Israel wal-Talmud - Dirasah Tahliliyyah
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Wa'y al-'Arabi
Israel wal-Talmud – Dirasah Tahliliyyah (Israel and the Talmud: An Analytical Study) is a polemical and analytical work on Jewish scripture and Zionist ideology written by the Egyptian scholar and former Christian clergyman Ibrahim Khalil Ahmad in 1967 .
Background and Context
The book was completed in Cairo on October 2, 1967, in the immediate aftermath of the 1967 Arab–Israeli war . The author—who had previously served as an Evangelical pastor and professor of doctrine and theology at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Asyut before converting to Islam—aimed to present Arab readers with an examination of the religious foundations and rabbinic literature behind contemporary Zionism . He argued that the rabbis composed the Talmud centuries after Moses, prioritized it over the Torah, and derived from it doctrines and political ambitions affecting modern events .
Structure and Contents
The work consists of an introduction followed by three main parts:
- Part One: The Origin of the Talmud (Mansha' al-Talmud): Surveys Jewish history across late antiquity (from 135 to 565 CE and 135 to 361 CE), the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the dispersion of Jewish communities . It analyzes the role of rabbis and scribes, the codification of the Mishnah, Gemara, Halakha, and Haggadah, and examines legal principles, social life, and the status of women under Talmudic regulations .
- Part Two: Samples from the Talmud (Namadhij min al-Talmud): Discusses the emergence of the Hebrew language, translations of the Torah, the relationship between Samaritans and Jews, biblical narratives, and the depiction of the Children of Israel in the Gospels . It includes extracts demonstrating Talmudic theological concepts and anthropomorphic descriptions compiled during the first six centuries CE .
- Part Three: The Zionist Protocol (al-Brutukul al-Sahyuni): Divided into three chapters dealing with Jewish religious rites, global Jewish political structures—including the Zionist movement, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, international Jewish organizations, the League of Nations, and the United Nations—and reactions against these movements alongside anti-Semitism .
The book concludes with a bibliography of principal sources .
Publication History
The work was first published in Cairo in 1967 by Maktabat al-Wa'y al-Arabi (owned by Ra'uf Nu'man) and printed by Dar al-'Ahd al-Jadid lil-Tiba'ah . It was reissued by the same publishing house in 1403 AH (c. 1982–1983 CE), and later published by Dar al-Manar in 1410 AH / 1990 CE .
Answer updated