East of Euphrates River Came the Hebrews

TimeLine: Jewish History: Hebrews came from other side of Euphrates River's- Garden of Eden

Nadene Goldfoot

The Jewish Calendar shows that this is year 5772 from Creation: So, Starting about 4,000 years ago:  

2nd millennium BCE 1900- Abraham From Ur of the Chaldees (Iraq) son of Terah, father of Isaac by wife Sarah and Ishmael by her handmaid, Hagar.  Migrated to Canaan to live among the Canaanites and the Philistines of that land.  Took a trip to Egypt, came back to live in Hebron.  Founder of Monotheism.  Where did his ancestors come from?

1740 BCE Sumerian Records about Habiru. Other referrals are Apiru, Ivrim, Hebrews.  Could be Ivrim descending from Eber, grandson of Shem or one who comes from the other side of the Euphrates River.  Abraham is called the Hebrew (Gen. 14:13).  It's not for sure that Habiru and Hebrews are the same.  Hebrew is the origin of ebreo and Yevrei, the Italian and Russian words for Jew.  

15-17th Centuries BCE Canaan was the name for Syria, applied to coast of today's Israel.   Before conquest by Joshua, was made up of small city-states.  Israelites called land “Eretz Yisrael -the land of Israel”  and still do.  They referred to the northern part as Aram (Syria).

The name "Palestine" was given to Eretz Yisrael's Judea  by the Romans who took the land in 135 CE after Jerusalem was taken in 70 CE.  It was done to erase the presence of the Jews, something they often did to land they took.  It was the name of the Philistines, and first used actually by the Greeks.  Long ago they referred to the land as Palestinian Syria. Now, Arabs in Eretz Israel call themselves "Palestinians."  

Canaanites:  a mixture of 11 peoples descended from Canaan, son of Ham, son of Noah,  living between Nile and Euphrates of Horites, Hittites and Hebrews dating back to 17th century.  Almost all destroyed or assimilated by Israelites in 13th century, Philistines on coast in 12th century, and Arameans in the north in 11th century.  Rest lived under Kings David and Solomon and absorbed.

Euphrates River is the westerly of 2 rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates.  They enclose Mesopotamia (Iraq) The source was said to be the Garden of Eden.  The Euphrates was to be the ultimate boundary of the Israelites.  Many Jewish communities lay along the Euphrates in talmudic times and after.  On the lower part were the centers of Babylonian scholarship, ie  Sura, Nehardea and Mahozsa.

18th Century-16th Century BCE Semitic Hyksos dynasty


1720 BCE Entered Egypt during famine, joined brother Joseph, stayed, became slaves, lived there 400 years.
1700 BCE Joseph, 11th son of Jacob kidnapped, taken to Egypt, became viceroy there.  Father Jacob and   brothers join him. 12th brother was Benjamin.  Rachel  then died in childbirth.
15th-14th Century BCE  (Habiru (Ivri) (Hebrews) invaders conquest of Canaan
1320-1200 BCE EXODUS; Moses entered Canaan with 12 Tribes, 600,000 people from Egypt, Joshua’s conquest
1010 BCE Jebusites in Jerusalem, allowed to remain
10?? BCE (11th Century BCE) King Saul, king of Israel of tribe of Benjamin
1000-960 BCE King David of Israel
  961-920 BCE  King Solomon,  Built first Temple to hold ark,
 933-912 BCE King Solomon died, land divided into 2 kingdoms,  King Jeroboam, revolt, became northly kingdom of Israel and (King Rehoboam and kingdom of Judah), the southerly kingdom
730-721 BCE   King Hoshea, last king; Assyrian King Shalmaneser V takes Samaria
721 Sargon of Assyria takes 27,290 Israelites, 10 tribes,  to Assyria and Media, the Lost Ten Tribes 
634-562 BCE Babylonian period with Nebuchadnezzar, 70 years of exile
597 -586 king Zedekiah of Judah, King Jehoiachin18 years old, king  3 months, 1st and 2nd Babylonian captivity, thousands Jews deported-chief men of the land, of tribe of Judah
July 9, 586 BCE Jerusalem’s destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, 1st Temple destroyed
582 BCE 3rd deportation of Jews by Nebuchadnezzar
538-515 2nd Temple in Jerusalem built including “Western Wall.”
537 BCE: Persians: Cyrus II 600 BCE-530 BCE- Sent 40,000 Jews back to native land
519 BCE Exiles returned after the 50 years of exile

