Tsvi Misinai

Tsvi Misinai
Occupation	Computer Scientist, Writer, Historian
Nationality	Israeli
Genre	History, Satire, Post-Colonialism
Subject	Israel, Palestine, Arab-Israeli conflict, Hebrew origins of Palestinians
Website
http://www.the-engagement.org/

Tsvi Jekhorin Misinai (Hebrew: צבי מסיני, born April 15, 1946) is an Israeli researcher, author, computer scientist and entrepreneur.

A former pioneer of the Israeli software industry, he now spends most of his time researching and documenting the common Hebrew roots shared by world Jewry and the Palestinians (including Israeli Arabs).

Biography

A picture of Tsvi Misinai (second to the left from the top row) with friends, taken during last year of study in 1968 for B.Sc in Physics at the Haifa Technion.

Tsvi Misinai was born in Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine, in 1946 to Ashkenazi Jewish parents. He graduated in Physics from the Haifa Technion in 1968. He was the first Israeli to receive the Rothschild Award for industrial development in the field of software in 1992. Misinai is the founder of Sapiens International Corporation and served as its president until 1994. He embedded the principal of Positive Thinking in computers and invented the Rule Based Object Oriented technology for developing data processing applications, the development of which he started in the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1972. He identifies himself as a secular Jew and currently resides in Rehovot.

Misinai first heard about the "Hebrew origins of Palestinians" theory from his father, Kha’yim Avraham, a German Jew who served in the Royal Artillery in the Second World War. His interest was rekindled after the 1991 Gulf War, when there was talk about a new order in the Middle East. After the failure of the Oslo Accords that led to the commencement of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000, he abandoned his career as a Computer scientist and devoted his entire life to investigating the Jewish roots of Palestinians. He nows spends his entire time tracking down Palestinians who acknowledge their Jewish heritage, and lobbying ministers, ambassadors, religious leaders and activists in both communities.

Misinai, and his team of Arabs and Jews, have embarked on a mission of trying to bring peace to Israel through a unique and controversial project called "The Engagement". (For more details, please read the sub-section: "The Engagement": A solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict").

Project on Palestinians

Hebrew origin

A thinly disguised star of David on a doortop in Yatta, Southern Mount Hebron.

Tsvi Misinai claims that the majority of the Palestinian people — including those within Israel and holding citizenship (known variously as Arab citizens of Israel, Arab Israelis, Israeli Arabs, including the Bedouin Arabs of Israel) — are descendants of the ancient Hebrews, just like most of the world's Jewish ethnic divisions. He states that unlike the ancestors of the modern day Jews who were city dwellers to a large extent, the Hebrew ancestors of the Palestinians were allowed to remain in the land of Israel to work the land and supply Rome with grain and olive oil.

As a result of remaining in the Land of Israel, they were initially partially converted to Christianity during the Byzantine era. Later, either forcibly, for forms sake to avoid dhimmi status, or out of genuine conviction, they converted to Islam. Conversion to Islam occurred both in large numbers and progressively throughout the successive periods of elite minority foreign rule over Palestine, starting with the initial Muslim conquest of Palestine by Arabian Muslims in their successive dynasties, followed by Muslim non-Arab rule by dynasties such as the Ayyubids (Kurdish Muslim), and finally the Ottomans (Turkish Muslim).

Misinai states that of this gradual process of conversions and Arabization, the majority occurred during the Fatimid era under the reign of Caliph al-Hakim who was crowned at the age of 11, and reigned from the years 996 to 1021. Due to his young age, in practice, it was his ministers who wielded the actual power behind the throne for some time. They gave the young Caliph power to influence religious matters only, and appointed him as Imam. In 1009, the extremists among his ministers gained the upper hand and brought upon a series of decrees against Christians and Jews. In 1012, the al-Hakem Edict was issued, under which all Jews and Christians in Palestine were ordered to either convert to Islam or leave. This led the majority of the Christians to leave Palestine and over 90% the Jews and Christians of Hebrew descent to convert and become Musta'arabim (Arabized).

