How can people of European descent living in the Israeli State lay claim to being the descendants of Abraham when Abraham was African and not European?

Answer 1

The Bible tells us in Genesis 11: 31 that Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldees - Ur Kasdim.

See ur kasdim" class='external' title="urkasdim for a discussion where this was, but all agree it was in Eurasia and not Africa.

Besides, Abraham was promised the Holy Land and his descendants - the Jews - lived there and were exiled all over the globe about 2,000 years ago. All Jews are descendants of Abraham. Thus all Jews originate from Israel, and are now returning "home".

AnswerAbraham was from the continent we today know as Africa. His descendants were called Israelites not Jews. One has only to read the bible to identify the land in which Abraham was born. We read about the river Nile, lions, antelopes, Gazelles, snakes, locusts, gold, silver, precious stones. We read about people who were part of tribes, who had many Kings, who fought with spears. This is Africa not Euro-Asia. We read about places, such as Ethiopia, Egypt and Libya. These are places in Africa not Euro-Asia. God's chosen people were scattered over the earth when Europeans invaded Africa and took them as slaves. The book of Deuteronomy 28 describes what would befall the Israelites if they disobeyed God. All that was written has happened to the Israelites but not to the Jews. The God of Israel has not yet brought his chosen people back to the promised land, but when he does they will live in peace, not in fear of war: Ezekiel 38:8. The colony that has been established in Palestine - the Israeli State, was created by the British in 1948. It was the British who brought the Jews into Palestine and created a colony that is at war to this very day. AnswerJews are Israelites and Israelites are Jews. From the Bible itself it can be seen that the careful keeping of genealogical records was important. The Jews who were dispersed to Europe maintained their national identity down through the centuries. This is why Hitler in his evil designs was able to identify them and so implement the Holocaust.

Even though such countries as Israel, Jordan Syria etc are referred to as the Middle-East, they are actually technically in the continent of Asia. Ur of the chaldees is thus also in Asia, as of course is Israel.

Those who kept their Jewish identity, as sons of Abraham, rightly are able to return to the land promised them millenia ago by almighty God. That they have been 'sojourning' in Europe for centuries (or anywhere else) makes no difference to their origin as sons and daughters of Abraham. It matters not where they were dispersed to but who they are. It is a wonderful thing that they are now able to return and live in their land again, even with all the difficulties this entails.

Answer 2

Your question shows a lack of historical and Biblical knowledge, not to mention knowledge of genetics.
The Jewish people are descendants of Abraham, whose Semitic ancestors lived in the Fertile Crescent and who lived most of his life in the Middle Eastern country of Israel (Canaan) 3800 years ago.

Abraham is called a Hebrew (Genesis ch.14) because "Hebrews" (Ivrim) means descendants of Eber (Ever). Ever was an ancestor of Abraham (Genesis ch.10-11), and the early Hebrews were Abraham's uncles and cousins for several generations back. They were Western Semites and lived in northern Mesopotamia.

In 1934-39, excavations were conducted at ancient Mari on the Euphrates River. They found that ancient towns were named after the ancestors of Abraham: The city of Nahor was found near the city of Harran which exists to this day. Equally clear signs of early Hebrew residence appear in the names of other towns nearby: Serug (Assyrian Sarugi), Terah (Til Turakhi, "Mound of Terah"), and Peleg (Paliga, on the Euphrates near the mouth of the Habur). All these names are found in Genesis ch.11.

Just as today, Israelites came in differing skin-tones, heights, and body-types. Our tradition is that the twelve sons of Jacob (the 12 Tribes) were not completely similar to each other in appearance, though none of them was really dark-skinned (Rashi commentary on Genesis 12:11).
Since DNA tests have shown that Jews intermarried infrequently throughout history, Abraham and his Israelite descendants probably looked like Jews today.

Abraham's chosen son was Isaac (Genesis ch.21). Isaac's son Jacob was blessed by God, who renamed him, calling him Israel (Genesis ch.35), which is why Jews are also called Israelites.

Jacob had 12 sons, who fathered the 12 Israelite tribes. One thousand years after Jacob, ten of the tribes were exiled by the Assyrians, to points unknown. The only complete tribes left were Judah and Benjamin; plus part of Levi. The few thousands who remained from the other tribes joined the Tribe of Judah; and modern Jews are mostly descendants of Judah (hence the word "Jew").

This tradition has been substantiated by DNA analysis of Jewish communities all over the world, showing them to be inter-related and of Middle Eastern origin. The Cohanim, a family of the tribe of Levi, also share common genetics.

We possess the names and dates of our ancestors and leaders in an unbroken chain for 3800 years.

In 2000, Nicholas Wade concluded that his DNA study "provided genetic witness that Jewish communities have, to a remarkable extent, retained their biological identity separate from their host populations, evidence of relatively little intermarriage or conversion into Judaism over the centuries. The results accord with Jewish history and tradition."

See also:

Jewish history timeline

What race were the Israelites?

Jewish ancestry

The only exception to the above is the Ethiopian Jews, who show only a trace of DNA connection to other Jewish communities. Western ethnologists today hold the view that the Jews of Gondar (Ethiopia) either emerged from a Judaizing strain among Ethiopian Christians, or were converted by Yemeni Jews who crossed the Red Sea. A study by Professors Lucotte and Smets has shown that the genetic father of Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) was close to the Ethiopian non-Jewish populations. This is consistent with the theory that Beta Israel are descendants of ancient inhabitants of Ethiopia, not the Middle East. Hammer et al. in 2000, and the team of Shen in 2004, arrive at similar conclusions, namely that the DNA of the Ethiopian Jews probably indicates a conversion of local populations.It has been estimated that this happened some 2,000 years ago.

See also:

Are the African-Americans from the lost Israelite tribes?