Jews, Palestinians, DNA, Zionists, Homelands

[glintofpewter]

The article seems to suggest that many Palestinians are indeed part of the J1 haplogroup which includes the Cohanim. Some take Cohanim genetics to be the determinate as to one's Jewishness. But the Palestinians and the Cohanim are of similar descent, same haplo group.

 

But the major cause of tension and violence throughout the period 1882-1914 - The Arabs sought instinctively to retain the Arab and Muslim character of the region and to maintain their position as its rightful inhabitants; the Zionists sought radically to change the status quo, buy as much land as possible, settle on it, and eventually turn an Arab-populated country into a Jewish homeland.

Wikipedia

 

In 150 years nothing has changed. .Whenever I think about whether a people have a right to live on their ancestor homeland my answer is no they do not automatically have such. Especially after millenia.. But the Jews seem a special case. At least they have made it so since the 19th century or earlier.They are asserting rights they did not have and Europeans supported the effort to create a reservation partly to get rid of the Jew problem

 

Dutch

[GeorgeW]

Whenever I think about whether a people have a right to live on their ancestor homeland my answer is no they do not automatically have such. Especially after millenia.. But the Jews seem a special case.

 

Yes, I agree. I don't think we can just ignore (or deny) Jewish history as a despised minority and their historic ties with the homeland. For millennia, they have said during the Passover Prayer "Next year in Jerusalem."

 

Having said this, we should, IMO, also recognize Palestinian rights and history as well. Unfortunately, these two sets of 'rights' overlap.

 

George

 

Later P.S.

I am still bothered by the racial aspect of rights. As opposed to a DNA test of Jewishness, maybe a cultural test would be better. Someone who self identifies ethnically as Jewish should be so considered without resorting to DNA. The same would be true of Palestinians as well. I don't think we should care if their ancestors were Canaanites, from the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, or somewhere else.

[JenellYB]

Dutch, thanks for the link, I glanced over it briefly, but want to read it more closely when I can focus and concentrate on it.

 

Also, I think perhaps a better choice of wording when in my previous posts here I used "arab/arabic", would have and should have been "beduin".

 

As to the origin of the Palistinean people today, I think I mentioned that there is reason to think they may be the direct decendants of the Samaritions of the NT era, and further, the Samaritons were themselves actually the descendants of the much fabled and speculated about, "lost tribes of Israel." That those so-called "lost tribes of Isreal" have been "hiding" in plain sight all this time, right where they always were, living on the same land they did when Israel was split into two kingdoms, and they were denied access to the Temple at Jeruselum, leading them to contruct their own center of worship on Mt. Horeb.

 

If that were to ever be sufficently documented and proven, that opens up a while new can of worms in the Jewish/Palistinean conflict....if that is the case, then the Palistineans and Jews are no longer distince and separate, but brother of different branches of the same tree of ancient Israel.

 

Jenell

[GeorgeW]

Also, I think perhaps a better choice of wording when in my previous posts here I used "arab/arabic", would have and should have been "beduin".

 

Jenell,

 

I really don't want to be argumentative or contentious, but I must point out that, like 'Arabic,' there is no such thing as 'Bedouin' DNA.

 

This whole issue of determining rights, particularly in the Israeli/Palestinian situation, based on race is problematic at best. What if there were 'Bedouin DNA' would its absence in a particular Palestinian be a reasonable grounds for denying them rights to the land they and their ancestors have lived on?

 

George

[JenellYB]

I may be misreading some of these references to Arabs and Muslims here, but keep in mind, Islam/Muslims had no bearing on the historical periods under discussion..Islam did not exist until something like 5 centuries after Jesus.

 

George, what do you mean there is no such thing as "bedouin" DNA? Am I still using an incorrect term for those nomadic peoples of the Sinai and Arabian pennsula? If you know a more correct term, would you please inform me?

 

Jenell

[GeorgeW]

George, what do you mean there is no such thing as "bedouin" DNA? Am I still using an incorrect term for those nomadic peoples of the Sinai and Arabian pennsula? If you know a more correct term, would you please inform me?

 

Yes, of course, you can describe nomadic people from that region as Bedouins. However, not all of the people from Arabia were nomadic. And, there were Bedouins who were not from the Arabian Peninsula (see North Africa). So, no DNA test would determine one's 'bedouinism.'

