Judea and Samaria

By: Helmi Junaidi

The Jews today call their land Judea and Samaria. Their claim to the occupied territory is also based on such belief. But, could today Jews have such claim on the land of Judea and Samaria?

I have written about the expulsion of the ten tribes of Israel from Samaria after their country conquered by the Assyrian king Sargon II in 722 BC. They became known as The Ten Lost Tribe of Israel. After some researchs conducted by several scholars, it turns out that many Samaritan tribes live in Afghanistan and Kashmir. The kingdom of Judah survived until it was conquered by Nebukhanezzar in 586 BC. While the Samaritans has gone forever, most Judeans returned to their country in 538 BC after liberated by Persia king Cyrus the Great.

A unified kingdom of Israel had split into two since the death of King Solomon. Two tribes in the south established the kingdom of Judah under Solomon’s son Rehoboam, while the ten tribes founded the kingdom Samaria in the north under Jeroboam leadership. Samaritan kingdom was known as the Kingdom of Israel. So the name of the kingdom of Israel was used two times, at the time of David and the kingdom of Samaria. Kingdom of Judah and Samaria were hostile to each other and war often broke out between them. Eventually, both kingdoms were conquered by great empires around them.

Because the ten tribes that originally settled in Samaria were already lost, the history of Jacob's children after that period to modern times is NOT the history of Israel as a whole, but historians generally consider it as HISTORY OF JUDAH. That’s why they are called “Jews” (Judeans) or Juden in Germany or Yahudi in Arab. 

The word Jew is derived from the Kingdom of Judah, which included the tribes of Benjamin and Judah. (“Jews”, The Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, 1999, CD-ROM).

The remaining two tribes are the Judeans while the Samaritan tribes are considered lost forever. The Samaritans have settled elsewhere and assimilated into other nations. And many of them assimilated into the population of Afghanistan and Kashmir. By looking at the history of these two nations, today Jews can only claim the land of Judea as their ancestral land. They had NO RIGHT to claim the land of Samaria because they are NOT the Samaritans. That claim is ahistorical. If there were people who have a right to claim the land of Samaria, they would only the descendants of the ten tribes of Israel, who now settled in Kashmir and Afghanistan. However, since they seem to have forgotten their origins, and they've embraced Islam, it appears there is little chance they would make such claim. Moreover, the descendants of the Samaritans had been living in peace in the land of Afghanistan and Kashmir for centuries.

Some Samaritans were not deported and until now their community still exist and they live near Nablus (former capital of ancient Samaria). They refer to as the Samaritans, but they themselves call their nation Bani-Israel. Their numbers now approximately only 500 people.

Although they still called themselves Bani-Israel and read the Torah, but the Bible mentioned that the Judeans (Jews) hated and hostile to the Samaritans even though they were willing to help without expecting recompense. It is surely inconsequential when the Jews today claim the land of Samaria, but they are no longer willing to acknowledge the Samaritan as their brothers, even hostile to them. If the Jews don’t recognize the Samaritans, why should they bother to claim the land of Samaria? Moreover, the hostility still persists today. Until today Orthodox Jews still do not admit the Samaritans who lived in Palestine as their brothers and consider them as "pagan and stranger".

The Jews don’t acknowledge the Samaritans as their brothers because the Jews consider them not native Samaritans, but other nations planted by the Assyrian king. However, this opinion is absolutely groundless. If they were non-Jewish origin at all, how could they embraced Jewish religion and read the Torah? So, they are true Samaritans. If they are non-Jewish tribes, certainly they would not able to recognize Jewish religion and read the Torah. And according to a genetic test conducted in 2004, they are indeed descendants of the ancient Samaritans, although some have mixed with the genes of the Assyrians and other people around them. So, the Jews opinion were groundless and unscienctific.

If it is true that the Samaritan have mixed with other nations, it could not be used as the reason they are not regarded as Bani-Israel. In fact, the Jews who came from Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia have less strong claim to the Jewish blood as compared with the Samaritans. We've been discussing about the Khazars, right? The Jews who came from Russia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe might be NOT Jewish AT ALL, but descendants of the Turkish Khazars. What would the Jews from Russia and Eastern Europe think when they read this? Similarly, Western European Jews are less likely still have mostly Jewish blood because the original Jews were cattle herders, not a nation of traders. Indeed the majority of Jews today have not pure blood because they have lived in foreign lands for thousands years and have mingled with people around them. In Germany their appearances similar to the Germans, in China they like the Chinese, in Arabia they look like Arabs, in Ethiopia they look like black Ethiopians (Falasha Jews). If their blood are really mostly Jewish blood, why their appearances exactly the same as the Germans or Ethiopians? So, their blood are indeed mostly foreign blood. As the Chinese Jews, certainly very funny. Jews with slanting eyes. I want to meet them if some of them still live in Kaifeng.

