problems outlined above, it would still be highly unlikely that this event of convincing this tradition upon the Pashtuns would have been forgotten.

Therefore, the belief that Pashtuns are not really Bene Israel cannot be rationally based on this explanation.

Some Pashtuns created this tradition

According to this explanation for the origin of this tradition, at some generation A, some Pashtuns decided they are Bene Israel. Then they convinced or forced the other Pashtuns, although no one has ever heard of it before. Time had passed, and at generation B the tradition was already so acceptable, that not only many (probably most) of the Pashtuns believed it, but they completely forgot that once, at generation A, some Pashtuns invented it and convinced or forced others it is true.

The same arguments that were given above are all relevant to this explanation, only now the problems are much more profound, because we have to believe that the ones who forced or convinced other Pashtuns were Pashtuns themselves (and if it was done by convincing, they had to be superb liars).

Therefore, the belief that Pashtuns are not really Bene Israel cannot be rationally based on this explanation.

Conclusion

We previously outlined taxonomy of all the possible explanations for the origin of the tradition that Pashtuns are Bene Israel, assuming it is false. Because all of the explanations are irrational, we must conclude that the tradition is true, and at some generation A the Pashtuns really lived in the land of Israel and knew for a fact they are Bene Israel. They were then taken to Afghanistan and the area around it (according to the bible, they were taken by the Assyrians), where they lived and passed this tradition from generation to generation.

Common traditions of Pashtuns and Jews

Although the common traditions of Pashtuns and Jews might not be enough on their own to prove Pashtuns are Israelis, they can certainly be used for further confirmation that our conclusion is correct. Amongst the common traditions are:

Lighting candles before Saturday (Shabbat):

Not eating sea-creatures such as lobsters, shrimps, and crabs, and animals like camels and horses, and meat with cheese. These are, in fact, not Kosher (cannot be eaten) according to the Torah given to the people of Israel by God through Moses.

Circumcision on the 8th day:

The days of the week are called by their numbers, like in Hebrew, except for Friday which is called by its Arabic name Jummah جمعه (it is a holy day for Muslims) and Saturday which is called Shambah, in the Torah (and in Hebrew) it is called Shabbat (Shabath).

Wearing a small hat, In Hebrew they are called Kipa:

PI-Kipa

Wearing a square piece of clothing by men. In Hebrew it is called Talith. In Pashtun, it is Shawl/Sadaar:

PI Talith

A man marries his dead brother’s widow if the brother didn’t have children. In the Torah it is called Yibum.

In Weddings there’s a piece of fabric hanging above the marrying couple. In Hebrew it is called Hupa. In Pashto it is called Dolaye,

In some Pashtuns weddings, the bride breaks a glass (in particular, I heard it is done by Pashtuns in Kandahar). In Jew’s weddings the groom breaks it. This is actually a relatively new tradition that Jews do for the remembrance of the destroyed Temple, so it is likely that Pashtuns heard of this tradition after they have already been exiled and added it to their other Israeli traditions.

Some Pashtun women grow side brows (called Kamsai in Pashto). A lot of Jewish males do that too (mainly Hasidim (Ashkenazi) and Yemen Jews). Jews and Pashtuns are probably the only ones in the world who do this:

PI sidebrow

Using names like Yaakov (Christians use Jacob but only Jews and Pashtuns use it as it should be pronounced), Israel, Barak, Asaf, Benyamin, Kenan, Tamir, Timor, Shir, Sahar, etc.

Other evidence includes names of places in Afghanistan and Kashmir that resemble ancient towns in Israel that are mentioned in the bible. And some say that until not so long ago, one of the names of the Amu Darya (River Oxus) was Gozan, which is mentioned as one of the placed the damn Assyrians exiled the people of Israel to. There are also the names of tribes that resemble the children of Yaakov (the names of the Israeli tribes), like Lewani (Lewi), Daftali (Naftali), Yusufzai (children of Yussuf-Yossef), Rubanni (Reuven), Afridi (Efrayim) etc. Also parts of the Pashtunwali resemble some parts of the Torah.

Some Pashtuns also have Jewish artifacts. For example, I heard first hand from a Lewani Pashtun that his grandmother had these jewelries:

PI Artifacts

If we add those traditions to what we said above, we can be confident that our conclusion is correct.

DNA Testing

Here it is said that almost half of Indian Afridi Pathans are very close genetically to Jews. I heard from some Pashtuns that Pathans are actually Pashtuns that mixed with other nations, so I was set to try to do a DNA test myself on friends of mine who are pure-blood Pashtuns. I already got an offer from a commercial company, when I suddenly remembered something I read not long ago – a Wikipedia article about Jewish genetics. I’ll outline some of the conclusions of those studies, and explain their relevancy afterwards.

Male linage studies: A book published in 2012 that surveys previous studies concluded that all major Jewish groups share a common Middle Eastern origin, and claimed that the theory that some Ashekenazi Jews are Khazars is refuted. Another study done in 2012 claimed to prove that North African Jews are genetically close to European Jews. Another showed that Ashkenazi Jews from Germany are much closer to Sfaradic Jews than to non-Jewish Germans. Another study in 2013 found no Khazar evidence for Ashkenazi Jews and again concluded that most of the Ashkenazi Jews have common Middle Eastern origin as the Sfaradic Jews.

Female linage studies: In 2008 someone found that about 40% of Ashkenazi Jews had 4 female founders (consistent with Jewish tradition of being the children of Yaakov’s wives – Lea, Rahel, Zilpa and Bilha), but that the same is not true for Sfaradic Jews (basically claiming that many women converted to Judaism and married male Jews). In 2013 someone said the exact opposite – that about 88% of the Ashkenazi Jews had non-Middle Eastern female ancestors, suggesting that Jewish males migrated to Europe and took new wives from the local population, and converted them to Judaism. In 2014 another study contradicted both other studies.