 

George

[JenellYB]

Dutch wrote: They are asserting rights they did not have and Europeans supported the effort to create a reservation partly to get rid of the Jew problem

 

 

Yes, this is a less "noble" reason for European and US support backing the zionist movement in re-taking the land and establishement of the Jewish state of Osrael, that is not much talked about, but was indded very much the truth. I've read commentaris from that era, and it was more openly talked about then than now, that a major reason was solving everyone else's (other nations, including the US, btw,) of "what to do about the Jew problem." No body wanted them! Helping them establish their own country was seen as the best "solution" to that "Jew problem."

 

Jenell

[JenellYB]

Yes, of course, you can describe nomadic people from that region as Bedouins. However, not all of the people from Arabia were nomadic. And, there were Bedouins who were not from the Arabian Peninsula (see North Africa). So, no DNA test would determine one's 'bedouinism.'

 

George

 

George, I don't think anyone here is suggesting there is a DNA test to determine or prove one's "bedouism" or any other race of geneological decent....this is about "Common markers" within DNA, and statisitcal variance and commonality within different gene pools, among different groups of people. People of two different groups that share in common a signficant number of the same DNA "markers" that are otherwise uncommon in the general human population are considers to have more genetic relatedness, and likely to share common ancestors. What Dutch has presented is a source that does seem to indicate a more than casual amount of rather unique DNA markers between Jewish and Palistinean peoples, that in both, can be traced to the priestly lineage of ancient Israel.

 

Jenell

[GeorgeW]

Jenell,

 

I am confident that Palestinians and Jews share common DNA. But, earlier that you said that origin of many Palestinians was not Arabic and then Bedouin (maybe Semitic is what you were looking for).

 

I don't doubt that Palestinians would have traces of DNA related to Greeks, Romans, and northern Europeans (Crusaders) as all of these have invaded the area at times. However, I find the claim that many have no Semitic roots to be unusual and would be interested to see evidence of this.

 

In any event, I still question the relevance of DNA. Would the race of either confer rights to the land?

 

George

[JenellYB]

George wrote: However, I find the claim that many have no Semitic roots to be unusual and would be interested to see evidence of this

 

George, I don't know what happened, but I have not at any point in this even suggested Palisineans had no Semitic, roots...quite the contrary, I was suggesting, as is also suggested in the article Dutch linked to, is that Palistineans DO SHARE SEMITIC GENEOLOGY WITH JEWS, through evidence of having in common with Jews DNA that traces back to ancient Israel.

 

And I know my post clearly stating that this is NOT an argument for geneology alone having anything to do with, let alone validating or invalidating anyone's "claim" to anything. What I AM saying is that if the Jews' claim to the land is valid on basis of them as a distinct Jewish ETHNIC group, there is no problem with this. geneology of neither Jews nor Palisteans matters.

 

BUT, if we are to apply any evidence of an inheritance by geneology OR evidence of who/what peoples have inhabited that land not only since the Diaspora in 70 AD, but even back into the period of ancient Israel, it DOES matter, because there is evidence of the ancestors of present day Palistineans not just inhabiting that land in recent centuried, after the 70 AD Diaspora, but all the way back to the period of ancient Israel. That present day Palistineans are descendants of the Samaritons who in turn were the descendants of the "lost tribes of Isreal", those Hebrew/Israelites that occupied the northern kingdom when the nation of Israel split in two, and those people were cut off from worship at the Temple of Jeruselem. That present day Pallistineans share in common with Jews some particularly unique DNA markers uncommon in the general human population is evidence of shared ancestry.

 

Frankly, I don't think trying to assign "rights" to anybody based on where their ancestors lived or even originated is a morally or ethically or practically valid way to do so. As I and others have noted here, that hasn't been a common world practice, seeing the Jewish situation this way is an exception in how matters of dispute for rights to land are usually handled. Would any of us support that being done here in our own Untied States, and the rest of the Western hemisphere? Of course not.

 

Jenell

[GeorgeW]

George, I don't know what happened, but I have not at any point in this even suggested Palisineans had no Semitic, roots...quite the contrary, I was suggesting, as is also suggested in the article Dutch linked to, is that Palistineans DO SHARE SEMITIC GENEOLOGY WITH JEWS, through evidence of having in common with Jews DNA that traces back to ancient Israel.

