From Mrs M. K. Loncar Sir: Surely Mr Adler has
misread Marion Woolfson's letter? She did not give it as her own opinion that the Arabs were descended from the Amalekites, but quoted from an Israeli, 'book. I agree, and probably she does, that this choice of ancestral tribe for the Arabs is far from convincing. In fact it is generally thought that the two races are from the same stock, and traditional ancestors named for the Arabs have included Ishmael, Abraham's son by Hagar, and Esau, Jacob's twin brother. Esau, of course, is also known as Edom, and I would draw the attention of Israelis to a text they may have overlooked.
" You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land." Deuteronomy 23.vii RSV.
M. K. Loncar Hill View, 2 Kings Road, Malvern Wells, Worcestershire
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