Other studies: Looking at the whole genome, one study concluded that most Jews from all communities are descendants of ancient Hebrew and Israelite residents of the Levant. Some studies concluded that some Ashkenazi Jews are in fact descendants of Khazars. There are many other studies; many of them contradict each other.

Now to our point, we clearly see that most studies are consistent with the Jewish tradition of being mostly children of Yaakov (except for non-Israelis who accepted the Israeli religion). But, and this is a huge but, some studies (especially in the maternal case) show something completely different.

One explanation for the inconclusiveness of the DNA testing of Jews, especially in the maternal linage (which is the more important one, because according to the Torah (implicit) and Ezra (explicit) being Israeli is determined by the mother), is that a lot of women around the world converted to Judaism, but it wouldn’t be a full explanation of the facts, because we would then expect that all studies would show this or that percent of non-Middle Eastern maternal origin.

A better explanation is that DNA testing is over-hyped, and it will take some more development until we could rely on it. Commercial companies and researchers would surely disagree, but they have a personal interest.

Because we showed that it is basically impossible to believe that Pashtuns are not Bene Israel, DNA is not necessary for proving this tradition. It can only be used for proving another Pashtuns tradition – that Pashtuns did not mix with other people, but I personally think that given the current knowledge of DNA and mutation frequency, and how much the environment affects it, any result of a DNA test could be debated.

Pashto

Some Pashtuns think that because Pashto is not a Semetic language it means Pashtuns are not Semetic, but it isn’t a strong enough evidence to contradict what we said above. To contradict what we said one has to explain how this tradition originated, and it is impossible.

Anyway, we should say that not only this evidence is not strong enough; it is actually not evidence at all. Jews in Europe spoke 3 languages – Hebrew, the language of their country (French in France, German in Germany etc) and Yidish. Yidish has only a few Semetic elements and is closer to German, and was used for daily communication between Jews in Europe. Jews in Spain and Portugal also spoke 3 languages – Hebrew, Spanish and Ladino. Ladino was the Yidish of the Jews in Spain and Portugal. In Arabic countries, again, the Jews spoke 3 languages – Hebrew, Arabic and Judeo-Arabic. The later was the Yidish of Jews in Arabic countries.

It is true that the Pashtuns do not speak Hebrew, but I think it is highly probable that Pashto is the Yidish of Pashtuns. It is also possible that Pashtuns didn’t need another foreign language (like Jews needed to know German or Spanish) because unlike Jews, Pashtuns had their own territory. It might be just a wild theory, but it might have been used, like Yidish, so that Pashtuns won’t mix with other nations.

Other nations who claim they are Bene Israel

From the same reasons outlined above, I believe every nation that has a wide-spread tradition of being Bene Israel, are really descendent of Bene Israel. That said, being Bene Israel and having our father Yaakov as an ancestor is not the same thing. There are 2 types of nations who are Bene Israel:

  1. People who kept the religion of Moses and Israel (what is called now Judaism) all along. They are Bene Israel because non-Israelis who married them, accepted the religion too, and Moses taught Bene Israel that if someone accepts that religion and goes through a certain process (called Giyur in Hebrew), he becomes an Israeli himself (Moses’ own wife, Sipora, was actually a convert).
  2. People who are descendents of Bene Israel who didn’t keep the religion of Moses and Israel, but didn’t mix with other people.

The faces of all the people who claim they are Bene Israel prove they mixed, and they generally do not deny that they mixed. Jews mixed too, but they kept Judaism, so they fall in to the first category (Jews who married non-Jews were thrown out of the Jewish community and were considered dead to them. This is still true for today’s religious Jews, and until not long ago, all Jews were religious). On the other hand, those other people who both mixed and did not keep Judaism, although they are descendants of Bene Israel to some extent, they are not Bene Israel themselves, as they do not fall into either category.

What’s special about the Pashtuns is that although Pashtuns do not keep Judaism today (except for some small portions like not eating some non-kosher animals), according to Pashtuns’ tradition, they did not mix. And unlike other nations who have the tradition of being descendants of Bene Israel, the face of the Pashtuns prove they did not mix.

So the question is whether one believes the tradition that Pashtuns didn’t mix with other nations or doesn’t. It is less provable than the tradition of being Bene Israel, because if Pashtuns did mix and stopped mixing at some generation A, it is possible that the tradition of not mixing was created at a later generation B, if they didn’t mix for enough generations.

That said, I think it is more likely that they didn’t mix than that they did. One reason is because the current situation is that most Pashtuns are not mixing. Another reason is that I can’t find a good reason why at some generation A they’d stop mixing after they mixed before that. And finally, we know from Moses (Deuteronomy 30), from Yehezkel (37), from Yirmiya (31), Yishaaya (51, 27), and from many other prophecies that the Bene Israel are out there (those who were exiled by the damn Assyrian). Because we know they don’t keep Judaism, the only possibility for them to exist as Israelis is by not mixing, and there is one, and only one, nation that fits those conditions, and it is the Pashtuns.

I should note that if some of the Pashtun tribes are descendants of Bene Israel and others aren’t, and the Pashtuns mixed within themselves, that would exclude Pashtuns from category 2. Yet, as far as I know, mixing even between tribes is rare (or at least was rare until recently). So I guess that if you are a Pashtun and the elders of your tribe say you are Bene Israel and that your tribe’s ancestors didn’t mix with tribes that aren’t Bene Israel, then you are Israeli. Otherwise, there might be some doubts in case some tribes (those that don’t have this tradition) weren’t original Pashtuns but adopted the Pashtuns’ culture at some point in history.