 

Jenell,

 

What you said was "It has now also been verfied by DNA that most Palastineans are not Arabic in racial origin, but actually eastern European/Baltic/ caucuses regions, actually very much the same as many Jews." (underlining mine)

 

Maybe that is not what you intended to say.

 

George

[GeorgeW]

Jenell,

 

One of the problems with this DNA issue is that it has been used, actually misused, by anti-Semitic folks (even in this forum some time ago) to try to discredit Jewish claims to Israel. The claim is that Ashkenazi Jews are not 'really' Jews (genetically) but are converts to Judaism.

 

I would not be surprised if someone has made a similar claim about the Palestinians. Given statements like Newt Gingrich recently that they are an 'invented people,' a claim that they are not racially Semitic would feed into this mentality.

 

George

[JenellYB]

Jenell,

 

What you said was "It has now also been verfied by DNA that most Palastineans are not Arabic in racial origin, but actually eastern European/Baltic/ caucuses regions, actually very much the same as many Jews." (underlining mine)

 

Maybe that is not what you intended to say.

 

George

 

Yes, George, that is what I intended to say. Now that you've underlines "most Palastineans are not Arabic in origin, now go underline the last part of that statement...."actually very much the same as many Jews". The point here is that the is evidence ORIGINAL Hebrews/Israelites, PRE-establishment of ancient nation of Isreal, ALSO had roots in those regions.

 

Jenell

 

[JenellYB]

Jenell,

 

One of the problems with this DNA issue is that it has been used, actually misused, by anti-Semitic folks (even in this forum some time ago) to try to discredit Jewish claims to Israel. The claim is that Ashkenazi Jews are not 'really' Jews (genetically) but are converts to Judaism.

 

Yes, and that makes it very difficult to try to explore into or discuss the actualy histories or archeological or DNA or other evidence, for that there is so much tendency for someone determined to run with it one way or the other, either to discredit the Jew's claim, or to accuse anyone trying to discuss it impartially of trying to do that very thing, too. I feel there's some of that getting involved in this discussion.

 

I would not be surprised if someone has made a similar claim about the Palestinians. Given statements like Newt Gingrich recently that they are an 'invented people,' a claim that they are not racially Semitic would feed into this mentality.

 

Yes, they definitely have. Newt's comments were not just off the top of his head out of nowhere. There's VERY strong effort to do just that, claim they are an "invented people", that there was no such thing as a "Palistinean" or even a "Palastine" before the Jews established Israel. Yet many people born there prior to that have "Palistinean" noted on their birth certificates as nationality, and "Palastine" at the nation place of their birth.

 

I did not say Paslistineans have no semitic heritage, I said little evidence of arab/bedouin. I'm actually saying they DO have evidence of the same semtic heritage as the Jews. I do not, however, see how a claim they are not racially arab/bedouin would contribute to any argument for their being an "invented people", though. In my stating non-Arab or non-Bedouin, that is itself not to exclude sememtic heritage, because Arabs/Bedouins ALSO are of semestic heritage. While it has become prevailing in common language to equate semetic=Jews/Hebrews/Israelistes, that is not what it means when discussion geneological, cultural, or language history. Semetic in that sense includes ALL people of semetic orgin, not just the Hebrews/Jews. Suggest browse "Semetic", soo what I mean.

 

 

Jenell

[GeorgeW]

Jenell,

 

You say, "Yes, and that makes it very difficult to try to explore into or discuss the actualy histories or archeological or DNA or other evidence . . ."

 

But, with all due respect, you have presented no evidence to support the statement that "Most Palesineans are not Arabic in racial origin." Discussions of this would be greatly enhanced by citing actual studies. I would be very interested if this is true, but I would want to see the evidence before accepting it. There is so much bad, distorted information out there about Israeli Jews and Palestinians that good, credible evidence would be very helpful.

 

As I understood it, Dutch's link gives evidence that shows that Ashkenazi Jews have Semitic DNA, not that Palestinians are European in origin. Studies of Ashkenazi DNA have been widely published and discussed.

