The fact is that some Pashtun tribes have a tradition of being the people of Israel (Bene Israel), meaning they descended from our father Yaakov. It is even told that the Afghan king once asked the Afghan Jews from which tribe they are, when they answered they don’t know the king said that the Pashtuns do, and that the king is from the tribe of Benyamin. In particular, I heard myself from Pashtuns from the tribes of Lewani, Benyamin, Afridi, Shinwari and more, that their grandfathers told them they are Bene Israel, and it is well known that this tradition is spread through most (or all) of the Pashtuns tribes.
Some Pashtuns, especially from young generations, are doubting that this is true. In this article I’ll explore the possibilities of how this tradition could have originated. From this exploration it will become clear that doubting the truthfulness of this tradition is irrational. I would also outline some common traditions of Pashtuns and Jews, some of them are based on the Tora, which further confirm that this tradition is true and that Pashtuns are really Bene Israel. I’ll then say a few words about DNA testing and finally talk about the implications of this tradition.
Common traditions of Pashtuns and Jews
You will see soon that there are many similarities between Pashtuns and Jews, including parts of the Tora the Pashtuns still keep today. In my opinion it is enough, even on its own, to prove that Pashtuns are in fact Bene/Bani Israel, but even if you think it isn’t enough, the similarities can certainly be used for further confirmation that our conclusion is correct. One note – when I wrote “some Pashtuns” do this or that, instead of just “Pashtuns”, it is either because I know that some Pashtuns don’t keep the particular tradition, or because I’m not sure everyone does, but don’t know for sure that some don’t. Please also note that I only wrote here customs that I personally heard from Pashtuns that Pashtuns keep and didn’t relay on anything I found on the web, so if you, dear reader, are a Pashtun, and you never heard of one of these customs, it means that Pashtuns that live elsewhere are keeping it but not in your area. Amongst the common traditions are:
Some Pashtuns pour and cover the blood with sand after slaughtering chickens and other animals (not just for cleaning). As far as I know, the Pashtuns don’t know why they do that, but Jews do (Leviticus 17:13): “And every man from the people of Israel and the converts who live amongst you that will hunt certain types of animals or birds that are aloud to be eaten, will pour their blood and cover it with earth (Jews do it with sand too)”. (my translation). What’s also interesting is that they don’t just do it according to written Tora, but actually do it according to oral Tora law (Mishna Holin 2:9) that states that the blood should flow to the hole in the ground from outside, rather than slaughtering the animal directly over the hole.
Here is a photo of Pashtuns practicing this commandment (click if you have no problem seeing a slaughered ox):
Lighting candles on Fridays before dark.
Some Pashtuns have a strict rule as to not do laundry on Shabbath (Saturday), which is a law from the oral Tora (written in the Mishna and Talmud).
Not eating sea-creatures such as lobsters, shrimps, and crabs, and animals like camels and horses (which is written explicitly in the Tora), and meat with cheese (which is a law of the oral Tora). Some Pashtuns even use separate dishes for milk products and cheese, and some even wait some time between eating meat and milk products, just like Jews do. (See Leviticus 11:4, 11:10, and see Exodus 23:19 which, according to the oral Tora, forbids eating meat with milk products).
Some Pashtuns don’t eat milk with fish, like Sfaradic Jews.
Some Pashtuns don’t drink or eat Camel milk, just like Jews.
Some Pashtuns put salt on fresh meat to get the blood out. Jews do the same thing (Leviticus 17:10). (Actually, from the Tora it is forbidden to eat blood, but we aren’t sure whether the Tora only forbids fresh blood or cooked blood too, and if the first is correct, then cooked blood is forbidden only by a Sanhedrin (high court) made commandment. By extracting the blood from meat before cooking, we can learn from the Pashtuns that if it is only a Sanhedrin made commandment, the Sanhedrin that forbade it was probably from the era of the prophets, before the exile of the Pashtuns from the holy land.)
Both Pashtuns and Jews are checking eggs for blood, not just out of hygiene, and if they find it, they throw the whole egg, in accordance with Leviticus 17:10.
After the slaughtering of an animal, Pashtuns rub the blood on their doors.
This was done by the people of Israel on Pesah, right before the exodus form Egypt (Exodus 12). It is not done by Jews today (as far as I know), so I thought this is an Israelite custom that was kept by Pashtuns and lost to Jews, until I told my mother (Iraqi Jew that ran away from Iraq in 1948 as a baby) about it, and she said they used to always do it in their village here in Israel and only stopped when they moved to the city (where we don’t own our own animals anyway). So until very recently, Jews used to do the exact same thing.
Some Pashtuns take a black sheep or chicken, place their sins upon them and then send them into the desert.
The Jews don’t do this today, but the people of Israel used to do it on Yom Kipur in the temple with a goat (Leviticus 16:21-22): “And Aaron shall lean both of his hands upon the live goat’s head and confess upon it all the willful transgressions of the children of Israel, all their rebellions, and all their unintentional sins, and he shall place them on the goat’s head, and send it off to the desert with a timely man. The goat shall thus carry upon itself all their sins to a precipitous land, and he shall send off the goat into the desert.”
Lighting candles in cemeteries. Jews do this too for the benefit of the soul of the dead.
Pashto Lullabies have words similar to the names of God in Hebrew – Eloah, and to the word Haleluyah.
Pashtuns shake their bodies while praying. Jews do the same thing.
Circumcision. Some Pashtuns are even doing it specifically on the 8th day (Genesis 17:9-14, and other places).