Implications

Well, as a Jew who prayed for and dreamt of meeting the other (non Jews) Bene Israel, I am extremely excited. If you are a Pashtun and you don’t want to admit being an Israeli, I think you are not being rational.

First, being Israelis is a source of pride. It means you are the children of Prophet Yaakov. It means you were the first to believe in the one and only God, more that 1500 years before the Arabs. Your ancestors prayed to the one and only God while the Arabs were complete pagans, bowing to all sorts of idols who don’t have power over anything. It is also very likely that other prophets are your forefathers. For example, it is very likely you are descendants of Prophet Moses himself if you are Lewani. Your great great… great grandfather might have been Moses’ best student – prophet Yehoshua if you are Afridi, etc. Your ancestors saw with their eyes what God did to Egypt – stuff that no other nation but the Egyptians themselves have witnessed. They heard God talking to them on Mount Sinai, etc.

Second, If you think Israel or Jews are some kind of evil maniacs, then you should read this. Once you learn the truth you could be happier with being from the same nation as the Jews. In that article you can also find out why Jews are so excited to realize the Pashtuns are Bene Israel.

So if you are a Pashtun and you are comfortable with the fact that we are you and you are us, you are invited to our facebook group – The People of Israel – Pashtuns and Jews. If you are a Jew and you are excited you are welcome too of course. PI Veameha

Side note for Jews

Some Jews might doubt the un-provable (given current genetics science) tradition of Pashtuns not mixing. I would like to prove to them that our Rabbis of the Mishna and Talmud knew that they won’t mix. First of all, there are many prophecies that the 10 tribes are going to return to the holy land (like Yehezkel 37, Yirmiya 31, Yishaaya 51 and 27, and many others, that talk about the 10 tribes specifically).

Second, if a non-Israeli marries an Israeli woman, they are not really married according to Halacha (Jewish law), but if he is Israeli from the 10 tribes, then they are really married and she must get divorced according to Halacha if she wants to marry an Israeli. On this topic, the Talmud says in Yevamot 16: “If a non-Jew married an Israeli woman according to Halacha, we are concerned that they might actually be married, because he might be from the 10 tribes”. The Talmud then asks: “But when someone is in front of us and we don’t know who he is, we assume he came from the majority of people, and the majority of people are not from the 10 tribes, so we shouldn’t be concerned”. The Talmud then says that this is only true in their land – the land where the 10 tribes live, because over there they are the majority. So the Talmud believes that the 10 tribes are still the majority in their land. If they had mixed this would not have been the case, unless there was only a little mixing going on.

Finally, we have the Mishna in Sanhedrin 10:3, where Rabbi Akiva said the 10 tribes don’t have a part in the next world, while Rabbi Eliezer said they have. Rashi simply said that they talked about the generation that was exiled, but even Rabb Akiva admits that their descendants surely have a part in the next world. There’s no doubt this is the case, otherwise Ribbie Akiva would be in a disagreement with Yehezkel, Yishaaya and Jeremaya, and we know he can’t be.

So the prophets and the Talmud all say that the 10 tribes are out there, in their land they are the majority, and they are still Israelis, even after all these years. There’s one, and only one, nation that doesn’t look like they mixed, has Torah-based traditions, has a tradition of being Bene Israel, and even has a tradition of not mixing. They are the Pashtuns, our brothers, Bene Israel.

So a Jew who believes in the prophets and that our Talmud’s Rabbies knew what they were talking about shouldn’t doubt the tradition of the Pashtuns not mixing with other nations. And I’m not a Rav myself, but I think there might be a consequence for Halacha here – if we meet a random Pashtun, we can’t ask him to do something that is forbidden on Shabbat, serve him anything not Kosher (from the non-Kosher stuff they do eat – some of the Kosher laws the Pashtuns do keep), etc, because as the Talmud said, in their land they are the majority.

The author originally published this piece on the Pashtun Times

The Case Against Building a Casino in Eilat

I have a very wise friend, one of the wisest people I know, who explained to me recently, in his typically wise way, why people should not be shocked over a recently aired interview on Israeli television between journalist Amnon Levy and  a Satmar Hassid who doubled as a cocaine dealer and murderer.

Throughout the interview, Levy could not but help express his befuddlement over the seeming incongruity between identifying with and living amongst Judaism’s strictest sect,  and simultaneously being a drug lord and gang member. Levy, a secular or perhaps slightly traditional Jew, could simply not get over the fact that one’s s advertised morality and one’s personal morality had absolutely nothing to do with one another. Indeed, this is exactly what irked Levy so much, because this particular Hassid admitted to Levy that he had no remorse and felt no conflict between his communal path and his ‘professional’ path. He separated the two. These are the signs of a psychopath, actually, but my friend’s point can still be made.

Jews are believers, sometimes in God as well, but always in some kind of ideology. Jews do not take middle of the ground positions. Whatever they believe in, be it socialism or Hassidut or settlement or Zionism or feminism or Haredi(ism) or social justice or self hatred masked in this or that ideology or whatever the cause, Jews believe. On the other hand, Jews are people and like all people, they are not perfect. This dichotomy leads often to a twisted case of patriotism (in the case of the drug dealing Hassid, a particularly perverted case), by which the flag waver never gives up the flag even if its demands are far beyond what that individual is willing to accept.

In this extreme case, the Hassid knew deep down that the Satmir way was the right way, but it simply was not for him. He had been hurt by his community and had for many years developed a love-hate relationship with them, but somehow deep within he continued to believe in the path, even if he had abandoned its dictates. He was not a moral Jew – but he wanted his children to be! He was determined to continue the chain even if for him there was no reconciliation between his personal life and his ideological life.