Later, when the edict was finally repealed in 1044 during the reign of Caliph Al-Mustansir of Cairo, only 27 percent of the Jewish-Muslim converts returned to practicing Judaism openly. The remainder continued to live as Crypto-Jews and remain Musta’arbim in order to continue enjoying the economic advantages of Muslims, such as exemption from paying jizya and kharaj, ability to sell their agricultural products to the authorities, or gain employment in the government machinery. Many young Jews also saw it simultaneously possible to be Jewish and Muslim, while accruing material benefits and therefore, became Musta’arbim.

To Misinai's credit, recent genetic studies conducted by Professor Ariella Oppenheim of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem lend some credence to his thesis. It revealed that the modern day Jews and Palestinians represent modern descendants of a core population that lived in the area since prehistoric times.

Classification of the Palestinians

Tsvi Misinai (far right) in a meeting of the Bedouin Al-Huzeil tribe that claims Jewish descent and the Jewish Sanhedrin members, that took place in Rahat on October 13, 2009.

Tsvi Misinai separates the Palestinian people into two main groups; the "Descendants of Israel" and the "Brethren of Israel". In addition to these two main components, there also include a significantly small percentage of Arabs, Samaritans (who maintain their own distinct religious identity), descendants of the soldiers who served in the occupying Roman army after the destruction of the Second Temple and even some survivors of the ancient Canaanite and Philistine who are idol worshipers that live in Gaza and in the village of Jisr az-Zarka, near Haifa. A miniscule percentage of Palestinians are also descendants of 500 European Crusaders who stayed behind in Palestine and converted to Islam. These Crusaders, he indicates, are the source of the smatterings of blond haired and blue-eyed Palestinians one witnesses today. Misinai states that until recently, there had been very few inter-marriages between these groups, as Palestinians usually tended to marry within their own clans or related clans.

The "Descendants of Israel", he claims, comprise descendants of the ancient biblical Hebrews which are native to the land west of the Jordan River (the West Bank, Gaza strip and Israel proper). The "Brethren of Israel", which is originally native to the land east of the Jordan River (including the East Bank and modern-day Jordan) comprise the descendants of the ancient Edomites, Ammonites and Moabites who variously converted to Judaism and moved to Israel before the Roman invasion, and were later forcibly converted with the "Descendants of Israel" first to Christianity and then Islam.

Misinai states that the history of the Brethren of Israel are mostly intertwined with those of the Descendants of Israel. The Moabites, the Ammonites and the Edomites were forcibly converted to Judaism and made an extension of the Israelite Nation, during the course of King David’s conquests. Despite this, their kings were allowed to continue to directly hold the reins of power and they were not incorporated into any of the Israelite tribes. For the the next 1,600 years, they continued to be an inseparable part of the People of Israel. The Edomites and Moabites participated in the First Jewish–Roman War and inflicted more damage on their enemies, relative to their small numbers, than the Jews.

Since the Edomites and Moabites ancestral lands were located east of the Jordan River, this made them more close to Arabia and more removed from the Jewish people. As a result, they were more susceptible to conversions to Islam, and hence, subsequently became Musta’arbim. When devastating famines broke out at the beginning of the 16th century, many among these Brethren of Israel emigrated to Persia. As a result of juggling different religious identities to avoid persecution, they eventually forgot their Jewish origins and became radicalized, and started considering themselves to be Arabs.

Later, as things improved in the 18th and 19th century, many of those who left returned from Persia, Yemen and Sudan, shifting residences between present day Jordan and Israel, with the former mountain dwellers returning to their ancient homes, and the Edomites, Moabites, etc, settling in the plains. It is these "Brethren of Israel", Misinai contends, who constitute most of the Palestinian refugees, while the majority of Palestinians who did not flee and remain in Israel proper, West Bank and Gaza area, are "Descendants of Israel". Furthermore, he states that it is this group that are the most anti-semitic and most active in terrorist activities.

Misinai also states that the number of refugees has been deliberately blown out of proportions ans that there are far fewer refugees than is widely believed. To this, he attributes the Palestinians' taking advantage of UNRWA's largesse, which gives out free food and aid without asking questions and deliberate gross inflation in the number of refugees by Palestinians themselves.

Proportion of Hebrew-descended Palestinians

Tsvi Misinai claims that nearly 90% of the Palestinian people living in Israel proper and the occupied territories are of Hebrew descent (with the percentage among the population of the Gaza Strip being higher than 90%), but a greatly reduced percentage among Palestinian refugees living outside those areas.

