I have met myself and have heard many more stories of people who did not come from any recognizable Jewish background yet who felt an overwhelming sense they were Jewish. I knew of one Hatian woman who made this claim throughout her life and it was only until genetic genealogy became available to the public did she find out that this far flung possibility was actually real, she had Jewish ancestors only a few generations back which she began to investigate and she became more dedicated to her new religion. I will get back to this story in a bit.
As I child, as I was taught the Old Testament over and over again, I could not believe that the people around me did not feel the same sense of outrage that I did about how the Jews treated the once native people of what is today called Israel, the Canaanites. It also deeply aggravates me when much of the world believes that this area of the Levant is the eternal land of the Jews as this negates the histories and peoples which inhabited this nation for generations before the Jewish religion was ever invented.
The understanding of most Westerners about the Canaanites comes through the lens of the Bible. The Old Testament describes the Canaanites as an advanced and formidable people with complex cities. They were described as being big and virile, they were mainly agriculturalists who bred fruits which were unusually large. They were pagans and it is implied in Christian and Jewish lore that they were dark or bronzed skinned.
The Bible states that the Jews were not from Canaan but were from across the Euphrates River, from a land called Ur which was likely in modern day Iraq or Iran. The founding father of the Jewish tribe, Abraham, was told by a voice that he must travel to Canaan where he and his family would eventually inherit the land, even though this nation was already thickly populated. In these early days, when it was just Abraham alone with his half-sister and wife Sarah, it would seem that there was no xenophobia on the part the Canaanites and they always accepted Abraham graciously
One time Abraham and Sarah are welcomed by a Philistine tribe who generously hosts the couple. Abraham, the man who is intending to take this land from the Philistines, decides that it is the pagans who are not to be trusted, and for some reason he hides the identity of his wife Sarah and states that she is only his sister. Acting upon this deception the leader of the tribe takes Sarah to his bed. Even though he has been kind to Abraham and it was Abraham who had mislead the Philistine leader, the Jewish god threatens to kill this king and the curse is only lifted after Abraham prays, but not before he is showered in silver and gold.
Sarah eventually becomes pregnant, but not before she begins to grumble that he hates the Canaanites. Sarah gives birth to twin boys, Esau comes out first and his younger brother is born holding onto his brother's ankle, allowing Esau to do all the work for both of them. Sarah has indeed named Jacob aptly as his name means to deceive. Esau is painted as being a rugged, honest and simple man who spends his times in the field while Jacob is said to be delicate, spending his time in the camp.
Esau, being the older brother, is the heir to his father Abraham's estate; however Esau's mother Sarah prefers her son Jacob. Through a series of intrigues and trickery, Jacob and Sarah "deceive" Jacob's brother Esau and his father Abraham into granting Jacob the wealth instead. When Jacob grows older he follows his parent's advice to not marry any of the Canaanites who have shown them nothing but kindness but to travel far away to retrieve one of his cousins. Esau however, the more admirable brother, marries Canaanite women and intermingles with the people of the land. Later, Esau completely forgives his brother Jacob and offer to help him, but Jacob seems to snub him.
Later, when Abraham's wife Sarah dies, the pagan Hittites offer Abraham free land where he may bury is wife. Even though the Hittites insist several times that Abraham take the land for free, Abraham stands firm with a request that he pay full price for the land. You see the Hittite's offer came with a complete spirit of giving, but Abraham does not want a gift, he wants the deed to the land; what would have been a token of friendship on the part of the Hittites is turned into a cold business transaction. There is a similar sentiment expressed when Abraham helps the king of Sodom to retrieve his wealth from marauders; while Abraham takes his cut of the treasure before he returns to Sodom, when the king offers Abraham his reward publicly Abraham rebukes this as he does not want anyone to say that another man has made him rich! And Abraham's god always assures him that he will eventually be taking this land of the Canaanites.
Later, Jacob's daughter Dinah willingly sleeps with a Canaanite king named Shechem, Jewish legend says that she had become addicted to uncircumcised pagan penis. King Shechem shows his noble intentions by asking Jacob for permission to be with Dinah; so devious and hateful is Jacob that he conceives of a plot to take "revenge" as he says his daughter has been treated like a prostitute. Jacob pretends to welcome king Shehem and his people into their tribe, the only thing they need to do is become circumcised. The pagans agree to this offer and perform the operation in mass. While the men are still weak and vulnerable from the procedure, Jacob and his sons storm their city, kill all the men and take the women and animals as booty, and as their god said the Jews begin to take the land.