We see this in far less extreme cases all of the time: Secular great-grandparents who abandoned God at the gates of Auschwitz and are thrilled to see their grandchildren and great-grandchildren return to the study of Torah, secular Jewish business magnates donating heavily to Yeshivas and Jewish learning and experience, American Jewish mafia of the last century helping the fledgling Jewish State with arms, training and funding, Rabbis that continue to teach even if they themselves have lost their own torch of faith,  secular Israeli leftists that bash their own country daily but never leave – because they can’t.
None of them can, even if they wish that they could. Somehow, this Jewish “presence” sticks deep within and no matter the interpretation, Jews may twist and shout and contort their views, but at the end of the day will fight to preserve, no matter how much they have personally abandoned their own stated beliefs.

And while there will be those readers that will protest this comparison of others with the drug dealing Hassid or the murderous Jewish gangsters, and will haughtily express their indignation that good people are included in this same vile pie, rest assured that the comparison is apt and that there is a special case that is far worse.

Years ago I hailed a taxi in Jerusalem. Just to have some fun, when the taxi driver, a traditional Jew, asked me “where to”, I answered, “to wherever you want to go”.  He stared incredulously at me and asked if I was serious. “Of course”, I answered, “after all its your car.” After breaking into a very slight sweat and gulping as if parched and in need of a drink, he answered, “if you are serious, than let’s drive down to the casino in Jericho.”

Well, he had really turned the tables on me and I began to explain to him that casinos were bad, that he did not look like someone that could afford to lose money, that this particular casino was owned partially by Arab terrorists and that therefore the money would go to funding terrorism and that in general casinos were places that created surrounding cultures of vice.

“I know”, he exasperatingly exclaimed, “but what can I do? I can’t help it. I am right wing, I believe in God and country, I hate Arab terrorists and I vote Likud, but this is just something that my body and soul needs. Are you with me? Can we go?”

I learned several important things in that brief encounter. First, that the Likud is about as low browed a party as exists in the entire country, the current debate over casinos in Eilat proving again this very point. Second, that as my wise friend explains, people are people and patriotism is sometimes conjoined at the hip to personal and moral defeat. Third, that I would not have much cared if the taxi driver had wanted me to join him at a poker party, but was shocked when he was desirous of a plan that could cause his own people great pain and suffering.

Any casino, anywhere in the world, brings with it alcoholism, prostitution, hard earned money thrown to the wind, a culture of decadence and emptiness, mafia and gangland murder. It is not Jewish, not by the standards of the religious Jew, not by the standards of the secular Zionist Jew, not by feminist standards, not by social justice standards, not by any standard. And yes, it is far worse than the Hassidic murderer, because with it all, he still held on to something far dearer to him than his own psychopathy. He held to his community standards for friends and family and never allowed them to enter his sick game. But these Likudnikim, these men that would not only abandon their personal morality, but also infect an entire culture with this lustful foolishness, they are far worse.

 

I am an Igbo, I am a Jew

I am studying the Igbo culture, which has been noted to have unique similarities and parallels with the culture and history of ancient Israel. So, I can also say that I am studying ancient Israel. I think that we can never have a surfeit of studies about ancient Israel. My own opinion, formed by my experience is that though much is known about the ancient Israelites, still much is yet to be known.

Many believe that much of my findings which I have documented in 6 books is helping to fill the void. I have been told many times that my presentations of Igbo culture illuminate the Tanakh, that they make clear many of what otherwise would seem of no consequence or importance. On the other hand, Jewish cultural studies have served as an Igbo Studies primer to me.  As could be seen Jewish Studies is providing us with help in understanding the history of some of the customs. As well as enabling us to fill gaps in our general history. So it’s a win-win situation for both the Igbos and the Jews.

The Igbo, in older times more commonly referred to as the Ibo, have been referred to as the Jews of Africa for a long time. We have been native to 16000 sq miles in the deep south of Nigeria for estimatedly 1000 years.

The Omenana

The Igbo way of life is called Omenana, which if you translate to English you will get ‘things, laws, customs, traditions that you have to do or observe in or on the land’. This I believe will give you a clear message because the Torah of Israel which is the basic code of the culture of Israel contains essentially what/the laws, customs, etc, that the Israelites are to do/observe on the land..’

300 years or so ago, my family with Udoji my great grandfather, who was an obi, and an nze, at its head brought in, and accommodated Nri from Ohaeri, another Igbo clan, who from all indications; which include evidence that Igbo migrated from the ‘north’, are Levites, and if they are not, we would then be forced to consider the strange possibility that there were two Israelite entities that were not connected in any way in ancient times.

My father who was born in 1920 told me that the family of non Ozubulu ancestry that are our ‘brothers’, because they live on our land, attend family meetings with us, and are our kinsmen presently came the following way to join us: Udoji was sitting on the corridor of his obi one day, around 300 years ago, enjoying the cool breeze, when he espied a family walking towards him. Getting closer, they saluted him, and responding he asked who they were, and they responded that they were Umu Nri; that they were looking for a place to settle and live. Udoji invited them in, gave them hospitality, allocated land to them, and they settled and became members of his family. They still live with us today. The special occupation of this family gives us a hint of who they are. Among the Igbo, like among the Jews, a suicide was not given a regular burial. The Torah said that a hanged person is an abomination. Here the English language I think missed the point of the Torah. Torah must have meant a person that hanged himself. A suicide! Hanging was a very regular means of committing suicide in ancient times. The Igbo believe that one who committed suicide by hanging -committed abomination-soiled the land (society), offended G-d, and that purifications must be performed before his body could be cut down to be thrown away. And he or she must not be mourned. My studies of Jewish traditions show that no Jewish group accords the suicide a normal, and regular mourning and burial.

