Month: December 2012

Last week I wrote about Zionist myths and the lack of historical evidence connecting today’s Jews with the Jews of Judah 2,000 years ago. It is highly likely, I wrote, that I, being of Lithuanian ancestry, am descended from the Khazars, an empire of converted Jews who ruled over a vast territory, stretching from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, during the medieval period.

Now, less than a week after my previous article, research has been published that backs up what I wrote. A genetic study conducted by Dr. Eran Elhaik of Johns Hopkins University has found that the Khazars were indeed the precursors of European (or Ashkenazi) Jewry.

Another finding was that there are no blood or family connections between European and non-European Jews. “The various groups of Jews in the world today do not share a common genetic origin,” Dr. Elhaik said in an interview. “We are talking here about groups that are very heterogeneous and which are connected solely by religion.”

“Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel for 2,000 years.”

That remarkable statement was made by Israel’s prime minister, Bibi Netanyahu, on public TV a few days ago.

What’s remarkable about it is not only that it’s factually incorrect  – even Bibi can count the number of years separating 2012 from 1948 – but the fact that truth really doesn’t come into it. Whether true or not, it’s an article of faith – and it is faith, rather than reality, that counts here.

The subtext of Bibi’s statement was that, when it comes to Israel, Zionism, the conflict with the Palestinians and so on, Israel makes its own rules. It’s of absolutely no interest to us what others think or whether our rules contradict the laws of science, nature or the international community. Reality is for goyim.

Being a veteran kibitzer, I’m way beyond expecting creative thinking – let alone inspiration – from  politicians. The passion I felt when Robert Kennedy visited South Africa (I must have been about 17 at the time) is unlikely to ever return, alas. Nevertheless, it would be nice if they would, at the very least, refrain from saying stuff that is so patently stupid that it’s an insult to the intelligence, even one as average as my own.

Take, for example, Netanyahu’s statement just before the Palestinian vote at the UN that “the only way to achieve peace is through agreements that are reached by the parties directly; through valid negotiations between themselves, and not through UN resolutions.”