Connecting Pashtuns to the Lost Northern Tribes of Israel

Nadene Goldfoot                                             

Modern map with Afghanistan, Pakistan and part of India-Pashtun land

We've been looking for the TEN LOST TRIBES FOR AGES.  Now we believe we have found many of them who are the Pashtuns of Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India.  Our 12 Tribes of Israel-the sons of Jacob whose name had been changed to Israel, were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher.  Levi had been made the priests by Moses, the leader of the Exodus from Egypt.   He divided territory into 12 portions which did not include Levi by dividing the tribe of Joseph into the tribes of his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.  Joshua took over for Moses who was not allowed to enter Canaan and he gave Reuben, Gad and 1/2 of Manasseh in Transjordan.  Naphtali and Asher were put on the Sidonian frontier in Galilee.  Issachar and Zebulun were to live in the Valley of Jezreel ;  Ephraim and 1/2 Manasseh were to live in the mountains of Samaria;  Benjamin to their South and Judah further South.  Dan was to live along the seacoast around Jaffa and Simeon was in the Negev.  The Danites were expelled by the Amorites and moved to the sources of the Jordan River.  

When King Solomon died, the country split into 2 with the tribes of Judah, Simeon and most of Benjamin living in the  southern kingdom of Judah.  The Assyrian kings;  Tiglath-Pileser III in 732 BCE and Sargon in 721 BCE exiled the northern 10 Tribes to

Assyria, Media and the lands neighboring Aram-Naharaim.  (Aram-Naharaim is a region that is mentioned five times in the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It is commonly identified with Nahrima mentioned in three tablets of the Amarna correspondence as a geographical description of the kingdom of  Mitanni or Paddan Aram and Haran.

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Pashtun children, indigenous to the Pashtunistan region

"The native or indigenous people of Pashtunistan are the Pashtuns (also known as Pakhtuns, Pathans and historically as ethnic Afghans), an Iranic ethnic group. They are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and the second largest in Pakistan. The Pashtuns are concentrated mainly in the south and east of Afghanistan but also exist in northern and western parts of the country as a minority group. In Pakistan they are concentrated in the west and northwest, inhabiting mainly Khyber Pakhtunkhwaand northern Balochistan. 

In addition, communities of Pashtuns are found in other parts of Pakistan such as Sindh, Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan and in the nation's capital, Islamabad. The main language spoken in the delineated Pashtunistan region is Pashto followed by others such as Balochi, Hindko, Gojri, and Urdu.  Not all Pashtuns claim to be from the Beni Israel (sons of Israel).  Many do, however and still have the oral history handed down from their parents and grandparents of who they had been.  

Pashtun woman and child

                                                        

Peshawar, Pakistan Children
Peshawar is the capital of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Situated in the broad Valley of Peshawar near the eastern end of the historic Khyber Pass, close to the border with Afghanistan,
 Peshawar is the sixth-most-populous city in Pakistan  Sikhs in Peshawar self-identify as Pashtuns and speak Pashto as their mother tongue. There was a small, but, thriving Jewish community until the late 1940s. After the partition and the emergence of the State of Israel, Jews left for Israel after 1948. 

The Pashtuns practice Pashtunwali, the indigenous culture of the Pashtuns, and this pre-Islamic identity remains significant for many Pashtuns and is one of the factors that have kept the Pashtunistan issue alive. Although the Pashtuns are politically separated by the Durand Line between Pakistan and Afghanistan, many Pashtun tribes from the FATA area and the adjacent regions of Afghanistan, tend to ignore the border and cross back and forth with relative ease to attend weddings, family functions and take part in the joint tribal councils known as jirgas. Though this was common before the war on terror but after several military operations conducted in FATA, this cross border movement is checked via military and has become very less in comparison to the past.

Their culture follows Pashtunwali 1st and Islam 2nd  in ethical matters.  I see much of Pashtunwali being some elements of the religion of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) as practiced at the time of their captivity in 722-715 BCE.  It had been refined by the tribe of Judah after being in Babylon and then brought back to Judah again after 50 years of captivity when King Cyrus allowed them to return and rebuild their Temple.  

Depending on the source, the ethnic Pashtuns constitute 42-60% of the population of Afghanistan. In neighboring Pakistan they constitute 15.42 percent of the 190 million population, which includes the Hindkowans. In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan, Pashto speakers constitute above 73 percent of the population as of 1998."(Wikipedia)

The Pashtuns considered part of the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians from their land in 722-715 BCE.  That was 10 major tribes out of the 12 tribes of Israel.  The quest of finding them again assumed great importance because of the prophecies by Ezekiel (37:16) which associates the FINAL REDEMPTION with the reunion of the whole HOUSE OF ISRAEL.  As long as the earth's surface was imperfectly explored, the Jewish world was periodically excited by reports of the discovery of the Lost Ten Tribes in many parts of the world.                      

Visiting Jerusalem at the Western Wall ("ha-kotel ha-ma'aravi")

What's important now is that the Pashtuns have been found and studied by the likes of Dr. Shalva Weil from Hebrew University in Jerusalem who lived with them for a period of time.  She and others have created a conference in Jerusalem about this discovery explaining what has been found to be good evidence of who they are this past summer.  Israelis and Pashtuns have created a website where they share questions and answers from each other.  

