By Aaron Leonard
Tel Aviv University professor Shlomo Sand recently spoke at NYU about his newly translated book “The Invention of the Jewish People,” a book that challenges conventional wisdom and deeply entrenched myths about the foundations of the state of Israel.
Among the revelations in the book is the fact that the ancient kingdoms of Solomon and David did not exist as the Bible describes. He also challenges the myth of the Exodus of ancient Jews from Egypt, noting “the Ancient Egyptians kept meticulous records of every event … yet there is not a single mention of any ‘children of Israel’ who lived in Egypt.” He further points out that an exodus from Egypt would have involved moving across the Sinai peninsula into lands Egypt ruled over — thus escaping from Egypt to … Egypt.
He also describes the process of proselytizing and conversion that led to whole populations converting to Judaism, thus explaining the dispersal of the religion throughout Europe and Asia.
Sand writes in his introduction, “I don’t think books can change the world, but when the world begins to change it looks for different books.” This book is an important contribution to the debate on the future of the Middle East. I sat down with professor Sand last Friday to talk about “Invention” while he was in New York. [click to read interview]