In his book "Brother shall not lift his sword against Brother'', Misinai puts forward the following statistics pertaining to the proportion of the "Descendants of Israel" and the "Brethren of Israel" populations among the Palestinians and Arab Israelis, as of December 2007. It is detailed as four main areas (Judea and Samaria, Gaza strip, East Jerusalem and Israel proper) and are as follows:

• In Judea and Samaria – not counting East Jerusalem, the number of permanent residents was 956,000, of which over 580,000 (61%) were Descendants of Israel. Another 27% was comprised of 259,000 Brethren of Israel (of whom were 158,000 descendants of the Edomites and 101,000 descendants of the Moabites). The remainder included 43,000 Arabs (4.5 percent), 44,000 descendants of the Roman Army, 24,000 Christians from Distant Places and 6,000 Kurds.

• In the Gaza strip, there were 891,000 permanent residents, including Bedouin. Out of the non-Bedouin, 275,000 were Descendants of Israel, 520,000 were Brethren of Israel (approximately 270,000 descendants of the Moabites and approximately 250,000 descendants of the Edomites), 43,000 descendants of the Roman Army, 4,000 Arabs who live in the Jabali’ya refugee camp; 3,400 Canaanites and 2,700 Philistines all living in Gaza city, and 3,000 Druze that live in the Dir al-Balakh refugee camp. Among the Descendants of Israel in the Gaza Strip, 30,000 are descendants of the Samaritans and 245,000 (27.5%) are descendants of authentic Jews. The population of the Gaza Strip also includes 40,000 Bedouin. The internal distribution of the Gaza Bedouin is 18,000 descendents of Moabites, 14,000 descendants of Edomites and 8,000 Descendents of Israel. In addition to the Bedouin, the total number of the Descendants of Israel is 283,000 (32 percent), of the Brethren of Israel is 552,000 (62 percent, 288,000 or 32 percent descendants of Moabites and 264,000 or 30 percent descendants of Edomites).

• Of the 200,000 non-Jewish residents of East Jerusalem, 82,000 are Descendants of the People of Israel, out of which 2,000 are descendants of Samaritans living in the Samaritan neighborhood, A-Sumera or Al-Abid. Out of this group, 7,000 are Christians. Some 48,000 are descendants of Kurds who came during the reign of Saladin. Over 32,000 are Brethren of Israel (24,000 descendants of the Moabites and 8,000 descendants of the Edomites). Some 27,000 are of Arab origin, and constitute the main concentration of population of Arab origin among Israeli citizens today. This includes 9,000 members of the veteran Arab settlers, and 14,000 descendants of the Arab Army living in the Mount of Olives neighborhood. There are also another 11,000 inhabitants who are recognized as non-Arab citizens: 5,000 Armenians and 6,000 non-Arab Christians from various distant locations.

• Within Israel proper, 642,000 (45.5%) out of 1,413,000 non-Jewish residents within the Green Line (not counting East Jerusalem) are Descendants of the People of Israel. Some 457,000 are Brethren of Israel in the State of Israel (and another 32,000 in Jerusalem), or 36 percent of all the Palestinians there (489,000 or 34.5 percent, including Jerusalem). A further breakdown of this figure shows that the descendants of the Edomites number 166,000, and constitute 13 percent (of the Palestinians in the State of Israel, or 174,000 or 12.5 percent, with Jerusalem). The descendants of the Moabites number 291,000, and constitute 23 percent (315,000 or 22 percent with Jerusalem). The sum total of veteran inhabitants who are neither Palestinian nor Jewish is 140,000 and includes 121,000 Druze and 19,000 foreigners from Distant Places. The descendants of the Roman Army number 150,000, or 12 percent (10.5 percent with Jerusalem). The rest, some 16,000 , or 1.25 percent, are Arabs, (43,000 or 3 percent with Jerusalem). The number of Palestinians within the Green Line is 1,273,000. Among the Palestinians (i.e, those without Israeli citizenship) within the Green Line (not including East Jerusalem) the percentage who are Descendants of the People of Israel is close to 50.5 percent.