So, if the Jews do not admit the Samaritans because their blood are not pure, look at the blood in their own bodies. Are they really have true Jewish blood and not Turkish Khazars blood instead? Or even Himmler’s blood?

After seeing historic hostility between the kingdom of Samaria and Judah above, today Jews are only entitled to claim the land of Judah, NOT including the land of Samaria. Of course it is because they are NOT the Samaritans, even hostile to them. They are the Judeans and not the Samaritans. The Samaritans themselves do not live in Palestine (except in Nablus) and none of them join the Zionist movement. Most of them have lived peacefully in Kashmir and Afghanistan for centuries, even recognized as brothers by people around them. In stark contrast to the treatment they receive from the Judeans (Jews) who hate them in Palestine. Thus, on what basis the Judeans claim former royal lands of Samaria? A strange claim, isn’t it? In fact, who have a right to claim Samaritans land are descendants of Samaritan tribes who are now settled in Kashmir and Afghanistan.

Thus, the Jewish settlers (the Judeans) who live in Nablus and other occupied lands of the former kingdom of Samaria, can move from there because they are not entitled to the land. The land can only claimed by descendants of the Samaritans. And of course there are many Samaritans who reside in the West Bank today, the Samaritans who have embraced Islam. And history is history. Most Samaritans had been "lost", and the descendants of the tribe of Judah have no right whatsoever to claim the land of Samaria.

Maybe there are some sentences in this article which have less pleasant tone, but my purpose does not to be hostile. Instead, I write this article to make peace. When the Judeans no longer claim the land of Samaria, whose territory includes most of the West Bank, then of course the Jewish settlers will soon go from there. Because the Judeans were not entitled to the land of Samaria. And if the problem concerning the occupied land have been resolved, there will be peace soon.

If there are some West Bank land that once was kingdom of Judah territory, there are territories of modern Israel today which was belong to the kingdom of Samaria. So, if it is considered a land exchange, the unrest in Palestine land can be resolved quickly. Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers can return to their homeland in Judah (the state of Israel today), and peace will come true soon.

Actually It is not necesary for the Judeans to have a headache thinking the land of Samaria. The Samaritans have had a new Promised Land in Afghanistan and Kashmir. In fact, their New Promised Land is much greater and more fertile than the Old Promised Land in Palestine. Thus, The Judeans no longer need to shed blood for the land of Samaria. The Samaritans were already getting to the new Promised Land in Afghanistan and Kashmir. And you can call the two countries as New Canaan. New Canaan of the tribes of Samaria. No more Sargon, no Pharaoh in the new land. As northern Kashmir, which belongs to Pakistan, indeed for thousands of years is a very peaceful country. While southern Kashmir, before the partition of India and Pakistan, for thousand years also in a peaceful and serene condition. And if someday India and Pakistan can be reconciled, then the entire land of Kashmir, both Northen and Southern part, will be called the Valley of Peace again. New Canaan, a peaceful and secure country which is reflected by the serene and beautiful scene of Lake Dal.

Malang-East Java, March 25, 2006

Sukarno and Marxism

You say you want a revolution

Well, you know we all want to change the worid

You tell me that it's evolution

Well, you know we all want to change the world

But when you talk about destruction

Don’t you know that you can count me out

( "Revolution", The Beatles)