Back to our Levites. This family that Udoji accommodated came from one of the families/clans that had authority to perform the required purification (cleansing). They had right, and freedom to move around, and to be allocated land by their brother Igbos to settle and practice their profession, exactly as the Lord required the biblical Israelites to do in the case of the Levites, who were also to move around in Israel, practicing their craft. Among the Igbo, the major purifications and cleansings have to be done by the priests of Nri.

Here we have another clincher: the primary family/clan of the Nri; Agukwu, where I conducted much research, and met great Igbo sages has the nickname: ‘Nri enwela ani’: the meaning of this would shock you. It means that the Nri don’t have lands.

Jacob, the Hebrew Patriarch prophesied that Levi would have no land in Israel, but would be scattered in Israel. Moses, the Law-Giver, through whom G-d instructed Israel directly relayed what G-d said about the Levites: they were to be scattered in Israel, as the priests of the Israelites. The Nri are scattered among the Igbo, as the primary priests. Nri have had this nickname ‘Nri do not have lands’ since immemorial times, and most probably most Nri indigenes have forgotten why they acquired the nickname. Tellingly, the family of Nri that settled with the Ilona, named one of their sons Asomba, which means that they can settle anywhere among their brother Igbos.

The Obi

The obi are the persons who traditionally serve as the political leaders of Igbo communities.  My family which I have introduced by narrating how it accommodated a family of Igbo Levites, has provided the obi for my community, the Egbema, Ozubulu sub-clan for centuries. The function of an obi includes provision of the meeting place for the community, and maintenance of same. In this structure which is called community obi, the community also gathers for formal religious activities like prayers, which the oldest male member of the community leads. The obi also serves as the ‘court-house’ of the community. Issues are settled inside it, and sittings are only taken to the ilo (stadium) if the proceedings would attract very many people, and its feared that the obi would not be able to accommodate those that would like to attend.

The obi would very likely be the person that would represent the community if there are risky and costly assignments that the community needs to execute. For example, if the community needed to fight a neighboring community, the obi would lead the community. Also the obi is expected to shoulder the responsibility of the community, like accommodating the ‘Levites’ as I have narrated. The obi reminds me of the Hebrew judges, and kings, who led the people from the front; were at the forefront of the fights, and not at the rear. Saul was there at the war front making the arrangements for tackling Goliath, even volunteering his armor for the boy-soldier David. Also the obi who is wrongly misrepresented as ‘king’ today, or traditional ruler, to use what is in the Nigerian lexicon, reminds an observer of the Israelite ‘king’ whom G-d instructed that he is to still remain more less an equal of his brethren. The Igbo obi, unlike the kings (traditional rulers) among the Yoruba, Benin, Hausa/Fulani, Europeans,etc did not receive any special treatment from the Igbo. Like King Ehav, who wanted to buy Naboth’s land, because unlike real kings, he hadn’t control of the land in Israel, the Igbo obi has only his own portion of the ancestral land, and if he needs more, he has to buy.

The obi is empowered so that he can be strong as he performs his functions. An ofo which will help him to live a clean life is given to him. The Igbo have a belief that living sinfully leads to death. To avoid this fate, the obi who as a prominent person could more easily stray, is given an ofo, which one is scared of sinning when one is in possession of it. If the obi is the oldest man from the oldest family in the community, things are very simple in regards to the ofo, because it is the oldest Igbo from the oldest family that possesses the ofo of a particular community, among the Igbo. But if he is not, an ofo which will be subordinate to the main one will be provided for him.

Nze

In the good old days every Igbo goes to be consecrated, to become an ‘nze’. An nze is distinguished by the following: he is very careful about what he eats, and extra careful about what he does, says and hears. Traditionally the Igbo keep kosher. Substantial evidence of this exists in the wise sayings, lore, music of the Igbo, and in the animals that the Igbo consider as suitable for sacrifice. The nze goes an extra mile in observing the laws of kashrut, and general kosher. He can only eat food prepared in his home, by his wife, and this depends on her state. So sometimes he prepares his food himself. He does not say sinful things. And he must not hear sinful things. In my clan the nze has a bell that tingles tied to his bag. The purpose of the bell is to give sufficient warning that a holy man is passing, whenever he is abroad, so that people will be careful, because if someone says an unholy thing to his hearing, he has right to levy a fine, which must be paid without delay. The nze is distinguished by this red fez which must always be on his head.

The nze is the Igbo nazarite. Samson was a biblical model of the nazarite. How many letters are shared by nze and nazarite?

The OSU or Oruma

The osu, in some sections of Igboland and oru-ma in the Nsukka area of Igboland are auxiliary priests in the Igbo religion who lost status, and employment when the colonial authorities replaced Omenana with Christianity as the religion of the Igbos. Having being replaced, and their role and function forgotten and misunderstood, they presently suffer discrimination from other Igbos.

The osu have direct parallels in biblical Judaism. It is completely established and above ambiguity of any kind among the Igbo that the osu were people whose ancestors served in the sanctuaries that the Igbos set up in Igboland.

  • There were some that were dedicated by other people to serve G-d in Omenana, forever.
  • Some also elected to serve G-d as auxiliary priests in perpetuity.

In ancient Israel, the Gibeonites were dedicated, to serve in the house of G-d, forever. Samuel was dedicated by his mother to serve in the house of the Lord forever.  We have seen two examples that paralleled the Igbo experience. Following is another one: The Gibeonites were not to be harmed. King Saul contravened the solemn vow of Joshua, and killed some of them. Under King David they had their pound of flesh back. Among the Igbo, one must never hurt an osu physically. General Joab who sought to avail himself of this protection and immunity when King Solomon pursued him, went into the House of G-d, caught hold of the horns of the Temple, because ancient Israelite law gave immunity to an Israelite that sought protection from pursuers by taking refuge with G-d Remember, some Igbo became servants/auxiliary priests by running into the sanctuaries for protection.