Palestinians by origin

The following table, based on estimates by Tsvi Misinai's research, divides Palestinians — those Arabic-speakers of Palestine whose members self-identify with each other as one ethnic group — by actual ancestral origin.

Ethnic identity	Religion	Community language	Actual origin	Religion practiced by actual origin	Language spoken by actual origin	Population
Palestinian	Muslim	Arabic	Descendants of Israel (Israelites)	Judaism	Hebrew	-
Palestinian	Muslim	Arabic	Descendants of Israel (Israelites)	Samaritanism	Hebrew	-
Palestinian	Muslim	Arabic	Brethren of Israel (Moabites, Edomites, etc.)	Judaism (force converted)	Hebrew (earlier Moabite, Edomite, etc.)	-
Palestinian	Muslim	Arabic	Kurd	Islam (converted in Kurdistan)	Kurdish	-
Palestinian	Muslim	Arabic	Roman (Roman army personnel)	Roman polytheism (later Christianity)	Latin	-
Palestinian	Muslim	Arabic	Turkish (Ottoman army personnel)	Islam (converted in Central Asia)	Turkish	-
Palestinian	Muslim	Arabic	true Arab (i.e. Arabian)	Islam	Arabic	-
Palestinian	Muslim	Arabic	European (Crusaders)	Christianity (converted in Europe)	European languages	-
Palestinian	Christian	Arabic	Descendants of Israel (Israelites)	Judaism	Hebrew	-
Palestinian	Christian	Arabic	Descendants of Israel (Israelites)	Samaritanism	Hebrew	-
Palestinian	Christian	Arabic	Brethren of Israel (Moabites, Edomites, etc.)	Judaism (force converted)	Hebrew (earlier, other Moabite, Edomite, etc.)	-
Palestinian	Christian	Arabic	Roman (Roman army personnel)	Roman polytheism	Latin	-
Palestiniana	Samaritan	Arabic	Descendants of Israel (Israelites)	Samaritanism	Hebrew	750
Armenians of Palestineb	Christian	Armenian	Armenians	Christianity (converted in Armenia)	Armenian	-
Circassians of Palestineb	Muslim	Circassian languages	Circassians	Islam (converted in the Caucasus)	Circassian	-
Druze of Palestinec	Druze	Arabic	Amalgam of foreign elements, including true Arab (i.e. Arabian)	Druzism (evolved among the Druze from Islam)	Arabic	-

^aSamaritans considered themselves part of Palestinian society until the establishment of the State of Israel. They, like other Palestinians, had been Arabized in language and culture. However, having maintained Samaritanism, they also maintained a multi-layered identity, identifying both as Palestinians and Israelites. Since 1948, of half live in what became Israel, and have become Hebrew-speaking again (modern Hebrew). Israeli Samaritans no longer consider themselves Palestinians. The other half continue to live in the Palestinian territories, and consider themselves a part of Palestinian society, although most are now also bilingual in Hebrew again (modern Hebrew).
^bArmenians and Circassians are included in the table to account for the total non-Jewish population of historic Palestine, however, they espouse their own ethnic identities separate from the Palestinian people. They view themselves as part of a diaspora of an ethnic group whose national homeland is in Armenia and Circassia respectively.
^cThe Druze, while traditionally an Arabic-speaking people, from a time before their migration into the Levant, they do not identify with Palestinians. Instead, the Druze identify as "Druze" with other Druze in neighbouring countries. Their origin is from various elements foreign to their current Levantine location.

Views on Palestinian identity

Tsvi Misinai denies the existence of a separate Palestinian people as a historical identity. He views the Palestinian nationality as a modern socio-political construct propped up by imperialist Arab Baathist regimes, as a means of claiming rights to the land of Israel and fight the Jews. In his book, Misinai asserts that the Palestinian people are a part and parcel of the people of Israel, and that no other party, including an Arab one, possesses the right to compete with the rights of the People of Israel over western Eretz Yisrael and their historical kinship with most Palestinians.

"The Engagement": A solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Concept

The logo of the Engagement Movement.