 

George

[NORM]

What is most interesting to me is that the world seeks to settle blame either on the Jews or on the Arabs for the situation in the Middle East.

 

History suggests another possibility.

 

The Balfour Declaration arrogantly determined, after much pressure from (wealthy) Zionists, the fate of the Palestinian Arabs following the "arrangements" European powers made following the first World War:

 

November 2nd, 1917

Dear Lord Rothschild,

I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet.

"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."

I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.

Yours sincerely,

Arthur James Balfour

 

 

The Balfour Declaration caused such consternation in the Arab communities living in Palestine at the time, that a "White Paper" had to be issued four years afterward to clarify the terms of the Balfour Declaration:

 

Unauthorized statements have been made to the effect that the purpose in view is to create a wholly Jewish Palestine. Phrases have been used such as that Palestine is to become "as Jewish as England is English." His Majesty's Government regard any such expectation as impracticable and have no such aim in view. Nor have they at any time contemplated, as appears to be feared by the Arab deegation, the disappearance or the subordination of the Arabic population, language, or culture in Palestine. They would draw attention to the fact that the terms of the Declaration referred to do not contemplate that Palestine as a whole should be converted into a Jewish National Home, but that such a Home should be founded `in Palestine.' In this connection it has been observed with satisfaction that at a meeting of the Zionist Congress, the supreme governing body of the Zionist Organization, held at Carlsbad in September, 1921, a resolution was passed expressing as the official statement of Zionist aims "the determination of the Jewish people to live with the Arab people on terms of unity and mutual respect, and together with them to make the common home into a flourishing community, the upbuilding of which may assure to each of its peoples an undisturbed national development." - British White Paper of June 1922

 

Prior to European meddling, Jews and Arabs for the most part throughout history (Alexandria's Golden Age comes to mind) lived side by side in harmony.

 

NORM

[JenellYB]

Thank you, Norm. It has been my understand, and much the conclusion of study, both formal and informal, of the history of the region, that Muslim, Jew, and even Christians most commonly co-habited in a pretty peaceful co-existence with mutual respect. The Christian Crusades had created signficant hostility between Western (Roman Catholic) Christianity and all the others, the Jews, Muslims, and Orthodox Christians, early in the 2nd millenia, but that after that, the Jews, Muslims, and Christians other than Western/Roman settled back into a pretty peaceful co-existence, until the late 19th-early 20th century. Western Imperialism and Colonialism wreaked havok in many regions, and the events of WWII, with the Allied forces breaking up the Ottomon Empire, and then taking to divy up the whole region under the rule of various western powers, to exploit for Western interests, is where major breakdown and chaos really came about in the Middle East. The Muslim Arab people already felt terrible betrayed by Britian and other allied nations, in that they have been promosed autonomous self-rule over their region in return for their joining allied forces in bringing down the Ottoman empire (Theme of Lawrence of Arabia movie). The zionist plan to re-construct a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and displacement of Muslim, Arab, and other non-Jewish peoples, including many Palistineans that were Christians, btw, was insult added to injury when the promise of automomous Arab/Muslim rule was broken, and was really what lit the fuse to the mess it is today.

 

post script...In my RS studies of Islamic history, I was struck by the strong respect of Muhammed and early Islam for both Jews and Christians they co-existed with in the region. It is distressing to me to sooften hear some snippets of text taken from the Koran, out of context, and twisted, (just as some dothe biblical text?) tomake it seem Muslims always hated Jews and were at enmity with them. The hostility between Muhammed and his followers and a certain group of merchants/opportunitists at Medina involved the merchants having broken agreements and betrayed Mohammed and his group, in a plot to plunder them. Those merchants happened to be Jews, though history noted they were at best casual or nominal in their religious observance, and that conflict has been taken out of context to claim hatred by Muhammed of Jews, that wasn't the case at all. Further, when the betrayal and plot was foiled, Muhammed showed mercy, instead of the usual and accepted and expected consequences that might have been imposed, death to all the traitors involved, Mohammed let them go under demand they leave that area. Which, turned out to create more problems down the road and those he let go returned to cause yet more touble again,and before it was done, yes, many of them were killed by Mohammed's followers. Killings that were, within the time and culture, entirely acceptable and understandable.

