Rising anti-Semitism: ‘The Pianist’ actress considers leaving UK

[starroute]

13. 4000 years of what?

In 2000 BC, there was no anti-Semitism. In fact, there were no Jews. There were only Canaanites, worshipping their traditional pantheon of gods, until about 1200 BC, when a collapse of the mainstream Canaanite culture led to a cultural revolution in the hill country further inland.

According to Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman's The Bible Unearthed:

"These surveys revolutionized the study of early Israel. The discovery of the remains of a dense network of highland villages -- all apparently established within the span of a few generations -- indicated that a dramatic social transformation had taken place in the central hill country of Canaan around 1200 BCE. There was no sign of violent invasion or even the infiltration of a clearly defined ethnic group. Instead, it seemed to be a revolution in lifestyle. In the formerly sparsely populated highlands from the Judean hills in the south to the hills of Samaria in the north, far from the Canaanite cities that were in the process of collapse and disintegration, about two-hundred fifty hilltop communities suddenly sprang up. Here were the first Israelites."