In contrast to the two commonly discussed solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — a two state solution (ie. two states for two people) vs. a one state solution (ie. a binational state, one state for two peoples) — Misinai believes that the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a third option: a "one state solution" for "one people." This "one state" integrates Israel proper with the West Bank and Gaza Strip as one territorial unit, while the "one people" consists of both groups being bound and re-defined as one united Israeli-Hebrew nation.

To this end, he argues it is imperative that the majority of Palestinians reclaim their ethnic Jewish heritage, although he states that this does not mean converting to Judaism (neither de-Islamization for Palestinian Muslims, nor de-Christianization for Palestinian Christians, etc.), nor does it mean cultural de-Arabization. Instead, it means the adoption of a national consciousness that acknowledges a common Hebrew origin that embraces all those of such a descent, no matter what their current religion, be they Jewish, Muslim, Christian, or Samaritan, and no matter what their culture.

Indeed, already, among the different Jewish ethnic divisions, each has its own traditional community language and distinct traditional culture. It is the amalgam of this diversity that forms Jewish Israeli culture. Likewise, the "Jewish" Israeli culture would continue with this process, but will add the Palestinians' history, culture and religious diversity, and integrate them as aspects of the Hebrew national consciousness.

In order to do so, he believes that the whole concept of Jewishness as the defining factor in Zionism must be re-framed in terms of ethnicity, as opposed to simply religious. Misinai concedes that "The Engagement" might seem like a surreal project, but so too did Zionism initially. "The Engagement", he admits, is a process that requires participation by both sides and mutual acknowledgement of the "other" as a part of oneself.

Uni-lateral Engagement

As a prelude to creating conditions to make the re-integration of the majority of Palestinians with the Jews possible, Misinai advocates a "Uni-lateral Engagement" in which autonomy is granted for the Palestinian territories and the present Palestinian leaderships are removed.

He states that Israeli operations in Palestinian areas must be designed not only to ensure the safety of Israeli citizens, but also to liberate the Palestinians from the yoke of the Palestinian leaderships whom he accuses of subjugating them and making their lives wretched, feeding them lies, and leading them from one Nakba catastrophe to another, causing untold damage to the entire region and igniting terrorism around the globe. Their entire terror apparatus must be dismantled, and they must be replaced by a new Palestinian leadership devoted to peace. Should any peace loving Palestinian leadership fail to appear, Israel must enforce its own authority upon all factions in the Palestinian population.

Re-engagement process

Misinai states that the re-engagement will take one of two forms: Residents without citizenship, or Re-engagement with the People of Israel. The process will be carried out on a family-by-family basis, and in certain instances on an individual basis. In the first stage, which will be carried out gradually among all the Palestinian population, each and every Palestinian (except those suspected of terrorist activity) will have three choices:

• Loyal Residency: An oath of allegiance to the State, and declaration of waiver of citizenship rights for oneself (if the individual declines to opt for the second course of action that follows). This is equivalent to the American green card, but where additionally, one's status is passed to children on the basis of jus sanguinis (by contrast, children of American non-citizens born on US soil are automatically citizens due to jus soli, whatever the status of the parents). Children of individuals (who are Descendant of Israel) who chose this first option may circumvent status of "loyal residency" passed on by their parents if they themselves opt for the second course of action that follows. This choice is available only for those Palestinians who do not wish to rejoin the People of Israel, or who are not Descendants of Israel.
• Re-engagement with the People of Israel: The expressed desire and willingness to rejoin the People of Israel via an oath of allegiance to the State of Israel and its people, the People of Israel, and declaration that one does not belong to the Arab nation.
• Emigration: Emigration and purchase of the émigrés’ house by the State at a fair price (in order not to cause injury to émigrés due to fluctuations in market prices, likely to be depressed by an exodus and surplus of real estate). This choice is available for those Palestinians who, if eligible for the first, or both the first and second options, want neither.

In the event of either of the first two options, neither de-Christianization nor de-Islamization, nor cultural de-Arabization are components of The Engagement. Futhermore, if an individual person wanted to revert to Judaism, this is strictly a personal matter which would be done through the relevant religious chanels, which The Engagement process is not a part of in any form.

The Engagement is of a national re-unificationist nature. Most imporatantly, it is thus far the first that is specifically religiously pluralistic (that is, it acknoweledges the People of Israel are today of many faiths), an aspect that lends to its very controversy.

