At a groundbreaking conference on Thursday, experts will gather in Jerusalem to discuss the status of Pashtun, a tribal nation of tens of millions of Afghani and Pakistani Muslims who believe they are descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The experts will discuss how reconnecting Israel to the Pashtun will have enormous consequences, most notably as their prophesied return.
“From their side, every Pashtun knows their roots are in Israel,” Nadav Sofy, spokesman for The Association of the Bani Israel of Afghanistan told Breaking Israel News. “At this point, we are just trying to raise this awareness among the Jews and to build bridges.”
Sofy’s organization, which is coordinating the conference, is a newly formed group working to connect Israel and the Pashtun. Sofy will be speaking about the identification of the Pashtun as the Ten Tribes.
The Pashtun, an Iranic ethnic group of 50 million Muslims living, refer to themselves as the “Bani Israel,” very similar phonetically to the Hebrew term for the “children of Israel,” Bnei Yisrael.
“The Pashtun have an intricate and strong tribal system and are meticulous about family genealogy (Shijra), but within this tribal framework is a strong oral tradition that they are descended from the lost Ten Tribes of Israel,” Sofy explained to Breaking Israel News.
“Many Pashtun have family traditions identifying with specific tribes. Those from the tribe of Yusufzai, for example, believe they are descended from Joseph, Lewani from Levi, Rebbani from Reuven, Afridi from Ephraim, Gaghai from Gad, and Benyamin from Benjamin.”
Sofy described a surprisingly long list of customs among the Pashtun, which are also observed by Jews. Pashtun men wear four-cornered fringed garments that are similar, though not completely identical to, Jewish prayer shawls.
The Pashtun are Muslims and therefore, observe the Sabbath on Friday. Nevertheless, many of the Pashtun light Sabbath candles in their homes on Friday evening like Jewish world at large, which celebrates the Sabbath from Friday evening until Saturday evening.
Many of the Pashtun wed under a cloth canopy as is customary for Jews. However, while the groom traditionally smashes a glass cup in a Jewish wedding in memory of Temple’s destruction, at a Pashtun wedding, the bride breaks the glass.
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