"Brit-Am Now"- 504
January 14, 2005

Contents:
1. Question on Germany
2. Question on Poland
3. ISREALITE CRITERIA ON THE NATIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL LEVELS

1. Question on Germany
>In your system I see that the Germans are not retracted to a tribe.
>How do you see that?
>
>Alan

As I understand the sources:
Before ca. 600-500 BCE Germany was relatively underpopulated though it did contain "native" elements.
In the period 500 BCE to 400 CE a constant stream of  Scythian-Germanic
peoples entered Germany on the whole avoiding intermixture with the "natives".
These new "Scythian-Germanic" elements determined much of the language
and culture of the area.
They later largely moved out into areas further westward over the
period 200-500 CE
leaving enclaves behind them as well as a vacuum that allowed the
"natives" to partially re-assert themselves.
In the meantime new peoples came in from the east and south in waves
and occupied much of the area of present-day Germany.
These were mainly Slavic speakers though they included Illyrians and
others.  Archaeology shows waves of these immigrants in the 500s and 600s CE but a
large-scale peaceful percolation from the East continued into the 1200s.
The "newcomers" were conquered by "Germans" from the west under
Charlemagne and his successors who imposed Germanic language and culture and
planted colonies of native "Germans" amongst them. The Catholic Church helped
the  process of "Germanization" which was still continuing in Bavaria and elsewhere
into  the Counter-Reformation of the 1600s and 1700s.
In the 1700s and 1800s there was a large-scale migration of Germans to  North America.
Based on social, social-psychological, and physical records the migrants
were "different" from those who stayed behind. They were less anti-Semitic and often had
maintained values and customs of their own that separated them from the rest.
It was not unusual for members of an entire village to migrate while
all  the members of a neighboring village remained behind.
Until recently most of our ancestors married only
people from their own clan or village.
We hold that the Germans who moved to North America were mainly of
Israelite origin whereas those that remained behind had a different origin.
Similar patterns existed in other areas of Europe.

2. Question on Poland
>sirs, I'm of Polish/Irish/German descent do I possess
>the qualifications to be considered an Israelite.
>Also, do people of Polish descent qualify, after all,
>the Lost Tribes left many signs of their progress
>through poland. The city Gdanisk along with
>others....sincerly..."Next Year Jerusalam"
>Shalom

Answer:
First of all no-one appointed Yair Davidiy as a member of any acceptance committee.
If something does not ring true to you do not accept it but check it out further.

In the past I have quoted from an incident I read of in a Jewish Newspaper:
In Poland after the War many Jews hid their identity. At a certain school
two brothers were beating up and bullying
Jewish students. The headmaster called in the parents of the boys and told them of the problem.
The parents then decided to reveal to their children that they too were
Jewish. They may never have known. Their innate "anti-Semitism" may actually
have reflected an instinctual fascination  with Jews and Jewish things they did not
know how to cope with.
Nevertheless on the whole anti-Jewish feelings show non-Jewish and non-Israelite ancestry.

The Polish people as a whole do not fulfill the qualifications needed
to be considered an Israelite nation BUT many individual Poles may well do so.
We use criteria but the criteria are general rules and not always
necessarily accurate in every case.  This applies especially to individuals.

3. ISREALITE CRITERIA ON THE NATIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL LEVELS

THE CRITERIA APPLIED TO NATIONS

1. Blessings: Economic and Physical Blessings as promised to Israel in Scripture.
2. Indications of Scripture: Biblical Evidence predicting whereto the Lost
Ten Tribes would go, what type of religion and government they would have, etc.
3. Groundwork: Historical, Archaeological, and Related Proofs showing paths of migration.
4. Judah: This entails proven feelings of kinship and sympathy with the
Jews and a Relative Lack of Anti-Semitism when compared with others.
5. Originality: Innovation and Intellect: A minimal degree of national Intellectual Wisdom and Honesty.
6. Bravery: Proven Military Prowess in the past at least, and at present in potential
7. Empathy: The Doing of Social Justice.

SUGGESTED QUALIFICATIONS AS APPLIED TO INDIVIDUALS
It is obvious that if someone is of Israelite descent (point 2 BELOW) they are Israelite whether or not
they fulfill any of the other points below. The criteria however may be useful for those who are not certain
or cannot provide evidence that is satisfactory from the viewpoint of others.


1. INNER IDENTIFICATION: Do you feel Israelite or Jewish, or would you like to be so considered?

2. ANCESTRY:  Do you have Jewish ancestors or those who were probably Israelites according to Brit-Am and related research findings? If you do not have such ancestry or are not sure would you be prepared to totally and irrevocably identify as an Israelite?

3. SCRIPTURE: Do you believe in the Bible? Would you be prepared to keep Biblical Laws IF you were convinced at any stage that the Bible requires you to do so?

4. SOCIAL SURROUNDINGS: Do you now live amongst people of Brit-Am, Israelite, or Jewish origin and do you identify with them and on the whole are accepted by them?  At the least do you wish to live amongst such people?

5. PHILO-JUDAIC: Are you pro-Jewish? At the least do you reject anti-Semitism and even feel offended by it? Would you like to see a union between "Israel" and Judah?

6. GOOD QUALITIES: These are based on THE THREE CRITERIA OF THE SAGES.
We have counted these under one heading since they are inter-related and someone who has one of the
three qualities in effect must have the two others.
The Sages said that there are three signs that distinguish descendants of Israel:
They are merciful, kind, and modest.
To fulfill these criteria one does not necessarily have to be a "saint"  - just to judge one's reactions
all other things being equal:

MERCY: Do you feel sympathy for others? Do you believe in social justice?
Do you try to take account of the sensitivities of others?
ALTRUISM: KINDNESS: Are you kind to others? At the least do you feel that
needless suffering should not be inflicted on others but rather where possible
good be done unto them?

MODESTY: Are you prepared to do good and act worthily even though you
may receive no reward or recognition and perhaps even suffer because of it?

7. FAMILY: If you fulfill the above requirements do some members of your family now or in the past also share the said sentiments and qualities.

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