The Jews move to Egypt for a period of time of hundreds of years but then eventually hanker to take what they believe is their birth right, Canaan, the land said to be so fertile it drips with milk and honey. When the Jewish hoard approaches the borders of Canaan, the Bible attempts to paint the pagan kings as evil for coming out to fight the Jews, for defending their own lands from invaders with the expressed intent to rob them of their property. It is not because of respect that many of the Canaanites eventually betray their people and help the Jews to enter Canaan, it is because they are deadly fearful of the Jews who have destroyed all the pagan tribes they have encountered before them.
Now before I tell you about my "favorite" part of the Bible, my favorite as it gives us the most insight into the Canaanites, let me get back to genetic genealogy. Before the age of twelve, after learning and reading so much about the Canaanites who were obviously persecuted by the Jews, I go this sense that somehow I was connected to them. There are many more pagan nations in the Bible to relate to such as the Egyptians, the Assyrians and the Babylonians, but I always felt closest to the Canaanites. As I grew I developed a fantasy that I was a Canaanite, of Canaanites descent, if not biologically than spiritually, I started telling people I was a Canaanite, it was silly.
However as I matured I eventually dismissed this feeling as wishful thinking, not matter how strong these feelings were. But then I got into genetic genealogy, and I was given several surprises. While most of my ancestry comes from Europe I found out that I am nearly 23% Turkish, this comes from waves of Turkish immigration which came to Italy centuries ago; I'm also 5% African. However, highlighted over the map of my genetic origins there were two regions made conspicuous by their extremely pale but still visible shading; Egypt and Israel. Now my DNA test did not indicate any Jewish blood, so how could I have DNA coming from this regions. While I am still not 100% certain, I think that I at least have some evidence that my intuition about being Canaanite was accurate.
So what was it about the Canaanites that made me think I was related to them in the first place? As the Jews invade the land of Canaan they were instructed by their god to completely obliterate the Canaanite culture. The Canaanites were polytheists who worshiped many gods and practiced idolatry in elaborate temples, an aesthetic which has always appealed to me. The land of Canaan was said to be planted with innumerable groves of sacred fruit trees, and under these fruit trees would often sit a spiritual attendant. These attendants are usually presumed to be sacred prostitutes, both male and female, who would harvest the tree's fruits for food and provide sexual services so that they could live devotional lives dedicated to the gods and learning their mysteries.
Like the Babylonians, the Canaanites united sex with worship, seeing the two as inseparable, dedicated to gods of sex like Astarte. The men of the land were obviously attracted to the sexual offerings of these religious institutions, however while among these sacred prostitutes they would be exposed to art and lore which would inform them of the land's religion. The god of the Bible was extremely strict with the Jews, they were to destroy every single sacred tree and lay the land barren. The male sex servants were called dogs and were immediately killed, the females were often kidnapped and forced into slavery where they were forced to shave their hair as humiliation in the hopes that they would renounce their faith and convert to Judaism.
The god of Israel also made murderous proclamations against the spiritual practices of the Canaanites. The Bible is clear that such things as sorcery and necromancy are very real and it never denies the Canaanites their profound abilities in this regard; the Canaanites were well skilled in omens, psychic abilities, astrology and the like. All of these gifted people were immediately put to the sword until there were none left in the land. There is a disgusting story in the Bible where a Jewish king has become desperate for advice and so he seeks the services of a witch who is then hypocritically used by their god to relay to him the information he needs. I remember the pictures of this witch, she was always drawn as haggard, living in a hovel where she had hid herself from the Israelite genocides, it frightened and desperate expression always made me sad.
This characterization of Canaan as a land of priest craft, sex magic, advanced religious architecture, fruit tree groves and a place where both men and women were free and educated, it just spoke to me and made me extremely defensive of these whom I immediately considered my people. I have dreamed of vindicating Canaan ever since. Jews and Christian furiously condemn the Canaanites for practicing child sacrifice, a claim which even today is not known to be true, however the Israelites of course were not only allowed to but ordered to kill their own children if they were followers or oracles of another god, but according to the Judeo-Christians this is not child sacrifice.
As I attempted to spread awareness about Canaan and the Canaanites as the original peoples of the Levant I found little enthusiasm from most. However I did make contact with pagan groups in Israel who are seeking to restore Canaanite religion. It is difficult to gauge just how divorced they are from their Jewish roots and my temperament would only allow me to work with the most zealous of heretics who wish to deny their connection to Israel, indeed abolishing it and returning Canaan back into the land of milk and honey which the pagans generously share with the world. While I am dreamy, most people really can't get too excited about this topic.