Citizenship sought by members of world Jewry would continue to be dealt with by the requirements and specifications of the Law of Return. Persons who are neither Jews nor Palestinians, and are seeking residency or citizenship, would follow naturalization processes and requirements separate from both the Law of Return and The Engagement.

Requirements

Under the scheme while each new member would not be required to convert to Judaism, they would, however, be required to gain mastery of the following:

• The Hebrew language (including reading and writing).
• The culture of the People of Israel.
• The history of the People of Israel, including the forced conversion of their ancestors.
• The history of Eretz-Israel.
• The Bible.
• Jewish religious tradition.

The scope of knowledge or proficiencies required would be equal to that of most secular Jews, and would ensure that the act of re-engagement would have sufficient quality and depth. The scope of knowledge would actually be far greater than that required in conventional conversion to Judaism, and would not exclusively focus on matters of faith and ritual. This is in order to provide a cognitive counterweight to the hostile education and incitement that Palestinians have been subjected to in the past in regard to Israel. Moreover, it will serve to enhance the level of education of participants to enable them to successfully integrate into Israeli society without being marginalized or becoming second-class citizens. Such education, outlined in Option Two above, will continue for a number of years and will be accomplished in a framework similar to the Hebrew language ulpans (intense six month ‘total immersion’ crash-courses designed to inculcate basic mastery of Hebrew by new immigrants in Israel). The children of such Palestinians will be enrolled in the Israeli school system, compulsory education just as their Israeli counterparts.

The other requirements of enrollees in the scheme are as follows:

• Declare their renunciation of their association to the Arab Nation. This, Misinai asserts, does not mean dis-association from Arab culture.
• Take a short bath in a Mikveh to remove influence of potential intermarriage with people other than the people of Israel during the generations. This, Misinai states, has a purely national meaning and does not impose any religious undertaking on the person taking it.
• Take an oath of allegiance to the People of Israel and the State of Israel.
• Palestinians who complete the process of re-joining the People of Israel and are not yet Israeli citizens will receive Israeli citizenship. All re-joining Palestinians will be registered with either an Israeli or a Jewish nationality according to their choice.

Benefits

Those who choose the first path (loyal residency only) will have the option to choose an Arab Islamic (or Christian) education school track, with an abridged Israeli curriculum. The children of those who choose the second path (re-engagement) will be required to enroll in the regular Israeli school system. Only those who complete Israel education and belong to the second option (the re-engagement path) can progress to the third step – service in the IDF, taking an oath of allegiance to the Jewish People.

At the beginning, the IDF will establish special units for this population (similar to separate minority units of Bedouin, Druze and Circassians in the formative years of the IDF). Palestinians who are above draft age will undergo abridged military service (current policy for older new Jewish immigrants), then be integrated into the IDF reserve system. Only Palestinians who will serve in the IDF will be eligible for Israeli citizenship (except for those with serious health issues or those are too old who receive exemptions). Only the army will have the prerogative to decide which candidates for military service should do civil service in place of military service. Citizenship will carry eligibility for certain civil rights including the right to vote for the Knesset and benefits such as receipt of better social benefits for veterans including higher children’s allowances. A citizen who betrays the state will lose his citizenship and be harshly punished. Similarly, a loyal resident who will abridge his oath of allegiance will lose his or her Residency rights and be deported, in particularly serious cases, after offenders complete their sentence.

Exceptions

Only those considered to be Descendants of Israel would benefit from the scheme. Tsvi Misinai states that only a small minority of the Palestinian who are presently outside of the Land of Israel (ie. the refugees or diaspora) have significant rights over Western Eretz-Yisrael. That right belongs to the original Descendants of the People of Israel (ie. the Jews, a majority of Palestinians presently in the Land of Israel, and a minority of Palestinians presently outside the Land of Israel), and to the Descendants of the Roman Army (whose historic rights in Eretz-Israel are, however, much lesser than those of the Descendants of Israel).

The majority of the Descendants of the Roman Army are presently in Jordan, and despite their long-standing seniority rights in Israel, they must remain there, as most emigrated to Jordan of their own free will after the Six day war of 1967. The only exception to this is specific cases of family reunion.

