http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/israel/
A possible clue to the original Hebrews.
Tudor Parfitt a Welch scholar sets out to prove a genetic relationship between the Jews of Israel and the Lemba people of South Africa. Based on the oral history of the Lemba and compelling DNA evidence Mr. Parfitt believes that, if indeed there was a dispersion of the tribes of Israel, the Lemba have a legitimate ancestral claim. The program was very informative but I became confounded when Mr. Parfitt tried to prove a "Semitic" origin for these clearly Africoid people. In this respect, he turned out to be another typical euro-centric scholar, placing the cart before the horse. In my opinion, the presence of the Lemba and the Falasha gives credence to the claim by many afro-centrists, of an African origin for Judaism.
Again, I must refer to the late Gerald Massey, who states that "Once the black race is extinct it can never be repeated by climature. Its colour was the result of origin, …and not only from nearness to the sun." How could Parfitt assume a Semitic origin for these people? He ignores, for instance that Jewish culture demands homogeneity, and the absence of any physical resemblance, among the Lemba, to the people Israel or the Mediterranean. Consequently, he missed the opportunity for an even greater discovery, the discovery of the original Jews. Mr. Parfitt would have us believe that the Lemba's indigenous appearance is the result of inter-marriage with women from neighboring tribes. I say no, the physical appearance of the Mediterranean Jews is the result of a mixture of autochthonous Africans and the conquering hordes. Keep in mind that in biblical history, the returning Israelites had already inter-married and bred children by their Babylonian conquerors. For which, Ezra admonishes them, then later these non-Jews are incorporated into the tribes. The Lemba's oral history fixes Sena as their point of departure. Parfitt thinks he has located Sena in Hadramaut, Yemen. If that is true then these people never returned to Israel and possibly spared themselves annihilation.
