My erroneous article on Israel, Jews and anti-Semitism: Recantations

I have to admit that about 10 years ago I had written a rather inaccurate, misinformed article entitled "Israel, Jews and Anti-Semitism".
Rather than being an article, it was basically my expressions of agreement with what was written in an obscure book written by a Jack Bernstein entitled THE LIFE OF AN AMERICAN JEW (The Noontide Press, 1991), along with some of my comments.
I believe it is time for me to correct my erroneous ideas on the Jewish culture, ethnicity and history.
A kind Jewish gentleman has corrected my inaccuracies and I will quote his answers here.

My inaccurate statement in the article:

"It is important for us to understand that Jews are not one race of people. There are two distinct groups of Jews in the world and they come from two different areas of the world - the Sephardic Jews from the Middle East and North Africa, and the Ashkenazim (plural, Ashkenazi) Jews from Eastern Europe.
The Sephardic is the oldest group and it is they, if any, who are the Jews described in the Bible. They are blood relatives to the Arabs - the only difference between them is religion. (These Sephardic or Middle Eastern Jews, the descendants of Abraham, had a tragic history of oppression and dispersion under four major empires, i.e., the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Greek and the Roman Empire)."

CORRECTION (made
by a Jewish gentleman):

There are more than two distinct groups of Jews in the world first and foremost.
Sephardic Jews are NOT from the Middle East nor North Africa. Sephardic means SPANISH in Hebrew. Sephardic Jews originate from Portugal and Spain historically, and after the Spanish Inquisition, they migrated eastward, mainly setting up in Italy, Greece, Romania, France and Turkey.
During the rise of the Byzantine era, many Greek and Turkish Jews fled north to Russia. The Jews of the Middle East and North Africa are actually MIZRAHIM Jews. Mizrah in Hebrew means EASTERN or Man of the East, as in Middle East.
These are the closest things to the original descendants of Israelites. They are all over, ranging from Egypt, Iran, Morocco, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Tunisia, amongst others.
The Jews from North Africa (excluding Morocco which has its own unique history of Judaism) primarily Ethiopia and Sudan, are Beta Israel Jews. They are close descendants of Mizrahim Jews but migrated out of Israel before the Roman overthrow.

My inaccurate statement in the article:

"The Ashkenazi Jews, who now comprise 90% of the Jews in the world, had a rather strange beginning. According to historians, many of them Jewish, the Ashkenazi Jews came into existence about 1200 years ago. It happened this way:
At the eastern edge of Europe, there lived a tribe of people known as the Khazars. About the year 740 A.D., the Khazar king and his court decided they should adopt a religion for their people. So, representatives of the three major religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, were invited to present their religious doctrines.
The Khazars chose Judaism, but it wasn't for religious reasons. If the Khazars had chose Islam, they would have angered the strong Christian world. If the Khazars had chosen Christianity, they would have angered the strong Islamic world. So, they played it safe: they chose Judaism. It wasn't for religious reasons the Khazars chose Judaism; it was for political reasons.
Sometime during the 13th Century, the Khazars were driven from their land and they migrated westwards with most of them settling in Poland and Russia. These Khazars are now known as Ashkenazi Jews. Because these Khazar (Ashkenazi) Jews merely chose Judaism, they are not, in the strictest sense, really Jews: at least not blood Jews."

CORRECTION (made by a Jewish gentleman):

This information is very historically inaccurate. The Khazarian Empire, while it did technically last until the 13th Century, saw its true reign of power last from 600 - 900 A.D.
Now that's out of the way, into more pressing matters.
First off this states that Khazars converted in 740. There is historical data showing that in 321 A.D., Emperor Constantine of the Roman Empire make note of Jewish City Council members in Cologne, Germany's oldest known city.
Thus meaning ASHKENAZI JEWS (which translate to GERMANIA as it was called in Roman times) were around occupying current day Germany, Austria and Poland close to five hundred years before the Khazarians even converted. Also, ONLY Jews from the Rhineland (Poland, Germany, Austria) are Ashkenazi Jews.
Despite popular opinion, Russian Jews are NOT Ashkenazi by default. While some may have Ashkenazi roots, that more has to do with the oppressive rule of the Prussians in the late 1700 and early 1800's which led to a huge migration to Russia for Jews.
It is also a proven historical fact that the Jews of Europe (Sephardic, Italqim, and Ashkenazi) migrated from WEST TO EAST not the other way around.