But seeing my DNA results, the light circle around Canaan, it prompted me to dig further and further into the question as I wondered if a serious social complaint could be brought forward about the history of the Jews in the this land and how they have demonized the name of the Canaanites to the world. The land of Israel today takes up a region which was not only called Canaan but also Phoenicia; I remembered Phoenicia being mentioned in ancient Greek mythology as a culture similar to that of Greece and even royalty from these houses would intermarry. Indeed, the name for the continent Europe is derived from the name "Europa", a mortal woman of Phoenician descent who was impregnated by Zeus and gave birth to the Greek King Minos of Crete.
This connection to Phenocia broadened my research and I eventually found the gem I was looking for, www.phoenicia.org. This website is a collaboration of academics and volunteers who are mostly of Phoenician descent and one of their main objectives is to correct the misinformation which has been peddled against Canaan and Phoenicia for millennia, they are also attempting to use genetic genealogy to unite the Phoenician/Canaanite diaspora worldwide. The website also has an extremely anti-Biblical shade. Here is our aggrieved minority, the living breathing scions of the race and culture which was brutally wiped out and replaced by Israel. Why shouldn't the Canaanites and Phoenicians be angry with the Jews, isn't Judaism the most obviously genocidal anti-Canaanite religion on earth? Can the Jews really defend the actions which took place in the Bible which included slavery, sex slavery, kidnapping and the murder of civilians? Why can't the Phoenicians make a claim to the land, what makes them different from any one else.
I don't know if it is a coincidence or a twist of fate, but just as there were the famous Twelve Tribes of Israel there were originally Twelve Tribes of Canaan. The Jews claim in their own texts that they came from a foreign land to conquer Canaan, and today's Palestinians are likely not Canaanites but a mixed population of Near Asians who were transferred to Palestine during Islamic religious wars and resettlements. The land belongs to neither Jews nor Muslims but pagans who were much more advanced and tolerant. The story of Canaan alone is enough to throw the discussion on Israel/Palestine into confusion and at least begin to restore the Canaanites’ names while exposing the true enemies of the land. But why can't we dream of more than this, why can't the growing pagan elements in Israel and their allies globally begin a push for Political Canaan, if the Jews restored their stolen empire why can't we raise Canaan once again.
As I child, as I was taught the Old Testament over and over again, I could not believe that the people around me did not feel the same sense of outrage that I did about how the Jews treated the once native people of what is today called Israel, the Canaanites. It also deeply aggravates me when much of the world believes that this area of the Levant is the eternal land of the Jews as this negates the histories and peoples which inhabited this nation for generations before the Jewish religion was ever invented.
The understanding of most Westerners about the Canaanites comes through the lens of the Bible. The Old Testament describes the Canaanites as an advanced and formidable people with complex cities. They were described as being big and virile, they were mainly agriculturalists who bred fruits which were unusually large. They were pagans and it is implied in Christian and Jewish lore that they were dark or bronzed skinned.
The Bible states that the Jews were not from Canaan but were from across the Euphrates River, from a land called Ur which was likely in modern day Iraq or Iran. The founding father of the Jewish tribe, Abraham, was told by a voice that he must travel to Canaan where he and his family would eventually inherit the land, even though this nation was already thickly populated. In these early days, when it was just Abraham alone with his half-sister and wife Sarah, it would seem that there was no xenophobia on the part the Canaanites and they always accepted Abraham graciously
One time Abraham and Sarah are welcomed by a Philistine tribe who generously hosts the couple. Abraham, the man who is intending to take this land from the Philistines, decides that it is the pagans who are not to be trusted, and for some reason he hides the identity of his wife Sarah and states that she is only his sister. Acting upon this deception the leader of the tribe takes Sarah to his bed. Even though he has been kind to Abraham and it was Abraham who had mislead the Philistine leader, the Jewish god threatens to kill this king and the curse is only lifted after Abraham prays, but not before he is showered in silver and gold.
Sarah eventually becomes pregnant, but not before she begins to grumble that he hates the Canaanites. Sarah gives birth to twin boys, Esau comes out first and his younger brother is born holding onto his brother's ankle, allowing Esau to do all the work for both of them. Sarah has indeed named Jacob aptly as his name means to deceive. Esau is painted as being a rugged, honest and simple man who spends his times in the field while Jacob is said to be delicate, spending his time in the camp.