Long ago, people such as Eldad Ha-Dani had reportd them, apparently in the mountains of Africa.  Benjamin of Tudela (12th century traveler from Spain looking for Jewish communities in the world) had heard of them in Central Asia.  David Reuveni claimed to be the brother of one of their rulers in the same region of Arabia.  Antonio de Montaezinos stimulated Manasseh ben Israel's political activity in England by his reports that he had found them in South America.  Shabbetai Tzevi appointed rulers over the various tribes.  

One story connected them with the Japanese, while people with the Anglo-Israel theory placed them in the Anglo-Saxon countries.  In historic fact some members of the TEN TRIBES had stayed in Israel where apart from the SAMARITANS, had some of their descendants  preserve their identity among the Jewish population with others who were being assimilated.  Others were thought to be absorbed by the last Judean exiles by the Babylonians led by Nebuchadnezzar who in 597-586 were deported to places next to the place of exile of the TEN TRIBES in Media, Assyria and Mesopotamia.  

As far as I can see, the best of the 10 Tribes had been taken without time to take any scrolls; nothing of writing that may have existed for them.  They would have had to rely on memory of what they believed.  

"Main principles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashtunwali

From left to right: Jamaluddin Badar, Nuristan governor, Fazlullah Wahidi, Kunar governor, Gul Agha Sherzai, Nangarhar governor, and Lutfullah Mashal, Langhman governor, listen to speakers during the first regional Jirga to talk about peace, prosperity and the rehabilitation of Afghanistan.

Hamid Karzai appointed as President of the Afghan Transitional Administration at the July 2002 Loya Jirga in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Although not exclusive, the following eleven principles form the major components of Pashtunwali. They are headed with the words of the Pashto language that signify individual or collective Pashtun tribal functions.

1. Melmastia (hospitality) – Showing hospitality and profound respect to all visitors, regardless of race, religion, national affiliation or economic status and doing so without any hope of remuneration or favor. Pashtuns will go to great lengths to show their hospitality.^[3][14][15]
2. Nanawatai (forgiveness or asylum) – Derived from the verb meaning to go in, this refers to the protection given to a person against his enemies. People are protected at all costs; even those running from the law must be given refuge until the situation can be clarified.^[3] Nanawatai can also be used when the vanquished party in a dispute is prepared to go into the house of the victors and ask for their forgiveness: this is a peculiar form of "chivalrous" surrender, in which an enemy seeks "sanctuary" at the house of their foe. A notable example is that of Navy Petty Officer First Class Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of a US Navy SEAL team ambushed by Taliban fighters. Wounded, he evaded the enemy and was aided by members of the Sabray tribe who took him to their village. The tribal chief protected him, fending off attacking tribes until word was sent to nearby US forces.
3. Nyaw aw Badal (justice and revenge) – To seek justice or take revenge against the wrongdoer. No time limit restricts the period in which revenge can be taken. Justice in Pashtun lore needs elaborating: even a mere taunt (or "Peghor/پېغور") counts as an insult which usually can only be redressed by shedding the taunter's blood. If he is out of reach, his closest male relation must suffer the penalty instead. Badal may lead to blood feuds that can last generations and involve whole tribes with the loss of hundreds of lives. Normally blood feuds in this male-dominated society are settled in a number of ways.^[3]
4. Turah (bravery) – A Pashtun must defend his land, property, and family from incursions. He should always stand bravely against tyranny and be able to defend the honour of his name. Death can follow if anyone offends this principle.^[3]
5. Sabat (loyalty) – Pashtuns owe loyalty to their family, friends and tribe members. Pashtuns can never become disloyal as this would be a matter of shame for their families and themselves.
6. Khegaṛa / Shegaṛa (righteousness) – A Pashtun must always strive for good in thought, word, and deed. Pashtuns must behave respectfully to people, to animals, and to the environment around them. Pollution of the environment or its destruction is against the Pashtunwali.^[3]
7. Groh (faith) – Contains a wider notion of trust or faith in God (known as "Allah" in Arabic and "Khudai" in Pashto).^[3] The notion of trusting in one Creator generally comports to the Islamic idea of belief in only one God (tawhid). 1ST LEARNED AS BENI ISRAEL.  
8. Pat, Wyaar aw Meṛaana (respect, pride and courage) - Pashtuns must demonstrate courage [مېړانه]. Their pride [وياړ], has great importance in Pashtun society and must be preserved. They must respect themselves and others in order to be able to do so, especially those they do not know. Respect begins at home, among family members and relatives. If one does not have these qualities they are not considered worthy of being a Pashtun.^[3]
9. Naamus (protection of women) – A Pashtun must defend the honor of women at all costs and must protect them from vocal and physical harm.^[3]
10. Nang (honor) – A Pashtun must defend the weak around him.
11. Hewaad (country) – A Pashtun is obliged to protect the land of the Pashtuns. Defense of the nation means the defense of Pashtun culture or "haśob" [هڅوب], countrymen or "hewaadwaal" [هيوادوال], and of the self or "źaan" [ځان]. This principle is also interconnected to another principle denoting the attachment a Pashtun feels with his land or źmaka [ځمکه].^[16]"

Resource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashtunistan

http://tyglobalist.org/in-the-magazine/features/the-rules-of-pashtunwali/