link to jogg.info

In any case, let us remember, folks that science is about theories not “truth.” Moreover biology is still far from physics and is not yet a predictive science. To say that geneticists have “proven” anything one way or another about ancient historical events is to misunderstand and misuse science. In particular, Jews should be very leary of bandying about science as “proof” of any racial theory.

History is even less about truth. It is about narrative and stories people tell one another about events of long ago. These stories have limited possibility to be”true” in a factual sense , since only rarely, if we are lucky, do we have eye-witness accounts (and even then, we all know how reliable those are).

Rather, histories may contain human truths, or perhaps more usefully, authentically resonate with their audiences and convey deeper meanings about the human condition that strike us as real and useful. I would hope that as a historian Sand isn’t claiming he is providing scientific “truth.” He is (hopefully) only claiming that there is an alternative narrative, an alternative story about the origins of the Jewish people which is just as legitimate and authentic as the Zionist narrative. This alternative story allows all Israelis to identify with and develop the unique culture of the country Israel, in a way which is more democratic and inclusive than the Zionist narrative of Jewish history and the current foundation myth of Israel.

(Just as that family has elements of biology and something other than biology) Judaism has aspects of both peoplehood and a religion. When a male converts he is circumcised. This is a blood ritual to be inducted into the tribe.

It is interesting to contrast and compare Judaism to Islam and Christianity. One obvious fact is that Judaism is much older than the other two. There are tribal elements that exist in Judaism which do not exist in the other two.

Every person regardless of ethnicity is good enough to become a Jew if they are sincere and show that they are willing to accept the yoke of the commandments. For many generations prospective converts were warned that the Jews are a hated people, are you really sure that you want to become one of us? When we were a hated people we were rather sure about the sincerity of those who wanted to join. Today (in America) Jews are less hated than usual and it might be seen as a plus to join, so the sincerity of would be joiners might be doubted. Thanks to the new antisemitism maybe we are now coming back again to a time when the sincerity of would be converts is more assured. (irony)

Islam and Christianity are religions with more than a billion adherents. Judaism has barely 14 million or so. Besides the different histories the varying sizes carry with them differing dynamics.

You seem to be be trying to stress the superiority of Islam because of its more universalist aspects. If you were born without a religion and chose Islam then I might congratulate you for making a superior choice. But if you were born into Islam God made the choice for you. I did not choose Judaism. I was born into it. God made the choice for me. Are you telling me that God made a mistake? Are you telling me that I should alienate myself from my family and throw off the religion of my birth because it is inferior to Islam? If that is what you are implying, I don’t think you are being wise.