The Khazars

I've frequently encountered accusations that today's Jews aren't Semitic, that most of them are descendants of the Khazars, and therefore don't have any legitimate claims to the Promised Land of Israel. It is a serious charge and deeply entrenched idea among anti-Semites (who would demand a miracle to change their mindset), but to help counter it and offer vital information on this subject, I'm sharing the following excerpt from an article written by my Israeli friend Yair Davidiy, an Orthodox Jew who lives in Jerusalem and is founder of Brit-Am Israel, with permission:

THE KHAZARS
by Yair Davidiy

The Khazars were a powerful people who once ruled over portions of Russia and Eastern Europe. They, (or at least many of their leaders), converted to Judaism and were eventually defeated and disappeared. Their descendants were either assimilated amongst the Jews or became Sabbath-keeping and other "divergent" Christians, many, (if not most), of whom in some way or other, migrated to the west and to North America. Other descendants of the Khazars may be scattered throughout the former area of the U.S.S.R. and in different parts of Europe. A knowledge of the Khazars is useful for several reasons. Evidence exists that the Khazars were descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel. There is also proof that they were related to peoples in Northwest Europe. It follows that evidence connecting some West Europeans to Israel is strengthened when cognizance is taken of the Israelite ancestry of their Khazar brothers.

The Khazars and Anti-Semites

Another reason for studying the Khazars is that anti-Semites, and some assimilationist Jews, claim that the present-day Jews came from the Khazars, who they assume were non-Israelite. Anti-Semites use their notion of the Khazars to allege that the Jews are impostors and not true descendants of Israel. Some "Identity" groups also make this allegation. So do the Arabs and other anti-Semites. In the past some assimilationist Jews used the Khazar idea to claim that since their ancestors were not in Judah at a certain time therefore they were not culpable for whatever the Jews may or may not have done to the Christian Messiah. The background for some of these ideas also concerns the Karaites of Russia...

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THE KHAZARS