312-198 BCE Ptolemaic rule in Jerusalem
300 BCE Jews in exile in Mesopotamia (Iraq pre-Moslem history was Babylonia) and in homeland in Israel/Judah were under Persian rule now.  Book of Esther show Jews living in 127 provinces of the Persian Empire, numerous in capital of Shusha (Shushan).
250 BCE Parthia ruled

70 CE Fall of Temple in Jerusalem
135 BCE Bar Kokhba’s Stand for Jerusalem

570-632 Mohammad born, died in Arabia
641/2 CE Arab Conquest of Persia

1. Reference: Tanakh, Stone Edition, page 2035, tribal census Appendix B, charts 10-11
  Jacob’s family, 70 people who descended to Egypt page 2030, charts 4-5
Babylonian Exile page 2027 timeline 5 Appendix A
2. The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia page 483 Kings of Israel
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habiru
4.http://www.bible-history.com/map_babylonian_captivity/map_of_the_deportation_of_judah_jewish_encyclopedia.html
http://jewishfactsfromportland.blogspot.com/2012/09/jewish-year-of-5772-5773-our-history.html

Jewish Presence of Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
The Palestinians wish to obliterate any show of Jewishness of Israel in order to say that we have no business being there.  They must cringe every time they see the Israeli flag, which was unfurled for the first time on May 11, 1949 at Lake Success, New York when Israel became the 59th member of the United Nations.

The design is that the blue and white colors with the Shield of David on it.  This Star of David remember's Judah's second king of the Jews, King David 1000-960 BCE.  He is the father of King Solomon.  King Saul was the first king and David, at age 25, became his armor-bearer.  David had been the best friend of Saul's son, Jonathan.  David later married King Saul's daughter, Michal.  Unfortunately, Saul became jealous of David. 

The continuing story of King David would make the writers of "All My Children" absolutely  awed.  I love how our Torah tells all, making the reader realize this is the true story and isn't doctored by only telling parts that praise the main characters.  We read about all his flaws as well. 

What Abbas and his Fatah people are doing are trying to obliterate anything Jewish in Jerusalem, of all places.  This city in the mountains of Judea is the capital of Israel.  The first time its name appeared was as U-r (city) ushamem in the Execration Texts from the time of the Egyptian 12th Dynasty (19th-18th century BCE) in the Akkadian language.  Then it was called Urusalim in the Tel el Armarna letters (15th century BCE).  In the early books of the Torah, it is also called Jebus after the people inhabiting it before David.  It is sometimes called Zion, after David's fortress, and was also known as the City of David.  Our bible also calls it the "city of righteousness,", "the faithful city", "the city of G-d", "the holy city", "the city of truth".  The Hebrew pronounciation is  Yerushalayim (Yeh roosh all eye eem) . 

Though the city's actual foundation was built in the Early Bronze Age (3500-2000BCE) to the period when the Canaanites first established themselves in the country,  from 2000-1550 BCE it was the capital of a Canaanite city state.  When Joshua came into the land in 1320 BCE the king of Jerusalem was defeated and it remained an independent enclave between the tribes of Benjamin and Judah.  David captured the city in 1910 BCE and it became the capital of a united Israel.  He was very lenient with the people living there and added the fortress of Zion and other construction.  The Ark of the Covenant was transferred there as well.

This is the city that Jews have been remembering in their prayers for the past 2,000 years.  Islam was born in
610 CE by Mohammed, who was born April 26, 570 in Mecca, Arabia and died June 8, 632.  At age 40 he had his first revelation.  Jerusalem was only important to Islam because he rose on his white horse from there.  Otherwise, Saudi Arabia is the center of Islam. 

The UN partition resolution of November 29, 1947 provided for the creation of an independent area of Jerusalem under UN administration.  Arab outbreaks soon reached the state of regular warfare between the Haganah and the Arabs who first were made up of local bands who were joined by the Arab Legion of Transjordan.  This put an end to  the internationalization scheme.  From December 1947 to July 1948 the Jewish Quarter in the Old City had to be evacuated which was then destroyed.  All the New city, except the Arab quarter north of the walls fell into Jewish hands.  The Arab Legion shelled and starved the Jews of Jerusalem too,  but they did not surrender. 

Jerusalem from 1948 was divided into two parts.  The Israel section included the whole of the West and South part of the New City, including "Mount Zion" and an enclave on Mt. Scopus.  The city was the administrative center of Israel.  When the 6 Day War started on June 5, 1967, Jordanian troops in the Old City and Jordanian sections (held illegally)  bombarded the New City.  Israel's army reacted and in 2 days the entire city came under Israel's control.  The first reaction were mass visits of Jews to the Western Wall that had been kept from Jews for almost 20 years.  By June 29, 1967, Israel formally united the two sections of the city and the barriers that had divided them were removed.  At that point there were 139,600 Moslems and Christians that were incorporated into the total population of 493,500 (1990 census). 

