(contents)
Chapter 1. Wave of nationalism and socialism (1945-1956) (9)
025. Israel independence(2): Who is a Jew ? (1/3)
No one will object to define that Israel is a Jewish country. But it is not easy to define that who is a Jew. According to the Old Testament, the roots of the Jewish was Abraham's clan who settled in Canaan (Promised Land) of Palestine around the 20th century BC. They belong ethnically to the Sem family same as Arab peoples. The Jews would not like to be equated with Arabs, but they are the same strain in terms of biology or folklore.
The ancient Israelis believed in
monotheistic Judaism, and lived together honoring religious leaders as
prophets. Prophet Moses came back with his clan to Canaan in the 13th century
BC from Egypt where they had been detained. In the 10th century BC, King David
and his son Solomon built a temple in Jerusalem and prospered as the kingdom of
Israel, and then the kingdom of Judah.
However, after the 6th century BC the
kingdom was often invaded by the neighboring Babylonian Empire. The Kingdom of
Judah was conquered, and the Jews were forcibly relocated from Jerusalem to
Babylonia (Babylon captivity). Later, they were released by Cyrus II, the
founder of Achaemehid Empire of Persia who destroyed Neo-Babylonian Empire.
Jews returned to Jerusalem and reconstructed the temple of Jerusalem under the
control of the Egyptian dynasty. Then Kingdom of Judah had been under the reign
of the Roman Empire from the BC to the AD.
(To be continued ----)
(From an ordinary citizen in the cloud)
No comments:
Post a Comment