These people are in trouble presently. They have been replaced by Christian priests, their functions forgotten, misunderstood, scorned as pagan service. Accordingly they are as I said earlier, discriminated against.  This has taken its toll on the truth that rests behind the Igbo people’s connection to ancient Israel and the Jewish people. However, it is not over yet. The Igbo are realizing that they are not truly like the rest of the tribes and people that surround them.  We are at our core, a mixture of the lost tribes and those Judeans that were exiled at the time of the Roman conquest of the Land of Israel.  Josephus recorded that millions of Judeans were in fact sold into slavery to Africa. Thank G-d we are returning.

Lost Tribes And The Garden Of Eden

This is a story of a close group of friends bound by fate, adventure, and purpose as they are led down a road they could only have dreamed of.

When I arrived in Tsfat for a summer to study, the rosh yeshiva told me, “You don’t choose Tsfat; Tsfat chooses you.” I arrived at my dorm room and saw a photo of my roommate on the wall. I got goose bumps when I noticed myself in the background of the photo taken at the Kotel. Months before I knew I would ever end up in Tsfat, there was a picture of me on my dorm-room door.

In Tsfat, I experienced many life-changing moments. Most significantly, I was given as a gift Torah CDs about the redemption by Rabbi Shimon Kessin, and I read the book Eim HaBanim Semeicha by Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtel.

Rabbi Teichtel’s book discusses the precious mitzvah to settle the land of Israel, and the history and future of the people of Israel and their homeland. In the book, he imparts a strong piece of advice that would change my and my friends’ lives forever. He teaches that there is a tremendous amount of blessing stored in the heavens yearning to descend to the world. However, humans don’t receive the blessing themselves; they receive it only through their handiwork. Rabbi Teichtel advises to gather a group of friends who share unconditional love and a common desire to settle the land of Israel, and to create a vessel that can receive the blessing. Whatever entity is created will be guaranteed success and inevitably foster the settlement of the land of Israel. In my eyes, this was a promise from the Torah, and we accepted the challenge.

A close group of friends gathered and founded a nonprofit organization and a brewing company as vessels to receive the blessing. We flew to Israel and sought out land on which to live—and make beer. We found many hidden gems in distressed kibbutzim and moshavim, but were met with nothing but bureaucracy. While in Israel, however, we did find out that two of the Lost Tribes of Israel that had returned to the land—the Ethiopians, believed to be from shevet Dan, and the Bnei Menashe from India—had delicious ancient beer recipes that they were willing to share with our crew. We gained the blessings of the tribal leaders to scale up the beverages and bring them to market.

Shortly after launching our brewing company in the U.S., Lost Tribes Beverage, our team began receiving e-mails from around the world from groups claiming to be from the Lost Tribes of Israel.

Nearly three thousand years ago, the twelve tribes of Israel were split into two nations—the Northern Kingdom called Israel, and the Southern Kingdom called Judea. Today’s Jews descended from the Judeans, while the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom were sent into exile, towards the Far East, by the Assyrians. Every day in Jewish prayer, the prophetic reunion of the kingdoms is spoken of in terms of the two separate entities, Yehudah and Yisrael.

The Pashtunim Are Our Lost Brothers

Research from organizations such as Amishav reveals that many tribal names in Afghanistan today are identical to the tribes of Israel: the Ashuri, Rubeni, Gadi, and Yosefzai (zai meaning “son of”), among others. Tribal practices include levirate marriage and cities of refuge, both major concepts of Mosaic Law. These tribes were forcibly converted to Islam, yet maintain their own legal code, called Pashtunwali, that supersedes the Koran. They refer to their collective nation as Bani Israel (the children of Israel). This 2,700-year-old nation resides in a location referred to as the graveyard of empires, as no nation was ever able to conquer them—not Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, the Soviets, the British, etc.

My friends and I started to search the tribal names on Facebook, making “friends” and inquiring whether the legend was true. Were they the lost tribes of Israel? Almost every time the answer was “Yes, we were told by our grandparents that we are Israelites, and we await the son of David to come and redeem us.”

Throughout the Silk Road, there is evidence of the legends and customs of these tribes from Afghanistan to Japan, the oldest monarchy in the world. The Japanese Empire was founded in 660 BCE. The Israelite exile was said to have happened 722 BCE, just 82 years prior to the founding of the Empire.

We learned that the Japanese claim to have been a chosen nation exiled from their homeland and resettled in the Far East. Their alphabet resembles the Hebrew alphabet. Their holy temple on Mount Moriyah—the same name as the Temple Mount that hosted King Solomon’s temple—contains three chambers: an outer section for people to celebrate, an inner chamber where priests practice animal sacrifice, and an inner chamber with a golden ark on four poles adorned with sculptures of birds, and with three symbolic items kept inside. The priests, called Yamabushi, all wear headgear strikingly similar to tefillin (phylacteries) and blow a horn resembling a shofar.

It was also fascinating to discover that there are large tribes in Africa that claim decent from the Judean kingdom from the time of the destruction of the First Temple. One of those groups in South Africa, the Lemba, practice circumcision, eat kosher, and observe the Shabbat. A professor from Duke University traveled there and did DNA testing on the tribe. His findings were astonishing. They all have Semitic genes, with 10 percent of them having the Kohen gene!

Meet the Igbo

In Nigeria, the Igbo tribe, numbering in the vast millions of people, claim to be descendants of Israelite slaves sold into Africa. Many of the slaves brought to America were from the Nigerian ports. Community activists such as Amar’e Stoudemire of the New York Knicks are very vocal about the roots of the many descendants of the slaves in America. Mr. Stoudemire and other groups collaborate to educate and return exiled communities to their ancestral heritage.