The Jerusalem Law of 1980 extended Israel sovereignty over the entire city. 

Hatikvah is Israel's National Anthem.
So long as still within our breasts    The Jewish heart beats true,
So long as still towards the East, To Zion, looks the Jew,
So long our hopes are not yet lost---Two thousand years we cherished them---
To live in freedom in the Land     Of Zion and Jerusalem. 

Ko l od ba le vav pe ni   ma      Ne fesh ye hu di   ho  mi  yah;
Ul fa a tei miz rach ka di mah     A yin le tzi yon tzo fi yah
Od lo av dah tik va tei nu          tik vah mi shnot al pa yim
Lih yot am hof shi  be ar tzei nu   B'  E retz tzi yon  vi ru sha la yim
Lih yot am hof shi   be ar tzei nu,  B' E retz tzi yon vi ru sha la yim.

We are not a just a band of people tired of being picked on that just happen to be Jews. 
We were so desperate that we even considered creating a state for ourselves after the Dryfus affair of 1894 in Africa after the British offered land in 1903 that is today's Kenya, and quickly realized that wasn't where our history or heart was.  We were from Judea and Israel and knew it was time to go home, our one and only true home. That's where Abram and his father, Terah, and Lot, the son of Haran, his grandson, and his daughter in law Sarai, the wife of Abram left Ur Kasdim (Iraq) for the land of Canaan, and they arrived in Haran and settled there where Terah later died. 

Reference: Israel , from Embassy of Israel, Washington D.C.
Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://www.usa-people-search.com/content-the-dreyfus-affair.aspx
Tanach, The Stone Edition of the Torah/Prophets/etc. 

One Insidious Word Changing Historical FactsAbout Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
In reading about the Fogel massacre in Itamar, I was shocked to read in an article from McClatchy-Tribune found in the Oregonian on the 14th, a word that slanted the whole meaning of historical facts.

It said, "Most of the international community views the "settlements" as illegal because they are built on land SEIZED by Israel during the 67 war."

The fact remains that the land was not seized by Israel.  It was GAINED, and that's a big difference.  However, seized makes the reader feel that the bloody massacre was acceptable because the family or the community shouldn't have been there in the first place.  It's how the Hamas Gazans take it.  They rejoiced and celebrated in a carnival-like atmosphere whereby they passed out candies in celebration. 

I'm finding that even young adult American Jews, whose parents were busy blending into society, seem to have forgotten or never learned about the historical facts of the 67 war along with all the other "I hate history" buffs.  It just happens that Israel was attacked by all the surrounding Arab neighbors in 67 where no gambler would have taken odds that they could come out of it and win in 6 days, BUT that's what happened.  Because of this massive attack, they GAINED back Judea and Samaria, land that was originally part of the Jewish land of bible days.  It was land that was promised to them when dealing with the English who held the mandate and were divving it up.  The Jewish people were to be given back their land due to Chaim Weizmann, whose invention saved England and thus all of Europe in the 1st World War.  Then along came a sheik they must have been afraid of who demanded a kingdom for himself, and this is how the King of Jordan gained his country. Jordan changed the name to "West Bank" to destroy its Jewish history.   Then again, it was Jordan who held onto Judea and Samaria and lost it to Israel by attacking her in 67.  They had taken it away from Israel in their lust and greed and lost it again for the same reasoning.  England was never known to favor Jews, anyway.  I guess Muslim sheiks held more status.

Reporters keep choosing words that affect a reader's attitude and knowledge.  Facts are easy to find that Israel has just stopped the ship, Victoria and have found it to be loaded with ammunition which was intended to reach Gazan Hamas terrorists.  The Oregonian's Washington Post-Bloomberg version uses the word, "intercepted what officials ALLEGED was a ship carrying Iranian weapons".... as if to say that hey, those nice people wouldn't do a thing like that, would they?  They are just being accused.  Facts remain that Israel even took pictures of the weapons that they found, but they still wrote "alleged". 

Israel's birth in 1948 was a legal deal, done through the United Nations, the League of Nations,and  land was bought legally and everything was done according to Hoyle.  I never thought I'd see the day when it's existence was in jeopardy, but it has been ever since its birth.  I was so naive at the age of 14 that the UN would make things fair and square.  Israelis are constantly having to fight for their right to survive against the anti-semitic tendencies of the world who obviously hasn't managed to shake them. 