On the other hand, Brethren of Israel, being native to the land east of the Jordan river, only those who are presently in the Land of Israel will be eligible for "loyal residency", unless they opt for emigration. Those Brethren of Israel who are presently outside of the Land of Israel (a majority among Palestinian refugees) will not be eligible for "loyal residency", nor a right of return to the Land of Israel. They possess a right of return to Jordan. This is because they are not ethnically Jews, and their historic Jewish identity came about by forced conversions to Judaism, as is the case with Islam. Furthermore, their rights to Israel goes back only 170 years, and is superseded by those of the Jews and Descendants of Israel, who have a historic connection to the land, spanning several thousand years.

Support

Tsvi Misinai with (from left onwards) Mordechai Nisan, Asher Shlein and Mounir Al-Krenawi, the first Bedouin member of the Engagement Movement.

Misinai's theory does have it's supporters among some Palestinians, including Suleiman al-Hamri, a Fatah official from Bethlehem, and former Palestinian Authority minister Ziyad Abu Ziyad, who asked Misinai to prepare Arabic language versions of his thesis and The Engagement. He has also gained support among some Jews, including at least one Israeli Government minister who so far has remained unidentified.

Additionally, some ultra-Orthodox Jewish settler leaders welcome the idea with open arms, since they believe that once the entire biblical land of Israel is populated with Jews, a new era of peace on Earth will be ushered in. Rabbi Dov Stein, secretary and one of the seven-member leadership council of the current nascent Sanhedrin (a Jewish religious council of 200 rabbis modelled on the biblical Sanhedrin rulers of Jerusalem), also supports the Hebrew origin of most Palestinians. Stein, however, as an Orthodox Jew, differs with Misinai on its implications, since he sees Jewish nationhood necessarily defined by membership in Judaism, even where one may not necessarily be of Hebrew ancestral origin, and not defined by Hebrew ancestral origin if one is not also an adherent of Judaism. He states that the Palestinians must give up Islam and embrace Judaism as a prerequisite for re-joining the Jewish people.

Criticism

Misinai's thesis and work has also garnered controversy, both at home and abroad, among some Palestinians and Jews alike, with the criticisms mostly coming from Palestinian side.

One Palestinian intellectual, Ismail El-Shindi, professor of Islamic Jurisprudence at Al-Quds Open University denied that Jews ever maintained a sizable population in the land of Palestine, were forcibly converted by the Ottomans and even went as far as to accuse him of "falsifying" history to Hebraize Palestinians.

Another Palestinian, Kamel Katalo, professor of Sociology at Al-Khalil University in Hebron, has stated that he has read Tsvi Misinai's booklet and come to the conclusion that Misinai makes strident generalizations and reaches spurious and completely erroneous conclusions based on questionable premises, pointing out that there is no such thing as Jewish genes. It is worth noting, however, that in his booklet, Tsvi Misinai makes no such claim of a Jewish gene in his book and instead validates his belief of common descent of Jews and Palestinians, based on genetic findings of the male Y chromosome.

His most notable Arab Israeli critic has been the former Balad MK, Azmi Bishara, who dismissed his thesis as yet another Jewish plot to remove the Palestinians from their land. This, despite Misinai's work actually calling for the recognition of the Palestinians' indigenousness to Israel/Palestine, and his assertion of their rights to the land along with Jews.

Literature

Tsvi Misinai has written two books on this subject, "Hearing is Believing – The Roots and the Solution to the Eretz-Israel Problem" explaining his thesis and detailing numerous testimonies, linguistic and name similarities, genetic and natural science findings, cultural and religious similarities, as well as a shortened version "Brother Shall not Lift Sword against Brother". The former is available only in Hebrew under the title "Ye’amen ki Yisupar – Ba’ayat Eretz-Israel, Shorasheha oo-Pitronah", with the latter being available in both languages, with an Arabic version to be released in 2010.

Works

• Hearing is Believing – The Roots and the Solution to the Eretz-Israel Problem (available only in Hebrew, formal launch March 2006)
• Brother Shall not Lift Sword against Brother (formal launch 2007)

Citations

External links

• The Engagement - Official website of Tsvi Misinai
• The Engagement Movement - Facebook group
• Palestinians of Jewish Origin on youtube.com