MASADA: Another MYTH Exploded

Josephus, a first-century Jewish Roman historian

significant disagreement among historians as to the veracity of the Josephus story

There is also considerable controversy in the archaeological reporting

The primary archeologist, Yigael Yadin, has recently come under charges of professional misconduct

After extensively studying Yadin's work documents, transcripts, and conversations, Ben-Yehuda concluded that Yadin conducted "a scheme of distortion which was aimed at providing Israelis with a spurious historical narrative of heroism"

The actual record shows evidence of "different factions of J...

MASADA: Another MYTH Exploded

Josephus, a first-century Jewish Roman historian

significant disagreement among historians as to the veracity of the Josephus story

There is also considerable controversy in the archaeological reporting

The primary archeologist, Yigael Yadin, has recently come under charges of professional misconduct

After extensively studying Yadin's work documents, transcripts, and conversations, Ben-Yehuda concluded that Yadin conducted "a scheme of distortion which was aimed at providing Israelis with a spurious historical narrative of heroism"

The actual record shows evidence of "different factions of Jews fighting and killing each other, of collective suicide by a group of terrorists and assassins whose "fighting spirit" was questionable
there are the admissions of falsification by Yadin himself

he later admitted he was pressured by the Israeli government to make that connection, even though the cave contained pig bones among the skeletons, a common sacrificial burial practice for Roman dead

@righthand
All the remains were reburied at Masada as Jewish with full military honours on July 7, 1969. There's no doubt but that these were the remains of Roman soldiers, the enemy.

Symbol for Bush visit: Masada, Fraud and Myth

Bush likely to make symbolic visit to Masada

said they had been searching for a symbolic location for the president to visit

avoiding contentious sites
Ha'aretz

The primary archeologist, Yigael Yadin, has recently come under charges of professional misconduct. After extensively studying Yadin's work documents, transcripts, and conversations, Ben-Yehuda concluded that Yadin conducted "a scheme of distortion which was aimed at providing Israelis with a spurious historical narrative of heroism"

[url=/clipmark/2ED0974F-0A2E-4FBB-ACD4-A72204FAC846/]The actual record shows eviden[b]...

Symbol for Bush visit: Masada, Fraud and Myth

Bush likely to make symbolic visit to Masada

said they had been searching for a symbolic location for the president to visit

avoiding contentious sites
Ha'aretz

The primary archeologist, Yigael Yadin, has recently come under charges of professional misconduct. After extensively studying Yadin's work documents, transcripts, and conversations, Ben-Yehuda concluded that Yadin conducted "a scheme of distortion which was aimed at providing Israelis with a spurious historical narrative of heroism"

The actual record shows evidence of "different factions of Jews fighting and killing each other, of collective suicide by a group of terrorists and assassins whose "fighting spirit" was questionable.
... Wikipedia

How ironic that the symbol of the Bush presidency will be his visit to Masada, a fraud and myth knowingly perpetuated by the government of Israel that will turn his presidency into a total fiasco and make America party to the fraud and corruption!!!
... righthand

An invention called 'the Jewish people'
By Tom Segev 01/03/2008

The historian Shlomo Zand, in one of the most fascinating and challenging books published here in a long time. There never was a Jewish people, only a Jewish religion, and the exile also never happened - hence there was no return. Zand rejects most of the stories of national-identity formation in the Bible, including the exodus from Egypt and, most satisfactorily, the horrors of the conquest under Joshua. It's all fiction and myth that served as an excuse for the establishment of the State of Israel, he asserts.

According to Zand, the Romans did not generally ex...

An invention called 'the Jewish people'
By Tom Segev 01/03/2008

The historian Shlomo Zand, in one of the most fascinating and challenging books published here in a long time. There never was a Jewish people, only a Jewish religion, and the exile also never happened - hence there was no return. Zand rejects most of the stories of national-identity formation in the Bible, including the exodus from Egypt and, most satisfactorily, the horrors of the conquest under Joshua. It's all fiction and myth that served as an excuse for the establishment of the State of Israel, he asserts.

According to Zand, the Romans did not generally exile whole nations, and most of the Jews were permitted to remain in the country. The number of those exiled was at most tens of thousands. When the country was conquered by the Arabs, many of the Jews converted to Islam and were assimilated among the conquerors. It follows that the progenitors of the Palestinian Arabs were Jews. Zand did not invent this thesis; 30 years before the Declaration of Independence, it was espoused by David Ben-Gurion, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi and others.

If the majority of the Jews were not exiled, how is it that so many of them reached almost every country on earth? Zand says they emigrated of their own volition or, if they were among those exiled to Babylon, remained there because they chose to. Contrary to conventional belief, the Jewish religion tried to induce members of other faiths to become Jews, which explains how there came to be millions of Jews in the world. As the Book of Esther, for example, notes,

...Haaretz

Symbol for Bush visit: Masada, Fraud and Myth

It's an interesting and dramatic example of spin and propaganda. It is a pretty amazing trick to turn a tale of mass suicide into a victory.

Will all these facades every be torn down? I suppose the more militant a nation is the more it needs such fabrications.

My country has lots of them; other nations as well.'Custer's Last Stand,' from the USA-Indian wars is a very classic attempt to turn a military defeat into a symbol of brave resistance -- Remember the Alamo, from one of the USA-Mexican conflicts, another. (Or Los Niños Héroes, a Mexican story from one of those conflicts).

Some portray the disastrous assault of Pickett's Charge at Gettysberg, USA Civil War, also as a glorious moment ...

It's an interesting and dramatic example of spin and propaganda. It is a pretty amazing trick to turn a tale of mass suicide into a victory.

Will all these facades every be torn down? I suppose the more militant a nation is the more it needs such fabrications.

My country has lots of them; other nations as well.'Custer's Last Stand,' from the USA-Indian wars is a very classic attempt to turn a military defeat into a symbol of brave resistance -- Remember the Alamo, from one of the USA-Mexican conflicts, another. (Or Los Niños Héroes, a Mexican story from one of those conflicts).

Some portray the disastrous assault of Pickett's Charge at Gettysberg, USA Civil War, also as a glorious moment instead of outrageous thickheaded stupidity and failure.

The British 'Charge of the Light Brigade,' another example of trying to turn stupidity, defeat, mistakes (and possibly even cowardice) into a noble image.

And in a few days nations will celebrate D-Day, the dramatic and successful landing of allied forces in Europe in WWII -- and the spot where it was a total nightmare and most messed up, Normandy, is the prime symbol of this event.

The very portrayal, too, of this Allied invasion as the start of the defeat of Nazi Germany also spin since the Battle of Stalingrad, ending in Feb. 1943 was an earlier, more dramatic and more bloody 'turning point,' for that war. -- although the West hardly mentions it.

Most war movies nothing but lies, self-righteous fabrications, and aggrandizement ; no?

Yet it seems we all cling to one myth or the other.

Um...although I would advocate fighting to the death, myself, (But what if you don't die in the battle?). I wouldn't be so hard on those who choose suicide because in some cultures and some times being captures alive was worse than death -- it was torture, agony, abuse... then death. People can be real cruel and nasty and perhaps the worse of those warmongers who pretend all this is noble or just cause and rule with hate & fear.