 

Jenell

[JenellYB]

George,

First I didn't intend to open up such a can of worms, and must say I definitely am not trying to advance arguments that are anti-semetic or discredit the true Jewishness, or descendancy from people of ancient Israel of todays Jews.

 

Second, you are correct. I should not have entered this territory with ready sources for reference. My primary "sources" for much of this have been several PBS documentaries, and as yet I've not been able to locate them on PBS website where I might reference to them. Several of those documentaries were on the global genome projects (one is a National Geographic project) using DNA to track migrations of peoples throughout history and pre-history that were general, global, and also one more specific to the origins of the Hebrew peoples that combined DNA and archiological evidence to present a theory of the origins of the Hebrew people.

 

I will try to clarify several points of misunderstanding that seem to be involved here, state my intended points, then drop it unless and until I can locate such further references. However, there is support for some of this in the article Dutch linked to. While it is primary about the one segment of the present Jewish p[opulation, that article does get into some that is common to all Jewish history and geneology as well.

 

First, the East European/Eurasian origins of the Hebrew people I'm refering to are NOT those of recent times, the evidence of more recent infusion of DNA from those regions since the Diaspora....I was referring to the period of time 3500-4000 yrs ago, Pre-Egyptian captivity. Genesis period.

 

The gist of that is that the predecessors of the Hebrew people were part of a significant wave of migrations from Eastern Europe and Eurasia southward into the Mediterranian/middle eastern and as far as Egypt, North Africa, some 3500-4000 years ago. It is speculated that what was to become the Hebrew people, the first Hebrew being represented as Abraham, arose out of the combination of people of that wave of migration with Canaanite populations.

 

Next, there is archiological and historical evidence of an event in Egypt, that closely coincides with the Exodus period, in which an Egyptian pharoah, attempting to deal with problems in Egypt involving empact of natural disasters and other factors that had negatively affected Egypt's economy and social structures, ordered all non-Egyptians to leave Egypt. The term found within some of the archiological record of that event in connection to those ordered to leave was "hebrus" or "hebros"...I am not sure of the exact spelling at the moment, and am looking for some resources for this).

 

The situation sounds not unlike the kind of reaction Germans may have had, or, closer to home, the public outcry to drive out illegal aliens here in the US, for deciding 'foreigners' were the cause of problems.

 

That term "hebros" was one in common use throughout much of the Mediterranian/middle east regions and meant "fugitive" or "refugee". It was applied to people either displaced from their homelands or that simply belonged to no particular country, It is certainly not a far jump from that word to "Hebrews." It is also consistent with biblical accounts of why Abraham's descendants entered Egypt in the first place, they were refugees from ravages of drought on their own land. It would also have possibly have been applied to the people we are considering here, even before that period, as far back as into that original wave of migration into Canaan from the north.

 

The paper Dutch linked to does mention the pre-historical orgins of hebrews as having involved migration of people from the north of the canaan/Israel region, as a contributing source of DNA in the original Hebrew/Israelite people. It is evidence of THIS DNA evidence within in common between Jews and Palistineans, that provides the first link between the geneology of the two populations.

 

Some of the second links between Palistinean and Jewish popluations as having common ancestry is covered in the article in Dutch's link, which is some DNA evidence that connect present day Jews, to that of the cohen, or priestly class, of ancient Israel. That evidence involves DNA markers that are in common to both today's Jews and that class of ancient Israelites, that is not common in general, non-Jewish populations. It is some of the strongest evidence, or "proof", supporting the position that today's Jews really are the descendants of the people of ancient Israel.

 

But that evidence, proof, is not all rosy for the Jewish people's justfied claim to that land as homeland, for not only do Palistinean peoples share in common with Jews the DNA evidence of the same original migration of peoples from the north, into Canaan, in Abrahamic period, but there is also a signficant occurence of these same markers connected to the cohen as ancestors, as well. This too is covered in the article Dutch linked to.

 

The dilema is, to accept that DNA evidence that links present day Jews to the cohen, the priestly class of ancient Israel, is to also have to accept that many among the Palistinean population have those same markers, which would link them, too, to ancient Israel.

