An invented people?
Harvey Gillman reviews a book with new insights into the complexities of the Middle East
The Invention of the Jewish People by Shlomo Sand, translated by Yael Lotan, Verso. 2009. ISBN: 978 1 84467 422 0. £18.99. Spanish Jews are largely descended from converted Berber tribes from North Africa; Yemenite Jews are descendents of an Arabian tribe; many Jews from Eastern Europe come from Turkic Khazar stock; modern Palestinians are largely Judean converts to Islam and so closer to ancient Hebrews than many modern Jews. Such are the claims of Shlomo Sand and you can well imagine the response in many quarters! In his The Invention of the Jewish People, Shlomo Sand pulls no punches.
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