By: Helmi Junaidi

I will not write a lengthy article this time. I will only take excerpts of Sukarno's view on Marxism. I let the readers to make their own assessments. Unfortunely, Sukarno's views still rarely known by his own followers. His book Di Bawah Bendera Revolusi (Under the Banner of Revolution) is never published again, while the original book is rare and its price is not affordable by most Marhaen. Even if it is published again, most Marhaen cannot afford to buy it because it is very thick. The thicker the book, the price become more expensive. I expect it to reach Rp. 200 thousand ($20) or even more if the current prices rise again. It is out of reach of most Marhaen, especially in difficult economic conditions like now. The book is still a luxury for most of our people. The average Indonesian earn $75 a month, many earn only $20 a month, or $0.7 a day. (sigh…). No improvement from time to time. Neither revolutie nor reformatie could improve it, neither communism nor capitalism (long sigh…). They, Marhaen, would think twice or even ten times to buy such an expensive book, especially those who belong to real Marhaen (not bogus "Marhaen"), whose pocket are also really empty from day to day. Currently there are two types of Marhaen. The first type is the majority, who classify the book worth $20 as luxury goods. And if there are "Marhaen" who regard $20 as just a small change, they must be the second type of "Marhaen" whose garages are full of a variety luxury cars and every day drop in luxury restaurants just to throw away a few pieces of $20 "coins".

Enough discussing  the book’s price, and now we discuss the contents of the book. There are at least two Sukarno’s writings in Di Bawah Bendera Revolusi which wrote about Karl Marx and Marxism. The first is an article entitled "In connection with a word of Mr. Baars' and the second is an article entitled "Commemorating 50-year of Karl Marx death ".

We will review the first article, published in the Suluh Indonesia Muda newspaper in 1928. In this article, Sukarno responded to Ir. A. Baars article. Who was this Mr. Baars? Let's see the following excerpts.

Pembatja sudah mengetahui semuanja: Ir. A. Baars jang kita semua mengenalnja sebagai salah seorang penjebar benih Marxism di Indonesia, jang berhubung dengan aksi revolusioner dalam tahun 1917 dikeluarkan dari djabatan Gupermen, jang, sudah enam tahun ini tidak boleh mengindjak Indonesia jang sesudah jatuhnja ia punja externering lantas masuk dalam dinasnja pemerintah Soviet,. . . Ir. A. Baars ini belum selang berapa lama telah menulis beberapa karangan dalam surat-surat-kabar "S.I.D. de Preangerbode" dan “Surabajaasch Handelsblad", dengan ini menundjukkan, bahwa ia kini, oleh pengalaman-pengalamannja dinegeri Rusia, sudah "bertobat" dari faham, jang bertahun-tahun menjerapi budi-akalnja: komunisme. Berkali-kali ia dalam tulisan itu memperingatkan kita, djanganlah kita mendekati komunisme itu; berkali-kali ia mengatakan, bahwa apa jang ia alami di Rusia itu hanjalah kekalutan dan kesengsaraan sahadja.

**The readers already knew it all: Ir. A. Baars which we all knew him as one of the sower of the seeds of Marxism in Indonesia, who in connection with the revolutionary action in 1917 was fired from the Gupermen office, for six years he should not enter Indonesia, after his expulsion he entered the Soviet government, . . . Ir. A. Baars not long ago has written several articles in the newspapers, "SID de Preangerbode" and "Surabajaasch Handelsblad", Now he shows that by his experiences in Russia, he "repent" from his old belief which has absorbed his mind for many years: communism. Many times in his writings he warns us that we should not approached communism; many times he says, that what he had experienced in Russia is only confusion and misery.

Now you must already know who Ir. A. Baars was. He was one of the pioneer of Marxism in Indonesia. He just returned from Russia after six years expelled from Indonesia because of his communistic activities. In Russia he had seen with his own eyes the suffering of the people under communists rule. The misery and confusion that caused him soon to repent. However, in his writing Sukarno regretted the conversion of Ir. A Baars. We can see Sukarno regret as follow:

Tidakkah pengiraan kita ini diperkuat, tidakkah kita pantas menaruh sjak-wasangka atas objectiviteitnja tulisan itu, kalau kita melihat, bahwa Ir. Baars hanja menjebutkan djeleknja dan bangkrutnja pemerintahan komunis sahadja, dan ia, tiada satu perindahan atau penghargaan sama sekali atas madjunja perguruan di Rusia, madjunja pendidikan badan, madjunja pendidikan nasib kaum Jahudi dan lain-lain sebagainja, jang djuga sudah diakui terang-terangan oleh lawan-lawannja faham komunisme itu?

Bahwasanja, . . . kita, kaum nasionalis, jang bukan kaum bolshevis, jang tidak memeluk faham komunisme, jang djuga mengetahui, bahwa faham pemerintahan Soviet itu dalam banjak hal sudah membuktikan tjelaka dan melesetnja, — akan tetapi jang untuk a d i l n j a perkara, djuga tidak mau membutakan akan beberapa hal-hal kemadjuan, jang pemerintahan Soviet itu sudah bisa mentjapainja dengan hasil jang baik.

