Guilty as charged and I think this particular analysis is one of your best.
Throughout European history, powerful religious and political leaders, have employed antisemitism to retain power. It has proven so successful, for so long, the minute rich and powerful people feel threatened, they start preaching antisemitism.
Unfortunately, it seems to me, that Kyrie Irving has tried to learn history by watching films and movies. As a result, he innocently mistook antisemitic propaganda for a documentary.
Interestingly enough, Israel is in the midst of political upheaval as divisive and dangerous as ours (in America) and for much the same reasons. One day I might write about that, but right now, I think this is more important (and just in case, Kyrie Irving reads your article…)
Simply put, monotheism (Judaism) originated on the continent of Africa (perhaps as far south as Zimbabwe). Judaism, Christianity and Islam are NOT European religions.
In Ethiopia, people have been practicing Judaism for 3,000 years. In the 4th century, European colonialists forced many people to convert to Christianity. The colonial “divide and conquer” strategy was employed, and people who continued to practice Judaism were called “Falasha” (a derogatory term meaning outsider).
As his Holiness Abuna Paulos, patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, who holds a PhD in theology from Princeton University, recently explained: "We've had 1,000 years of Judaism, followed by 2,000 years of Christianity, and that's why our religion is rooted in the Old Testament."
Just to be clear, “these roots” are the Judaic traditions, customs and practices that people retained, even after conversion (which happen to be quite different from Christians). Judaism is a questioning faith and study is encouraged (strongly). Christianity is an un-questioning faith and people are – strongly – encouraged to abide by faith alone.
During the political unrest of 1991, more than 14,000 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel. Unfortunately, Ethiopian Jews who had been converted to Christianity were left behind. Ethiopian Israelis, who are known as Beta Israel (meaning House of Israel) have been trying to bring their family members to Israel ever since.
For anyone who might be interested (looking at you Mr. Irving)…
The Orit is a rare Ethiopian version of the Bible. This is the story of one Israeli family who risked it all to retrieve one from their home in Ethiopia.
The covenant of the ark, containing the two tablets with the Ten Commandments carried down the mountain by Moses is said to be in Ethiopia. The Smithsonian published a good article about this.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/keepers-of-the-lost-ark-179998820/
The Lemba people of South Africa and Zimbabwe also claim their ancestors carried the covenant of the arc to their ancestral home in the Dumghe mountains.