My inaccurate statement in the article:

"At the time (around 1897 when the First Zionist Congress was held in Basel, Switzerland), Palestine was inhabited by a half million Palestinian Arabs and a few Palestinian (Middle Eastern) Jews who are blood related and who had lived together rather peacefully for centuries. (This is why the term "Anti-Semitic", widely misused, has no meaning. Literally, if one were to be an "Anti-Semite", it would mean that he is against Jews, Saudi Arabians, Jordanians, Lebanese, Syrians, Iraqi, etc. etc. because they are all Semitic peoples. The term "Anti-Semitic" has become a convenient scapegoat word frequently used by Globalist-Elitists against the so-called conspiracy theorists or anyone who believe that everything is basically controlled and manipulated by a network of powerful and secretive international financiers (largely influenced by Jewish financiers) conspiring to establish a One World Government)."

CORRECTION (made by a Jewish gentleman):

Another half truth here. The Mizrahim Jews (incorrectly labeled Middle Eastern Jews) lived under great oppression in Palestine and other Muslim countries. I strongly suggest you google the Tunisian Jews and the riots that led to them being ran out of the country. Jews were seen as second class citizens. Jewish households and religious centers could not be built larger than Muslim facilities. Jewish works were severely picked apart and were placed under stricter regulations than the rest of the society. I don't argue though the term anti Semitic does mean Middle Eastern genetics more so than Jews.

My inaccurate statement in the article:

"With Palestine as their choice for a homeland, European Ashkenazi Jews began migrating to Palestine. So when you think of Jews, especially as related to Israel, keep in mind that there is a great difference between Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews. They are not one united people. They are divided socially, politically and especially racially (It is to be noted that there are also quite a number of Anti-Zionist Jews in the world, both among the Sephardic and the Ashkenazi). Bernstein also says: 'Even though I was an Ashkenazi Jew from the U.S., I was placed lower on list for housing because I had married a Sephardic Jewess. For the first three years of marriage, it was necessary for us to live with Ziva's (his wife) aunt. This was because of the critical housing shortage in Israel and because of racism.
Housing in Israel is alloted as follows:
1) Ashkenazi Jews who have lived in Israel for many years are given first choice.
2) Second in line are Ashkenazi Jews from Europe...especially if they marry an Israeli-born Ashkenazi Jew.
3) the next favored are Ashkenazi Jews from the U.S......especially if they marry an Israeli-born Ashkenazi.
4) Sephardic Jews have the next choice of whatever housing is left.
5) at the bottom of the list are Moslems, Druze and Christians (especially Middle Eastern Christians, not so much European Christians). Oppportunities for employment follows the same patterns:
Ashkenazi Jews get the choicest jobs, Sephardic Jews next, and Moslem, Druze and Christians (especially the Middle Eastern Christians, not so much European Christians) fill the menial jobs with a great many left unemployed."

CORRECTION (made by a Jewish gentleman):

There was some racial divide between Jews earlier in Israel's history but that has quelled a bit. Though the housing shortage and the "rights" of Ashkenazi over Mizrahim and Sephardics are a bit exasperated here.
This article tends to forget to mention that 60% of current day Israelis are either Mizrahim, Beta Israel or Sephardic. The majority of Ashkenazi do not live in Israel, rather in the U.S.A.

My inaccurate statement in the article:

"The bottom line is that the Ashkenazi Jews' claim to Israel as their "birthright" place of origin is not correct. The Sephardics (or the Middle Eastern, or Palestinian Jews) are the "birthright" citizens of Israel. But the Ashkenazi Jews are the most militant, have the most money and are able to manipulate the governments of the world".

CORRECTION (made by a Jewish gentleman):

Again, Sephardic Jews hold the same claim to Israel as Ashkenazi as they are not middle eastern as portrayed but a mix of western Europeans and Spaniards.
And, finally, here is my final statement made in the article.

However, I am not certain if this statement of mine is accurate or inaccurate:

"I believe that the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, even though it was primarily effectuated by humanistic, political-Zionist movement and has caused and continue to cause untold sufferings to the people of Palestine, was nevertheless a miracle wrought out by God as part of His fulfillment of the prophetic calender in these end-time period we are living in. Yes, it is difficutl to see all this in light of what has been happening in the Middle East. The Israeli/Palestinian crisis will never be solved by human efforts.
According to Bible prophecy, there will yet be major Wars in the Middle East, such as the scenario depicted in Ezekiel 38 and the final conflagration known as the Battle of Armageddon. In the meantime, however, every step should be taken towards the peaceful solution to the crisis.
Through all this, we must trust in God.
The Bible says that God works in mysterious ways that we do not fully understand. His "ways" are not our "ways". Many times we do not understand His "ways". His timing is not our timing. But He can still use our humanistic, selfish ways and mistakes in eventually bringing out His program all for His purpose, all in His own time and in His own manner".

CORRECTION, anyone?

from Norio Hayakawa
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