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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/binyamin-arazi/reclaiming-jewish-identit_b_7715528.html
Reclaiming Jewish Identity: An Aboriginal People of the Middle East
(Huffington Post) Binyamin Arazi - Contrary to the widespread belief that Jews merely constitute a religious faith, the Jewish people are an ethnic group/tribe of Southwest Asian origin, and one of the oldest extant native peoples of the region. The term "Jew" was a name given to us centuries ago by foreigners, denoting our country of origin (Judah/Judea, which is located in present day Israel). As far as genetics are concerned, contemporary ethnic Jews share a stronger kinship with other Levantine populations than with the European and North Africans they lived with in the diaspora. In recent decades, anti-Israel activists have worked tirelessly to rewrite history, denying Jewish origins in the Middle East. But overall, our enemies do not get to decide who we are and where we belong.