P U L S E

Israelis have long justified their claims to Palestine on a direct genetic link back to the ancient tribes of Israel. However, in his bestseller,The Invention of the Jewish People Israeli scholar Professor Shlomo Sand argues that the Jewish people never existed as coherent nation state but rather as a mix of groups that at various stages in history adopted the Jewish religion.

The following is an audio interview with Professor Sand from KPFA’s Voices of the Middle East and North Africa recorded on March 25, 2009 in which he discusses his book and how Israel advocates adversely affect the careers of their academic critics. It was first published here back in April, but I have decided to post it again considering that this issue will not lose its relevance as long as an ethnocracy remains in I-P. Khalil Bendib, the interviewer, is one of the world’s best political cartoonists, who, like Steve Bell, always cuts through the spin and propaganda with a few strokes of his pen.

Also see:

• Shlomo Sand, ‘Israel deliberately forgets its history‘, Le Monde Diplomatique, September 2008
• And for further discussion, Ann’s original post here.