Esau, being the older brother, is the heir to his father Abraham's estate; however Esau's mother Sarah prefers her son Jacob. Through a series of intrigues and trickery, Jacob and Sarah "deceive" Jacob's brother Esau and his father Abraham into granting Jacob the wealth instead. When Jacob grows older he follows his parent's advice to not marry any of the Canaanites who have shown them nothing but kindness but to travel far away to retrieve one of his cousins. Esau however, the more admirable brother, marries Canaanite women and intermingles with the people of the land. Later, Esau completely forgives his brother Jacob and offer to help him, but Jacob seems to snub him.
Later, when Abraham's wife Sarah dies, the pagan Hittites offer Abraham free land where he may bury is wife. Even though the Hittites insist several times that Abraham take the land for free, Abraham stands firm with a request that he pay full price for the land. You see the Hittite's offer came with a complete spirit of giving, but Abraham does not want a gift, he wants the deed to the land; what would have been a token of friendship on the part of the Hittites is turned into a cold business transaction. There is a similar sentiment expressed when Abraham helps the king of Sodom to retrieve his wealth from marauders; while Abraham takes his cut of the treasure before he returns to Sodom, when the king offers Abraham his reward publicly Abraham rebukes this as he does not want anyone to say that another man has made him rich! And Abraham's god always assures him that he will eventually be taking this land of the Canaanites.
Later, Jacob's daughter Dinah willingly sleeps with a Canaanite king named Shechem, Jewish legend says that she had become addicted to uncircumcised pagan penis. King Shechem shows his noble intentions by asking Jacob for permission to be with Dinah; so devious and hateful is Jacob that he conceives of a plot to take "revenge" as he says his daughter has been treated like a prostitute. Jacob pretends to welcome king Shehem and his people into their tribe, the only thing they need to do is become circumcised. The pagans agree to this offer and perform the operation in mass. While the men are still weak and vulnerable from the procedure, Jacob and his sons storm their city, kill all the men and take the women and animals as booty, and as their god said the Jews begin to take the land.
The Jews move to Egypt for a period of time of hundreds of years but then eventually hanker to take what they believe is their birth right, Canaan, the land said to be so fertile it drips with milk and honey. When the Jewish hoard approaches the borders of Canaan, the Bible attempts to paint the pagan kings as evil for coming out to fight the Jews, for defending their own lands from invaders with the expressed intent to rob them of their property. It is not because of respect that many of the Canaanites eventually betray their people and help the Jews to enter Canaan, it is because they are deadly fearful of the Jews who have destroyed all the pagan tribes they have encountered before them.
Now before I tell you about my "favorite" part of the Bible, my favorite as it gives us the most insight into the Canaanites, let me get back to genetic genealogy. Before the age of twelve, after learning and reading so much about the Canaanites who were obviously persecuted by the Jews, I go this sense that somehow I was connected to them. There are many more pagan nations in the Bible to relate to such as the Egyptians, the Assyrians and the Babylonians, but I always felt closest to the Canaanites. As I grew I developed a fantasy that I was a Canaanite, of Canaanites descent, if not biologically than spiritually, I started telling people I was a Canaanite, it was silly.
However as I matured I eventually dismissed this feeling as wishful thinking, not matter how strong these feelings were. But then I got into genetic genealogy, and I was given several surprises. While most of my ancestry comes from Europe I found out that I am nearly 23% Turkish, this comes from waves of Turkish immigration which came to Italy centuries ago; I'm also 5% African. However, highlighted over the map of my genetic origins there were two regions made conspicuous by their extremely pale but still visible shading; Egypt and Israel. Now my DNA test did not indicate any Jewish blood, so how could I have DNA coming from this regions. While I am still not 100% certain, I think that I at least have some evidence that my intuition about being Canaanite was accurate.
So what was it about the Canaanites that made me think I was related to them in the first place? As the Jews invade the land of Canaan they were instructed by their god to completely obliterate the Canaanite culture. The Canaanites were polytheists who worshiped many gods and practiced idolatry in elaborate temples, an aesthetic which has always appealed to me. The land of Canaan was said to be planted with innumerable groves of sacred fruit trees, and under these fruit trees would often sit a spiritual attendant. These attendants are usually presumed to be sacred prostitutes, both male and female, who would harvest the tree's fruits for food and provide sexual services so that they could live devotional lives dedicated to the gods and learning their mysteries.