Israel's enemies can kill and have no humane standards and that's acceptable.  The world just turns a blind eye.  It's like lovers who don't see each other's faults.  Everyone is in denial .  It's always the Jews that are at fault and they are viewed under an electronic microscope.  As long as even many of our own American Jews can find one infinitesimal fault in their eyes, Israel stands accused,  accused of existing, I suppose.  It's been said that we'd have a Mideast peace if the world would stop holding Israel to the highest possible standard  and would hold her enemies at least to the lowest ones.  The writer, Bret Stephens noted that "Israel's mistake since the peace process began about 18 years ago was to think that our displays of reasonableness and moderation would cause the opposition to act likewise.  The reality has been closer to the opposite. 
We have given Gaza only to see it be used as a staging ground to shoot at Israel. 

The sad thing is that in the creation of Israel, our forefathers forsaw an Eden where Arab and Jew would live together in peace, all rejoicing in the fruits of their labors and living happily ever after.  Whenever Israel bent over backwards giving the Palestinians a better life, they were met with hatred and death.  Israel had excellent intentions that just were impossible to carry on.  The million plus who are citizens are living a much better life than they would be in an Arab country.  I guess Israel's attempts at being righteous have not been in futality. 
 

Libya and Jews

In ancient days Jews had moved to Libya from Egypt, and Augustus had granted Cyhrene's Jewish population certain privileges through Flavius, the governor of the province. They were keeping close contact with Jerusalem's Jews. In 73 BCE there was the 1st Jewish-Roman War in Iudea (Judea) Province including a revolt by this Jewish community which was suppressed by governor Catullus. The revolt, led by Jonathan the Weaver, ended with Jonathan being killed as well as many of the wealthy Jews in Cyrenel More revolts broke out in 115 ACE in Cyrene, Egypt and Cyprus. Jason of Cyrene was a Libyan Jew whose work is the source of the 2nd Book of Maccabees. Simon of Cyrene became an early Christian as he carried the cross of Jesus as he was taken to his crucifixion.

Libya was colonized by Italy in 1911. By 1931 there were 21,000 Jews living there out of the 550,000. They lived mostly in Tripoli. By the late 1930's, the Fascist Italian regime passed anti-Semitic laws, just like Germany was doing. Jews lost their jobs with the government and their papers were stamped with the words, "Jewish race." By 1941 the Jewish population made up 25% in Tripoli. They had 44 synagogues there. In 1942 German troops deported more than 2,000 and sent them to labor camps. Over 1/5th of the Jews died. Their history includes many attacks from then on.

Today Libya is the 29th largest of 47 Muslim countries. It has a population of 6, 173, 579 of which 97% are Sunni Muslims. This is the state religion. Their government is called the Jamahiriya Revolution, so Gaddafi is not a king.

In 1969 Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi was in power and only 100 Jews were in Libya. He confiscated all their property. If anyone owed money to a Jews, he had it cancelled. The Jews were not allowed to emigrate. They had to sneak out as it was against the law to leave.. By 1974, only 5 years later, 20 Jews remained in Libya.

Now the Muslim population is rioting for wanting a democracy. 2,000 protesters were rioting and throwing stones and petrol. Several were killed. Perhaps Gaddafi's days are over. He's one horrid ruler, as far as I can see.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Libya
http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/world/news/61740/2_dead_in_Libyan_antigovernment_riots

Gaza's Jewish History- from Victor Sharpe

Jews have had an association of life in Gaza for the past 4,000 years. Samson with his long hair was blinded by the Philistines, and he brought down the temple they had to their gods in Gaza. The Philistines are now extinct.

In the 4th century Gaza was the primary port of commerce for the Jews of the Holy Land.

In 1967, archaelogists discovered the mosaic floor of a 6th century synagogue on the Gaza seashore. Though we've been thrown out of Gaza many times, we have managed to return. The Crusaders killed many Gazan Jews, leaving few surivors. In 1929 Arab rioters threatened to slaughter Gaza's Jews like they did in Hebron, but the Jews left before they had a chance to kill them. The British must have found out their plan and had the Jews leave. In June of 1967 in another war, Israel liberated Gaza from Egyptian occupation, making it possible for Jews to live there again. Now that we have left, we just receive shelling from terrorists.

Reference: Portland's own Victor Sharpe: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/02/gazas_rich_jewish_history.html Gaza's Rich Jewish History