The phenomenon of hidden Jews also stretches into Arabic-speaking communities in Israel, who claim to have been the descendants of forced converts to Islam. They sometimes have tefillin and mezuzot hidden under floorboards from hundreds of years ago, as documented by Tsvi Misinai and written about by the first prime ministers of Israel. They are actually antagonized today by other Arabic-speaking communities, which call them “musta arabim,” the Arabic version of a Marrano.

We pray on the Holy Days for an “agudah achat,” a united community. As well, the prophecies speak of a time when the borders of Israel will greatly extend themselves. The Jewish people regularly chant a song whose lyrics speak about the anticipated time of the stretching of Israel’s borders. We know these expansions will not happen through military conquest, but rather when nations raise their hand asking to be included in the people of Israel. Whether these groups are Jewish or not may be irrelevant. Having hundreds of millions of people identifying with Israel is something that deserves the attention of the Jewish people and forces us to figure out how to best elevate this desire towards global peace and sustainability.

Amid all this discovery and networking, our crew found a wonderful plot of land in the lower Galilee, in the location where Reish Lakish states in the Talmud (Tractate Eiruvin) the entrance to the Garden of Eden might be located. Acquiring it was difficult, but, believing strongly in the promise of Rabbi Teichtel, we decided to move ahead.
When it came time to make the down payment, our team was still empty-handed. With just days left, a descendant of Rabbi Yitzchak Yaacov Reines heard about the struggle and was inspired to lend the money, interest-free. This was miraculous, but we still needed to secure the final payment. With only days left before the payment was due, the pressure was on.

Meanwhile, a tribal leader was elected by the heads of the Afghan Israelite tribes to reach out to the Jewish people and to declare that the time had come for the two groups to begin working together after centuries apart. This message was brought to the Amishav organization—founded at the request of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef—with which our team was already in discussions about building a social network called iTribe to identify these groups across the globe.

Humbled by the magnitude of this development, we called Rabbi Shimon Kessin, who called an emergency meeting that night. We mentioned to the rabbi that we were having trouble making the final payment on the farm in Israel.
Rabbi Kessin introduced us to an investor and philanthropist who greeted us with open arms and allowed me to make our “elevator pitch.” Thirty seconds in, we were met with a smile and an assurance the deal would close in time. We were graciously granted an additional no-interest loan.

And there it was! A tribal leader from the house of Joseph reached out to the tribe of Judah, and directly stimulated the needed financing to purchase a beautiful farm in the location of the Garden of Eden.

Ezekiel prophesied: “And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write upon it, ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel his companions’; and take one stick and write upon it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’ . . . And say to them, ‘So says the L‑rd G‑d: Behold I will take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side, and I will bring them to their land’” (Yechezkel 37:16–21).

Originally posted in 5TJT

The Amish and ISIS

Both the Amish and ISIS reject to a great extent Western culture and both have serious issues with the principles of modernity. One chops off heads and one does its thing, in peace and with dignity and love.  Given that the Amish have more or less succeeded in forming an exemplary and peace loving, hard working, religiously fervent society, it may not really be religion or culture as such that are at loggerheads with the West. The Amish have proven for quite a long time that communities of people, while rejecting much of what the West has become, can be relevant and sustained in peace and with dignity, without giving up on their principles.

Religious persecution? The Amish have experienced it several times. Economic disadvantage? It is not easy to make a buck in a world without using the latest technologies, especially in agriculture, but the Amish are flourishing.  What is it exactly that produces a culture that builds, that loves, that protects, and another culture that destroys, that hates and threatens? Beyond their rejection of modern Western values, both ISIS and the AMISH have an even more interesting similarity – they both marry within and have a large degree of consanguineous marriages, a practice that leads to higher than usual numbers of inbred genetic issues within their populations, including bipolar disorders and other forms of mental disease.  

So again, the question remains – why does one group lead towards love and community and the other towards death and destruction? The answer, obviously, is that the two diametrically opposed groups live in two diametrically opposed cultures. Culture in and of itself, however, is not an entity with agency; for culture to influence, it must take hold in the brain. In essence, therefore, the question is one of mental health. The Amish are healthy while ISIS followers are mentally deranged. Once it is understood that people that chop off the heads of perceived enemies or even co-religionists who are less fanatic in their practices, that place their bombs in hospitals and schools, that kidnap young girls and rape and prostitute them, that practice female circumcision, honor killings of women and child abuse without punishment, that torture and shoot without trial or evidence suspected traitors, it may be finally admitted that the key issue here is one of mental health and not ‘culture’ or ‘religion’. This is a problem with a strong biological basis, a medical problem.

Culture is merely an excuse that the Western multiculturalists throw around to make excuse for the deranged practices of much of what is radical Islam today. In actuality, many Muslims suffer from severe mental disease caused by inbreeding, a lifestyle that is violent, stringent, fanatic, jealous, sadistic, misogynist in the extreme, sexually perverse and genocidal.
What would any mental health expert expect from a person that grows up today within the strict confines of radical Islam? Imagine a couple from Pasadena that performs female circumcision on their daughter of middle school age. Would the authorities allow those parents to keep custody over that girl? Would the parents go to jail? Most importantly, would that young woman be given massive psychological care, all paid for by the county? What, then, can be expected from an entire culture that performs, day in and day out, atrocities on their own population in addition to other populations in their vicinity?

It would seem that a growing part of today’s Muslim world suffers from harsh and abnormal psychological disease that leads to terrorist phenomena such as ISIS, Hamas, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, the Palestinian Authority and a long list of other groups situated around the globe. Apparently, mental illness is on the rise.