Like the Babylonians, the Canaanites united sex with worship, seeing the two as inseparable, dedicated to gods of sex like Astarte. The men of the land were obviously attracted to the sexual offerings of these religious institutions, however while among these sacred prostitutes they would be exposed to art and lore which would inform them of the land's religion. The god of the Bible was extremely strict with the Jews, they were to destroy every single sacred tree and lay the land barren. The male sex servants were called dogs and were immediately killed, the females were often kidnapped and forced into slavery where they were forced to shave their hair as humiliation in the hopes that they would renounce their faith and convert to Judaism.
The god of Israel also made murderous proclamations against the spiritual practices of the Canaanites. The Bible is clear that such things as sorcery and necromancy are very real and it never denies the Canaanites their profound abilities in this regard; the Canaanites were well skilled in omens, psychic abilities, astrology and the like. All of these gifted people were immediately put to the sword until there were none left in the land. There is a disgusting story in the Bible where a Jewish king has become desperate for advice and so he seeks the services of a witch who is then hypocritically used by their god to relay to him the information he needs. I remember the pictures of this witch, she was always drawn as haggard, living in a hovel where she had hid herself from the Israelite genocides, it frightened and desperate expression always made me sad.
This characterization of Canaan as a land of priest craft, sex magic, advanced religious architecture, fruit tree groves and a place where both men and women were free and educated, it just spoke to me and made me extremely defensive of these whom I immediately considered my people. I have dreamed of vindicating Canaan ever since. Jews and Christian furiously condemn the Canaanites for practicing child sacrifice, a claim which even today is not known to be true, however the Israelites of course were not only allowed to but ordered to kill their own children if they were followers or oracles of another god, but according to the Judeo-Christians this is not child sacrifice.
As I attempted to spread awareness about Canaan and the Canaanites as the original peoples of the Levant I found little enthusiasm from most. However I did make contact with pagan groups in Israel who are seeking to restore Canaanite religion. It is difficult to gauge just how divorced they are from their Jewish roots and my temperament would only allow me to work with the most zealous of heretics who wish to deny their connection to Israel, indeed abolishing it and returning Canaan back into the land of milk and honey which the pagans generously share with the world. While I am dreamy, most people really can't get too excited about this topic.
But seeing my DNA results, the light circle around Canaan, it prompted me to dig further and further into the question as I wondered if a serious social complaint could be brought forward about the history of the Jews in the this land and how they have demonized the name of the Canaanites to the world. The land of Israel today takes up a region which was not only called Canaan but also Phoenicia; I remembered Phoenicia being mentioned in ancient Greek mythology as a culture similar to that of Greece and even royalty from these houses would intermarry. Indeed, the name for the continent Europe is derived from the name "Europa", a mortal woman of Phoenician descent who was impregnated by Zeus and gave birth to the Greek King Minos of Crete.
This connection to Phenocia broadened my research and I eventually found the gem I was looking for, www.phoenicia.org. This website is a collaboration of academics and volunteers who are mostly of Phoenician descent and one of their main objectives is to correct the misinformation which has been peddled against Canaan and Phoenicia for millennia, they are also attempting to use genetic genealogy to unite the Phoenician/Canaanite diaspora worldwide. The website also has an extremely anti-Biblical shade. Here is our aggrieved minority, the living breathing scions of the race and culture which was brutally wiped out and replaced by Israel. Why shouldn't the Canaanites and Phoenicians be angry with the Jews, isn't Judaism the most obviously genocidal anti-Canaanite religion on earth? Can the Jews really defend the actions which took place in the Bible which included slavery, sex slavery, kidnapping and the murder of civilians? Why can't the Phoenicians make a claim to the land, what makes them different from any one else.
I don't know if it is a coincidence or a twist of fate, but just as there were the famous Twelve Tribes of Israel there were originally Twelve Tribes of Canaan. The Jews claim in their own texts that they came from a foreign land to conquer Canaan, and today's Palestinians are likely not Canaanites but a mixed population of Near Asians who were transferred to Palestine during Islamic religious wars and resettlements. The land belongs to neither Jews nor Muslims but pagans who were much more advanced and tolerant. The story of Canaan alone is enough to throw the discussion on Israel/Palestine into confusion and at least begin to restore the Canaanites’ names while exposing the true enemies of the land. But why can't we dream of more than this, why can't the growing pagan elements in Israel and their allies globally begin a push for Political Canaan, if the Jews restored their stolen empire why can't we raise Canaan once again.
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