Tel Aviv U. prof. stirs up anti-Zionist controversy

Last Friday's monthly Marxist Theory Colloquium featured Tel Aviv University history professor Shlomo Sand. He discussed his controversial book, "The Invention of the Jewish People," which proposes that the majority of accepted Jewish history is incorrect.

NYU politics professor Bertell Ollman invited Sand to speak at the colloquium after he learned Sand had come to New York to publicize the English edition of his book. While "The Invention of the Jewish People" is not specifically about Marxist theory, Ollman wanted Sand to speak because he said he "found it a marvelous book."

The book has stirred much controversy since its release. In it, Sand said he believes that the Romans did not expel the Jews from Palestine and that today's Palestinians are actually partial descendants of Jews. Sand believes the rest of the Middle Eastern and European Jewish population was converted to Judaism, which directly challenges the Zionist idea that Palestine is the rightful homeland of all Jewish people.

During his lecture, Sand said the Jewish exodus in the first and second centuries did not happen.

"The Romans didn't exile the Jewish — not in 70, not in 135," Sand said.

At one point during his presentation, Sand discussed the origins of hummus, proclaiming, "It's not really Jewish. We steal it from Palestine like we stole the land."

The views Sand expressed in his book and during the lecture provoked anger among some audience members.

Charles Schaeffer, a first-year Steinhardt graduate student, believes Sand is a self-hating Jew.

"You can't be anti-Zionist without being anti-Semitic," Schaeffer said about Sand. "At the end of the day, I would say he's anti-Semitic."

To refute Sand's arguments, Schaeffer brought paper printouts with information claiming there is indeed a genetic component to being Jewish, as well as a book by Sander Gilman titled "Jewish Self-Hatred."

However, when Schaeffer asked Sand if he thought his ideas were rooted in anti-Semitism and Jewish self-hatred, Sand denied the relation.

"It's a shame for a Jew that was born in the 20th century to base his identity on biology," Sand said.

Some attendees found the lecture enlightening.

"It's really relevant today obviously for debating the existence of an Israeli state vs. a Palestinian state," CAS sophomore Jordan Mylet said. "The idea that there's really not much separation between them is really remarkable."