The distinction between culture and mental disease is important for several reasons. Multiculturalists may be prone to allow for Sharia law in Europe and even in Dearborn, Michigan, where the local council has voted to become the first city in the United States to fully implement Sharia law for its Muslim citizens. Perhaps it was done as a show of respect for Islam, perhaps out of fear. But either way, it is a gesture of good will to another culture quickly spreading through the States and indeed, the entire world. If, however, radical interpretations of Sharia law were understood as a recipe for mental disease and violence, they most likely would not be allowed into American or European legal considerations.

A couple of years ago a woman in Oklahoma was decapitated by a man who had recently become a convert to Islam. This man, well before becoming a Muslim, had a disturbing record of violence. Thus, a great debate began in America – was this an act of radical Islam – a terrorist act – or an act of a deranged soul regardless of his religious affiliation. It was a pathetic and sterile debate. Obviously, it was the act of a violent and deranged individual and just as obviously, such an individual finds inspiration from and identification with radical Islam. This murderer did not become deranged because of Islam, but at the same time, birds of a feather……………..

It is interesting to note that many Islamic apologists speak of the Golden Age of Islamic culture and achievement, where contributions to philosophy, art and mathematics were great. What these ‘historians’ fail to mention is the fact this period of Muslim history, approximately nine hundred years ago, was a period where many staunch Muslim religionists led an open and non-apologetic type of double life, imbibing wine and enjoying the good life. The very same people that led to great Muslim achievement would have been the first to be beheaded by today’s radical Islam.

Radical Islamists should not be treated as group of people with legitimate claims against Israel, the West or the Kurds. To treat their culture as one that is deserving of respect is simply to engage in this century’s greatest lie. The Amish are deserving of respect. Radical Islam and it s accompanying radical interpretation of Sharia law are deserving of nothing but contempt and must be rooted out quickly and thoroughly.

The West has problems that must be studied, introspection that is critical now more than ever to be undertaken, but the West does not condone the covering up of women in black from head to toe, the castration of these same females and their ultimate murder for family pride. Further, the West does not place its children in front of bombs and does not ask its women to commit suicide bomber attacks. The West may be ill, which is why the Amish try to create bounds between the Western world and its own community, but there can be no comparison between radical Islam and Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, atheism.  Radical Islam is a psychological disease that is growing and must be stopped. No amount of political or cultural gesture will stop this disease because this disease is a biological and medical phenomenon, not a political phenomenon. You cannot cut a deal with a disease. When this is understood, there may be a chance to survive the plague.

Based on an article the author originally published in the Times of Israel

Israel Bans its own national anthem from the Temple Mount

Decades have now gone by since the immortal words of Motta Gur, “The Temple Mount is in our hands!” blared across Israeli radio. The world took a collective breath as the Jewish people regained their ancient capital.  Despite the miraculous victory, the secular elitists chose to hand the keys to the Temple Mount over to the Jordanian Wakf.  After all, the rabbis declared it forbidden to ascend to our holiest site. This is despite the fact that, rabbinic sages of the past like the Rambam ascended to the Temple Mount with no qualms.

Despite the security ban on public display of prayer on the Temple Mount, more and more Jews are ascending the mount.The issue has moved from the fringe of the Israeli body politic to the center.  Led by Rabbi Yehuda Glick and Rabbi Richman, the Temple Mount movement uses the most basic argument there is, freedom of worship.

This argument alone has compelled most on the right and many in the center to support Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount.  Even the Supreme Court, known usually for its leftward judicial activism has supported unhindered Jewish prayer at Israel’s most holiest spot.  The government though, through the security establishment has clamped down on Jewish prayer citing unofficial agreements with the Jordanians on following the legally fictional status quo.

Jews that pray are systematically hauled off the Temple Mount and arrested by security officials.  The arabs, who typically use the area to lay soccer or even urinate magically appear offended at the notion that Jews are using the area to serve the Creator. This plays into the security establishment’s fear of sparking more and more violence, when in fact there would be violence anyway.  What the arab street is done is use that fear to stake and hold de facto control over the Jewish Nation’s holiest spot.  Rabbinic leadership, mostly within the ultra Orthodox are happy to oblige the arabs.

Why?

The Temple Mount is the key to the next stage in the collective redemption of Israel and the world. The awakening in the world about justice, peace, and global rectification is due to the reconnection of the Temple Mount to its rightful caretakers.  The possibility of actual change brings with it an equal level of opposition.  Those groups that fear the unknown and the future, fear an open policy of prayer on the Temple Mount.

With all of this in mind, it is no wonder that even today the growing outrage by normal Israelis over  a lack of true freedom of worship on our holiest spot is on the rise. Nationally speaking, the dam is about to burst. Perhaps this is why even singing Hatikvah is forbidden.  For if those that fear the future agree to disconnect the nation from its source, then the present quagmire that all of us find ourselves in may just continue for the foreseeable future. In that kind of world, the injustices that have grown steadily will continue reign over us all.

[Podcast] Interview with Alisee de Tonnac: Can Israel Help Change the Developing World’s Funding Paradigm?

The developing world has long seen Israel as an inspiration as the Startup Nation.  With more institutional and multi-National funding finding its way to Africa and other developing regions, Israel can play a key role in shaping the future of these areas.

SeedstarsWorld logo

In this podcast I speak to Seedstars World Founder and CEO Alisee de Tonnac who is on the front lines of the Developing World  Her company runs a contest for young entrepreneurs from around the world as well as working with locals in many developing regions in the hopes that the Developing World can turn into a true global engine.

Topics discussed:

  • Why the developing world?
  • How do these startup ecosystems view Israel?
  • Is there a role to play for Israel in these regions?
  • What other multi-national players are there?