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The Khazars
I've frequently encountered accusations that today's Jews aren't
Semitic, that most of them are descendants of the Khazars, and
therefore don't have any legitimate claims to the Promised Land
of Israel. It is a serious charge and deeply entrenched idea
among anti-Semites (who would demand a miracle to change their
mindset), but to help counter it and offer vital information on
this subject, I'm sharing the following excerpt from an article
written by my Israeli friend Yair Davidiy, an Orthodox Jew who
lives in Jerusalem and is founder of Brit-Am Israel, with
permission:
THE KHAZARS by Yair Davidiy
The Carnal ChristianThe Carnal Christian. by Anthony Smith Romans 8:35-8:35 The Carnal Christian. This Sermon deals ..... The Khazars were a powerful people who once ruled over portions
of Russia and Eastern Europe. They, (or at least many of their
leaders), converted to Judaism and were eventually defeated and
disappeared. Their descendants were either assimilated amongst
the Jews or became Sabbath-keeping and other "divergent"
Christians, many, (if not most), of whom in some way or other,
migrated to the west and to North America. Other descendants of
the Khazars may be scattered throughout the former area of the
U.S.S.R. and in different parts of Europe. A knowledge of the
Khazars is useful for several reasons. Evidence exists that the
Khazars were descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel. There is
also proof that they were related to peoples in Northwest
Europe. It follows that evidence connecting some West Europeans
to Israel is strengthened when cognizance is taken of the
Israelite ancestry of their Khazar brothers. The Khazars and
Anti-Semites
Another reason for studying the Khazars is that anti-Semites,
and some assimilationist Jews, claim that the present-day Jews
came from the Khazars, who they assume were non-Israelite.
Anti-Semites use their notion of the Khazars to allege that the
Jews are impostors and not true descendants of Israel. Some
"Identity" groups also make this allegation. So do the Arabs and
other anti-Semites. In the past some assimilationist Jews used
the Khazar idea to claim that since their ancestors were not in
Judah at a certain time therefore they were not culpable for
whatever the Jews may or may not have done to the Christian
Messiah. The background for some of these ideas also concerns
the Karaites of Russia...
more: http://britam.org/khazars.html
About the author:
David Ben-Ariel, an American author who has travelled widely and
who has lived throughout Israel, shares a special focus on the
Middle East and great interest in Jerusalem, reflected in
hard-hitting articles that help others improve their
understanding of that troubled region. Check out www.benariel.com
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