The Invention of Shlomo Sand

As Humor Editor of America’s Longest Running Jewish Sight Gag, Jewdar is not unaccustomed to being accused of providing ammunition to the enemies of Israel, the Jewish people and good taste in general. In those rare occasions where such charges have any basis (okay, so maybe the last one isn’t so rare), we can sleep easy knowing that the writings we generate tend to be true, and/or clever. That is, while we at times focus on the Jewish demimonde, that stuff is true, and when we make stuff up, at least its funny.

Although we haven’t read it, from what we’ve read of it (and sometimes you can judge a book by it’s cover), The Invention of the Jewish People, by Israeli professor Shlomo Sand, can claim neither verite nor virtuousity as a defense.

From what we gather, the book "demolishes the myths and taboos that have surrounded Jewish and Israeli history." Powerful stuff. And how does it do that? Apparently, by trotting out a variety of claims, none of which are new, some of which are already disproven, all of which are irrelevant. Again, we haven’t read it, but it seems apparent from the review, that Sand himself makes no claim to be presenting new material.

So what does he have to offer?

1) That many Palestinians are descended from Jews who lived there before the Muslim invasion?

Not really disputed.

2) That Ashkenazis are descended from Khazars?

Not true, and pretty thoroughly disproved. Although there may be a significant Khazar component (we say "may," because the genetic marker that suggests it is also found in Middle Eastern populations in smaller numbers), it’s just as clear that there is alsoMiddle Eastern antecedence.

3) That the Jews weren’t expelled en massefrom Judea in 70 AD?

Well, duh, because there was another rebellion 60 years later that resulted in the Jews being expelled from the newly renamed Aelia Capitolina, main city of the newly renamed Syria Palestina, and the depopulation of much of the land.

4) That Jews don’t share a common ancestry with one another?

Well, just like with the business of the Khazars, Sand’s earth shattering historical revelations have been rendered irrelevant by genetic testing which demonstrates pretty clearly that, in fact, if the Jewish nation is an invention, its ancient inventors had the foresight and ratherremarkable science necessary to give its unrelated members a common genetic heritage. Somehow, despite being an "invented nation," Ashkenazim share more in common genetically with Sephardim than they do with the European populations they’ve live among for a thousand plus years.

As for that non-Jewish heritage that many Jews alsoseem to have, for a progressive and leftist, Sand, a professor of French history, seems to have a view of nationhood not terribly different from that of Jean-Marie Le Pen, and believes that a nation is only about race. There’s no question that Jews have blended with other populations. There’s also no question that most Jews today can legitimately claim some type of common genetic heritage. And more importantly, there’s no question that allJews today can claim a common national heritage, because the Jewish nation is not just about blood, but about belief. Not the belief in God and the Torah, but simply, the belief that they are part of a nation.

From what we understand, Sand grew up in a Communist family,so he may not be aware of some interesting details of Jewish tradition. Although Rachel and Leahwere kinswomen of Jacob, their handmaids–and his concubines, and mothers of many of his sons–Bilha and Zilpa, were not (or at least weren’t clearly so). Joseph’s wife–and hence the mother of Ephraim and Menashe–was an Egyptian. Moses’ wife was from Midian. King David–and by default, the entire Judean royal dynasty–was descended from a Moabite woman. Herod’s family was originally Idumean, product of one of several mass conversions (this one forced) in the ancient and medieval world. Onkelos, the translator of the Torah into Aramaic, was allegedly the nephew of the Roman emperor. Other Talmudic figures were also descended from converts. Even a descendant of Haman was a Torah scholar.

In other words, right from the start, the Jewish nation has been made up of people from lots of nations, and it’s hardly been a secret. But here’s the thing–that’s the nature of the Jewish nation. Much as we may look down on outsiders, we’ve always been pretty accepting of those who’ve actually chosen to join the Tribe. And we’re hardly unique in this regard. By Sand’s logic, there is no French nation, because before the French Revolution, the people living there spoke a variety of languages and dialects, and descended from a variety of ethnicities. How could a descendant of a Gaelic-speaking Breton and German-speaking Alsatian claim some common nationality? Because they choose to, and because they belong to a nation that allows them to.

If the Jewish nation is an invented one, we are hardly alone.

Ultimately, Sand’s argument is irrelevant, as irrelevant as those on theRight who try to argue that the Palestinian nation is invented. It really doesn’t matter how many Palestinians or Jews lived in the land of Israel in 1880–the fact is, there are millions of both of them who still live there. Israelis have a right to self-determination, not because God gave them the Land, or because thousands of years ago, we had a Temple on the Temple Mount, or because in the 19th century, the land of Israel was a land without a people for a people without a land. Israelis have a right to self-determination because they live there now, and they aren’t going away. The sooner that schmucks like Sand accept that two nations exist on the land, and neither one is going away, the sooner some kind of solution–one fair enough to leave no one satisfied–can be reached.

What do you think?