Brit-Am Criteria in Action.

Just because a people were anti-Jewish at some point in history does not mean they are not Israelites!
Nevertheless, an overall view of the matter has significance.
So too, the historical presence of Israelites in the past is not sufficient evidence in itself of present-day descent from Hebrews.
More is needed.
Keeping the Law is a prerequisite for Dwelling in the Land of Israel.
Nevertheless, in the End Times indications are that most of the Ten Tribes will renew the Covenant and Keep the Law AFTER they have begun to return.
These and other issues are discussed in this article.

Stephen Phillips: Ephraimite Criteria Not Applicable? Brit-Am Answer.
re
"Brit-Am Now" no. 3532.
#3. Steve Phillips an alternate view. Spain Tested.
https://hebrewnations.com/features/now23/3532.html#a3

Stephen Phillips wrote to us:

# As for your 'Ephraimite Criteria', it is one thing to recognise certain traits amongst the tribes of Israel, but when you start using it as a means of divination to identify which are the Israelite tribes, then this is what is known as pseudo-science. I would draw your attention to the fact that there has, throughout history, been enmity between Israel and Judah. Let's look at the hard facts.
When Israel complained about the burden of the work being laid upon them, Rehoboam responded with "And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions." (1 Kings 12:11 & 2 Chron. 10:11-14. A scorpion, for those who might not know, is a knotted whip, usually comprising metal balls with spikes on the end of a series of thongs.) This response caused a rift between the houses of Israel and Judah causing the Ten Tribes to break away from Judah.
"And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days." (1 Kings 14:30 & 2 Chron. 12:15.)
"And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?" (2 Kings 13:12.)
"And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam [II]." (1 Kings 15:7.)
"Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him." (2 Kings 16:5.)
"In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah." (2 Chron. 16:1.)
"And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the store cities of Naphtali." (2 Chron. 16:4.)
"Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still." (Isa. 9:21.)
Your 'Ephraimite Criteria' fails miserably in all of the above examples. This enmity between Israel and Judah will last right up to the time the LORD redeems the outcasts of the Ten Tribes of Israel:
"And He will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the dispersed of Israel, and gather together the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth. [At that time] The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim." (Isa. 11:13.)
By claiming that someone is not Israelite if they do not conform to your Ephraimite Criteria is therefore totally spurious. Just because someone is Jewish likewise does not mean that they cannot fail your Ephraimite test. Menashe "did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD" (2 Kings 21:2.) "Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD." (2 Kings 21:16.) His son Amon was likewise evil. As was Jehoiakim (son of Josiah 2 Kings 23:36-7) and Jehoaichin (son of Jehoiakim 2 Kings 24:8-9) and Zedekiah. (Consider also people today like George Soros who is effectively a traitor to Jews.) Once again, your Ephraimite Criteria simply does not work, and when you reject evidence on the basis that it does not meet your Ephraimite Criteria, then you cannot claim to be doing serious research...
I would also point out that the return to keeping the law of Moses is a PREREQUISITE to the return of the Ten Tribes:
"And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice ACCORDING TO ALL THAT I COMMAND THEE THIS DAY, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That THEN the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and WILL RETURN AND GATHER THEE FROM ALL THE NATIONS, WHITHER THE LORD THY GOD HATH SCATTERED THEE." (Deut. 30:1-3.)
You don't seem to realise that this return to keeping the law of Moses is a prerequisite for their return to the land of Israel. I do agree with you, however, that this return has to be at the appointed time. #

Brit-Am Reply:
We perused your article,

The Forgotten Tribe of Naphtali and the Phoenicians

https://www.academia.edu/119651593/The_Forgotten_Tribe_of_Naphtali_and_the_Phoenicians

It has some good points, e.g.

According to the Midrash, each of the twelve tribes of Israel had their own flag, the colour of which matched the colour of their stone on the High Priest’s breastplate. Joseph’s flag was black. 871 It is therefore no coincidence that the flags of Cornwall and of Brittany, as well as the flag of pre-Christian Mercia (named after Machir son of Menashe), are black with white markings.

Your "article" is actually the size of a lengthy book replete with copious details and academic observations. You could make several works out of it. We hope to go through your work again later at a more leisurely pace. On some points your conclusions and observations are similar to our own. Elsewhere you say much we would be quite reserved about. Your emphasis on the meaning of names and the liberty you take in interpreting them in many cases seems questionable. Others have probably said the same about us but it is not the same.

Your understanding of the early history of the British Isles and its relatively very late settlement is interesting and possibly valuable.
You seem to wish to include among those peoples in Europe identifiable as descendants of Israelite Tribes polities such as Portugal and Spain. We agree that Israelites did pass through those areas but opine that they moved on and out of them.
Even so, there is nothing wrong per se in your attitude and the more research you do (and we also do) the better for everybody.

Your e-mail message seemed to take issue with our "Ephraim Criteria" especially as applied to Spain and Portugal.
In
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/biblical-proof/criteria/spaintest.html
We applied 10 of our Ephraimite Criteria to Spain.
In
Criteria Defined!
https://hebrewnations.com/hebrewn/7wonders.html
we reduced the Criteria to 7
based on 3 main priciples that still hold.

(1) Belief in the Bible.

(2) Acceptance of the Jews as Judah.

(3) The Lost Ten Tribes Identified as specific nations and groups now present among Western Peoples.

in our article:
Return of Ephraim
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/zionism/return.html
The 7 criteria were reduced to 5 by combining some of the 7.