 

Jenell

[GeorgeW]

George,

Next, there is archiological and historical evidence of an event in Egypt, that closely coincides with the Exodus period, in which an Egyptian pharoah, attempting to deal with problems in Egypt involving empact of natural disasters and other factors that had negatively affected Egypt's economy and social structures, ordered all non-Egyptians to leave Egypt. The term found within some of the archiological record of that event in connection to those ordered to leave was "hebrus" or "hebros"...I am not sure of the exact spelling at the moment, and am looking for some resources for this).

 

The word you are probably referencing is apiru. It is possibly related to 'ibri the Hebrew word for Hebrew. What is notable is that this is the only mention in the huge Egyptian record that possibly could reference the Jews' (Hebrews then) presence in Egypt.

 

George

[NORM]

Western Imperialism and Colonialism wreaked havok in many regions, and the events of WWII, with the Allied forces breaking up the Ottomon Empire...

 

Actually, it was WWI, not WWII.

 

 

NORM

[JenellYB]

Norm, Oops...I did type II, didn't I ? You are correct.

Jenell

[NORM]

Norm, Oops...I did type II, didn't I ? You are correct.

Jenell

 

I figured it was a slippery keyboard!

 

BTW, this subject brings up an interesting point made by Condoleezza Rice (yep, that's right - W's SecofState). In an interview published in The Atlantic, she reflected on the current Israeli / Palestinian conflict and offered this nugget of hope:

 

Toward the end of our first interview, I asked Rice whether the hopeful narrative of Arab countries holding free elections and moving forward toward democracy risks ignoring 500 years of tragic history in the Middle East.

“It’s not hopefulness,” she said crisply, interrupting me. “It’s a sense of what is possible, and optimism about the strength of democratic institutions.

“Let me ask you this,” she continued, wagging her head back and forth, taking pleasure in the clash of ideas. “Not that long ago—you said 500 years, but not that long ago, say, 1944, or maybe even 1946—would anybody have said that France and Germany would never go to war again? Anyone?” - Interviews: "Travels With Condi" David Samuels, author of "Grand Illusions" - June, 2007 The Atlantic

 

NORM

[JenellYB]

Norm, you have no idea how bad this keyboard on this laptop is! I have a desktop but its not so convenent to dit in here in the LP chair with, so they laptop gets the heavy duty work. My kids gave this laptop to me 5 yrs ago, my first laptop. Not only do a lot of keys stick, you may have noticed (ha ha I'll bet!) that the space bar sicks BAD, espeically in humid weather. My kids all laugh at this laptop....the same one they got the grandkids at the same cratered months ago, ,mines the only one still going.

but it'ds the keyboard that eeverybody reaslly does a double take on and wonder,What's those black spots on the key Csn't even see the characters on the keys because there some black stuff on them, most you can barely see the orginal silver color around the edges

Grandson hsd some super keyboard cleaner, was going to get those gunky black spots off....until he dicovered these weren't spots ON the keys, the are black HOLES in the silver paint. The underlying black plastic is showing through. And since the worn black spot on many are right where the printied character used to i be so that;s gone, too, its aweful about loosing your place on the blank keys.

[glintofpewter]

Next, there is archiological and historical evidence of an event in Egypt, that closely coincides with the Exodus period

 

Jenell,

Are you talking about the expulsion of the Hyksos?

 

Dutch

[glintofpewter]

from Wikipedia (this entry on the exodus has an attitude but I think the following accurate.

 

Modern theories on the date - all of them popular rather than scholarly - tend to concentrate on an "early" Exodus, prior to c.1440 BC. The major candidates are:

 

The 2006 History Channel documentary The Exodus Decoded revived an idea first put forward by the 1st century AD Jewish historian Josephus, identifying the Israelites with the Hyksos, the non-Egyptian rulers of Egypt expelled by the resurgent native Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, c.1550-1530 BC. However, there are numerous difficulties with the theory, and it is dismissed by scholars.[41][42]

...

From time to time there have been attempts to link the Exodus with the eruption of the Aegean volcano of Thera in c.1600 BC on the grounds that it could provide a natural explanation of the Plagues of Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea. This theory was discussed in the History Channel documentary, and also covered in the 2009 book by geologist Barbara J Sivertsen, The Parting of the Sea: How Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Plagues Shaped the Story of the Exodus.[45]