Thanks for the information. I agree that one of the key controversies is the extent of the conversion. Forced mass conversions are not unprecedented in human history. Nor are elite classes affecting larger populations--assimilation does not necessarily go the way of a majority in population. The acceptance of Judaism in the Khazar state might also have something to do with the relative weakness of the autochthonous religion (shamanism). Judaism might well have held as much attraction as Christianity or Islam. Perhaps the role of Judaism as a 'missionary' religion seeking converts in its history needs re-examined. Also tipping the balance--perhaps--in favor of Judaism would have been an influx of Jews, including religious leaders, into the Khazar state. The argument for more widespread adoption of Judaism over time (8-12th centuries AD) is quite arguable, though I agree convincing evidence is lacking. It's more a matter of avoiding absolute statements now (e.g., it was only a
leadership elite that converted; the entire population was forced to convert; neither is supported by the evidence there is). Moreover, as I said, the more interesting question is the possibility that many Eastern European Jews descend from peoples who came by way of Russia, rather than the more documented W. European and Mediterranean routes. This means that many Russian Jews, for example, might descend from Khazars or from other Jewish people leaving the ME, who found themselves in Slavic lands.
Reply to Chip B.
1. Please don't quote my entire message in order to make such a short reply yourself. It isn't good listmanship on any list I've been on, and to a careless reader it makes me look like the culprit of text bloat.
2. I think there are a couple points worth addressing again outside of your debunkiing of guys who have already been debunked or taken to task in a scholarly way. One, as I said, another source of the misuse of these genetic studies are the Zionists themselves. Follow their reasoning over Ashkenazi Jews. All Jews demonstrably come from Palestine (cite and misuse and misinterpret this or that study that traces Y-lined genetic markers, or maternal mitochondrial DNA). Or, they say, all of Palestine was Israelites (who were forced to convert to Islam). This denies centuries of intermingling of peoples in Europe; it denies inward migrations into Palestine or cultural and linguistic diversity in ancient Palestine. Further, it denies the multiple sources of European (including Polish, Russian, Ukraine, Caucasus) Jewish cultures. And it's easy to see why they are doing this. They wish to justify by any means they can the current racist state of Israel in Palestine (no matter how self
-contradictory, such as mixing archaeology with incomplete history with misinterpreted genetics with religious myth with zionist nationalism with exclusivist concepts of 'democracy and human rights' with all-out anti-Arabism).
Finally, my apologies to those of you who receive my posts as unwrapped text. Even if I compose on a real text editor or put hard breaks in while composing on the Lycosmail interface using a browser, they come out at the other end no wrapped. You will have to find ways to wrap my text in order to read it more easily. Sorry.
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