5 Criteria.
1. Scripture: Biblical Evidence predicting whereto the Lost Ten Tribes would go, what type of religion and government they would have, etc.This includes Blessings, and Physical Characteristics.
2, Historical feasibility. Groundwork: Archaeological, Linguistics, and Related Proofs showing paths of migration.
This includes. Familial Connections. part of a family related to each other.
3. Judah: Affinity with the Jews. : This entails proven feelings of kinship and sympathy with the Jews and a Relative Lack of Anti-Semitism when compared with others.
4. Light to the Nations. A Civilizing Influence.
5. Intrinsic Evidence. Characteristics that emanate from the "soul" of the people.
This includes Israelite Self-Identification and/or Tribal Equation. Points in History where some kind of identification with the early Hebrews was asserted, OR in which Israelite tribes traits came to expression.

Spain and Portugal might, or might not, scape by on points 1 and 2. They fall down drastically on points 3, 4, 5.

Despite this, it should be noted that:
These are not articles of faith. No-one has to accept them.
Brit-Am uses them as tools to work with and they work.

You counter us on the issue of anti-Semitism. For that you go to the Bible listing examples where the Israelite Tribes were at war with each other or acted cruelly towards each other, or were simply evil and oppressed themselves. Fair enough. The overall view has to be taken into account. That is history. An example is the British Presence in Palestine. Under the British the Jewish Presence grew from ca. 20,000 in 1917 to ca. 600,000 in 1948. On the way there were times when the British were not as pro-Jewish as we think they should have been. The Overall Picture however is what counts and overall they were positive. Books have been written on this. We ourselves have a work in preparation on the matter that may evenually see the Light of Day.

You said:

You don't seem to realise that this return to keeping the law of Moses is a prerequisite for their return to the land of Israel. I do agree with you, however, that this return has to be at the appointed time.

We say that inidivual descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes do not have to convert to Judaism at present unless they wish to do so. If they desire to come and live in the Holy Land they probably should convert. Keeping the Law of Moses is connected to remaining in the Promised Land. We have spoken of this often. We have Biblical Quotations concerning it. Nevertheless, indications are that when the Ten Tribes return as a group most of them will only accept the Law AFTER returning to the Land, see the quotation from Ezekiel 11 below.

Quotes. Settlement in Israel by Nachmanides quotations/settlement2.html
https://hebrewnations.com/quotations/settlement2.html

Quotes. Settlement in Israel-a quotations/settlement1.html
https://hebrewnations.com/quotations/settlement1.html

The Almighty gave the Land to the Israelites as their Inheritance, their Land. They also had to keep the Law.

Leviticus (NASB)18:
26 BUT AS FOR YOU, YOU ARE TO KEEP MY STATUTES AND MY JUDGMENTS AND SHALL NOT DO ANY OF THESE ABOMINATIONS, NEITHER THE NATIVE, NOR THE ALIEN WHO SOJOURNS AMONG YOU...28 SO THAT THE LAND WILL NOT SPEW YOU OUT, SHOULD YOU DEFILE IT, AS IT HAS SPEWED OUT THE NATION WHICH HAS BEEN BEFORE YOU.

Leviticus (NASB) 20:
22 YOU ARE THEREFORE TO KEEP ALL MY STATUTES AND ALL MY ORDINANCES AND DO THEM, SO THAT THE LAND TO WHICH I AM BRINGING YOU TO LIVE WILL NOT SPEW YOU OUT.

On the one hand, this applies in our time. On the other hand Prophecy indicates that at the iniital stage during the Time of Return the Israelites will not initially keep the Law but rather repent and return to do so after the Return has begun.

Ezekiel 11:
14 THEN THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO ME: 15 MORTAL, YOUR KINSFOLK, YOUR OWN KIN, YOUR FELLOW EXILES, THE WHOLE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, ALL OF THEM, ARE THOSE OF WHOM THE INHABITANTS OF JERUSALEM HAVE SAID, THEY HAVE GONE FAR FROM THE LORD; TO US THIS LAND IS GIVEN FOR A POSSESSION. 16 THEREFORE SAY: THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD: THOUGH I REMOVED THEM FAR AWAY AMONG THE NATIONS, AND THOUGH I SCATTERED THEM AMONG THE COUNTRIES, YET I HAVE BEEN A SANCTUARY TO THEM FOR A LITTLE WHILE IN THE COUNTRIES WHERE THEY HAVE GONE. 17 THEREFORE SAY: THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD: I WILL GATHER YOU FROM THE PEOPLES, AND ASSEMBLE YOU OUT OF THE COUNTRIES WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN SCATTERED, AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE LAND OF ISRAEL. 18 WHEN THEY COME THERE, THEY WILL REMOVE FROM IT ALL ITS DETESTABLE THINGS AND ALL ITS ABOMINATIONS. 19 I WILL GIVE THEM ONE HEART, AND PUT A NEW SPIRIT WITHIN THEM; I WILL REMOVE THE HEART OF STONE FROM THEIR FLESH AND GIVE THEM A HEART OF FLESH, 20 SO THAT THEY MAY FOLLOW MY STATUTES AND KEEP MY ORDINANCES AND OBEY THEM. THEN THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE, AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD. 21 BUT AS FOR THOSE WHOSE HEART GOES AFTER THEIR DETESTABLE THINGS AND THEIR ABOMINATIONS, I WILL BRING THEIR DEEDS UPON THEIR OWN HEADS, SAYS THE LORD GOD.

Ezekiel (37:15-28) saw the return of the Ten Tribes as an indispensable requirement for the deliverance of Israel and Judah.

When the Lost Ten Tribes return they will do so as major bodies of people rather than as inidividuals or small family groups. At all events these are future happenings. Maimonides emphasized that we will not really know how these matters turn out until they actually do so.

Continued at: The Magical Five no.2.