Khazaria: Prof. Abraham Polak And The Suppressed History of the Khazars and European Jewry

Abraham Polak: 1910-1970

Professor Shlomo Sand, a well-known historian from Tel Aviv University, has suggested that the history of the Khazars was once an "open secret" in Palestine and early Israel until the Six-Day War. While this may seem like an exaggeration, historical evidence supports the idea that this topic was a subject of serious academic study within Israel, and even before the Nakba of 1948.

The first major scientific investigation into the Khazars and their potential connection to European Jewry was conducted not at a European institution, but at Tel Aviv University by historian Professor Abraham Polak. His work, "Khazaria: The History of a Jewish Kingdom in Europe," broke new ground by drawing on Arab, Turkic, and Kurdish sources, making him a pioneer in the field. Several key points about Polak's work are notable:

Why do we keep running into Jews, who were tested to be 100% Ashkenazi, but have clear Asian Tatari Turkic features?

• Suppression and Revival: Polak's book, first published in 1943, was reprinted three times, with the final Israeli printing in 1951. However, the topic was later suppressed despite the book being widely cited by scholars.
• Widespread Acclaim: The book received significant praise from Jewish communities worldwide at the time of its publication.
• A Playlist Of Short Clips Of Jews Sharing Their DNA Test Results
  The Yiddish Connection: Polak's research, which aligns with findings from other scholars like Eron Elhaik, suggests that Yiddish may have initially developed in Crimea, not Germany, challenging a widely held belief about its origins.

Polak continued to discuss the topic until he died in 1969, and his research remains a crucial, though often overlooked, contribution to the study of the Khazar kingdom and its possible impact on the formation of European Jewish populations.

Why do we keep running into Jews who were tested to be 100% Ashkenazi but have clear Asian Tatari Turkic features?

Finally, we would like to end this article on a personal note that some may find interesting. The author of this page worked for decades in Chicago and ran into tens of Ukrainian and Belarusian Ashkenazi Jews (many of whom recently arrived after the Soviet Union collapsed). On many occasions, it was made clear that it is common knowledge among Ashkenazi Jews that they are much closer to Genghis Khan than to Abraham. This was a folk joke often spoken of between Ashkenazi Jews that still exists in Jewish oral history, and that is very revealing. On another occasion, a Rabbi in the Chicago area was asked about the Red Jews, and he confirmed what we know on this page, but ended the conversation by saying: Yes, that is true, but we Jews don't like to talk about them! Well, now we know why!

Map of the Khazar Empire. Source: Atlas of World History, p. 108

In a nutshell, what was written here is an open secret in Jewish communities around the world. The only conspiracy here is calling the Khazar theory a conspiracy. As Mr. Sand pointed out earlier, the Jews used to speak openly about Khazars until the 6-Day War, and that easily could be verified by examining what the Jews wrote. Anyhow, make sure to browse the related links below; they contain much relevant information.