**Would it not strengthened our assumption, would it deserve our prejudice about the objectivity of his writings, if we see that Ir. Baars only mentions the banckrupcy and fouls of the communist government, and he do not appreciated at all the advancement of universities in Russia, advancement of education, improvement of Jewish condition and others, which have been openly acknowledged even by the opponent of communism.

Truly. . .we the nationalists, who are not the bolsheviks, who do not embrace communism, who also know that Soviet rule in many respects has proven unlucky and wrong, - but we must be just, and do not blind ourselves to progression there, that the Soviet government also able to achieve it with good results.

Although Sukarno stated that he was not a communist nor a Bolshevik, but he could not avoid the impression in his writing that he was very sympathetic to the communist movement in the Soviet Union. He vigorously opposed the writing Ir. A. Baars that he considered only to vilify the Soviet Union government. We can see Sukarno sympathy to Marxism more clearly in an article he wrote 5 years later, "Commemorating 50-year of Karl Marx death ", published in Fikiran Rakyat  (People's Thoughts) newspaper in 1933. Sukarno started his writing as follow:

F.R. nomor jang sekarang ini adalah mendekati 14 Maret 1933. Pada hari itu, maka genap 50 tahun telah lalu, Karl Marx menutup matanya buat selama-lamanja.

Marx dan Marxisme!

Mendengar perkataan ini,—begitulah dulu pernah saja menulis—, mendengar perkataan ini, maka tampak sebagai suatu bajangan dipenglihatan kita gambarnja berdujun-dujun kaum jang mudlarat dari segala bangsa dan negeri, putjat-muka dan kurus badan, pakaian berkojak-kojak; tampak pada angan-angan kita dirinja pembela dan kampiun simudlarat tahadi, seorang ahli-fikir jang ketetapan hatinja dan keinsjafan akan kebiasaannya mengingatkan kita pada pahlawan dari dongeng-dongeng-kuno Germania jang sakti dan tiada terkalahkan itu, suatu manusia jang “geweldig", jang dengan sesungguh-sungguhnja bernama "datuk" pergerakan kaum buruh, jakni Heinrich Karl Marx.

Dari muda sampai wafatnja, manusia jang haibat ini tiada berhenti-hentinja membela dan memberi penerangan pada simiskin, bagaimana mereka itu sudah mendjadi sengsara, dan bagaimana djalannja mereka itu akan mendapat kemenangan.

**F.R. current issue is approaching March 14, 1933. On that day, 50 years ago, Karl Marx closed his eyes forever.

Marx and Marxism!

Hearing these words, once I ever wrote -, hearing this word, appears a picture in our sight- the flocks of poor people from all nations and countries, pale-face and skinny body, worn clothing; appears at our imagination the defender and champion of the poor, a thinker whose tenacity and consciousness remind us to the heros from ancient Germany whose shakti was undefeated, a "geweldig" man, who was the real 'progenitor' of workers movement, he was Heinrich Karl Marx.

From his youth to his deathbed, this great man never stopped to defend and provide information to the poor, how they become miserable, and how they will get victory.

The sentence above followed by many more words to praise Karl Marx and his theories. Geweldig is a Dutch word means tremendous, wonderful or amazing. Sukarno's article is ended with the sentences:

Karena ini, Marhaen pun, pada hari 14 Maret 1933 itu, wajiblah berseru:

Bahagialah jang wafat 50 tahun berselang.

**Therefore, on March 14, 1933, all Marhaen must exclaim:

Happy to he who died 50 years ago.

That’s Sukarno's view of Karl Marx and Marxism in his article "Commemorating 50-year of Karl Marx death". He was also happy to say hello to Karl Marx at the end of his writing.

And now, I will end this article. Very short indeed. I have said that I will not give a lot of comments. You can make your own assesment about the contents of these Sukarno writings. Whatever your opinion, I just tell you what I've read in articles wrote by Sukarno himself. Just sharing infos. For those who want to know the full contents of Sukarno articles, please read his book. For those who have money he can buy it and for those who have not he should look for a loan. The book I use is my father’s. There is the date of its purchasing, in Surabaya, 1964. It is still in a very good condition, not one of its pages is crumpled, missing, bent or torn. Therefore I do not sell it. If it's bad and torn, I would give it to you for free.

Malang-East Java, 10 April 2006