As a part of the Pashtunwali (the unwritten code of the Pashtuns way of life), Pashtuns respect an older brother like a father. This is also a law from the oral Tora.
In Pashto, the days of the week are called by their numbers, like in Hebrew, except for Friday which is called by it’s Arabic name as it is a holy day for Muslims, and except for Saturday which is called Shambah. In the Tora it is called Shabath.
When a guest of Pashtuns leaves, they accompany him at least a bit for his safety in his trip. According to Judaism, Jews are obligated to do the same thing (Talmud Sota 46). (I must note that this might be a custom of other nations too.)
When a Pashtun sees a funeral he joins it or at least accompany the body for a few steps. According to Judaism, Jews are obligated to do the same thing (Talmud Berahot 18). (I must note that this custom is common amongst Muslims in general and not just Pashtuns.)
Wearing a small hat, In Hebrew they are called Kipa:
A Jew, according to the Tora, must start keeping all the commandments when he reaches the age of 13 for males and 12 for females. Pashtuns, too, consider those ages as the ages when a male/female becomes an adult, and start keeping Islamic commandments like fasting on the Ramadan.
Pashtun men wear a square piece of clothing. In Pashton it is called Shawl/Sadaar and in Hebrew it is called Talith:
(I should note that the image has an error, and Tzitzit is the name of the straps at the corner of the Talith, and not those in the middle. Still, the resemblance is obvious.)
A man marries his dead brother’s widow. In the Tora it is called Yibum (Deuteronomy 25:5).
In Weddings there’s a piece of fabric hanging above the marrying couple. In Hebrew it is called Hupa (mentioned in many places in the Mishna and Talmud). In Pashto it is called Dolaye.
In some Pashtuns weddings, the bride breaks a glass and sometimes the groom does it (in particular, I heard it is done by Pashtuns in Kandagar). And some times they break clay plates. In Jews’ weddings the groom breaks a glass, but a few centuries ago, in some countries, Jews broke clay too (Kaf Ha Hayim 560:21). This is actually a relatively new tradition that Jews do for the remembrance of the destroyed Temple, so it is likely that Pashtuns heard of this tradition after they have already been exiled and added it to their other Israeli traditions.
In weddings, Pashtuns take the groom over the shoulders and dance with him. Jews do the same thing.
The people of Israel used to sacrifice animals when someone committed a sin or when someone had something to be thankful for (Jews don’t do it today because it is forbidden outside the temple). Pashtuns do a similar thing even today with a sheep or a goat which are both Kosher for sacrifice according to the Tora.
Some Pashtuns (mainly women but also some men) grow curly side brows (called Kamsai in Pashto). A lot of Jewish males do that too (mainly Hasidim (Ashkenazi) and Yemen Jews). This is a Yemanite Jewish child:
After cutting nails, both Pashtuns and Jews burn or bury them or put them some place where no one would step on them, as written in the Talmud (Moed Katan 18). (This custom might be common amongst Muslims in general and not just Pashtuns.)
Pashtuns pay attention to bury a body on the same day the person past away, which is a commandment of the oral Tora (Talmud, Sanhedrin 46).
Pashtuns also make sure that until the burial, the body is not left alone. Jews do that too.
Both Pashtuns and Jews put stones on graves, but this custom might be common to other nations too.
Some Pashtuns and Jews pray to God to have mercy on them by remembering the righteous who are now dead (like Moses did Exodus 32:13), and sometimes ask the dead to pray to God on their behalf.
A lot of Jews have a custom to pray near graves of the righteous (needless to say we only pray to God and not to the dead). It is usually done when someone is having health problems or when a women is having trouble getting pregnant, and one’s prayers are not answered. In particular, I can say that my grandmother couldn’t conceive for 4 years until she went to the grave of Ezra (Uzair, in today’s Iraq)… 9 months later my aunt was born. That is why many Iraqi Jews were named Ezra or Yehezkel (as their graves are in Iraq), and thousands of Jews can tell you the same story about themselves. Pashtuns do the same thing, even though it is prohibited in Islam.
Both Pashtuns and Jews light candles, pray and give charity to the poor for the benefit of the soul of the dead, especially during the first year, read verses of their holy books near their graves (Jews from Psalms/Zabur and Pashtuns from Quran), and pray to God to give them children so they’ll pray for them in due time (And if anyone would tell you it has anything to do with Hinduism or something, it’s false, as some Jews who were never anywhere near to any Hindu are doing it).
During the first week or month after a close family member died, some Pashtuns and all Jews don’t hear music, are not being intimate with their spouse, and don’t shave.
During the first year after a close family member died both don’t celebrate (like going to weddings), don’t buy new clothes and at the end of the first year both go to the grave to read Psalms/Quran. Each year afterwards, both have a custom of fasting or giving charity, and going to the grave of the desist.
Some Pashtuns have a custom of making a hole in one ear of a male child when he is born… some say the hole is to show tell that the child is a slave of Paraoh. In Deuteronomy 15 it is a commandment that an Israeli slave that chooses to be a slave gets a hole in his ear to show that he chose slavery although God released him from the slavery of Paraoh.
Pashtuns pay attention not to get a hair cut during the night. Following the Kabala (the books of Rabbie Yisshak Luriya), Jews do that too.
There is a commandment in the Tora called Neder, which means that if someone says, for example he will give money to charity, then he must do it even if when he said it he was alone and only God heard it. Pashtuns also do that too.
Attan, the national dance of Pashtuns, has some similarities (especially with the movement of the legs) to Hora and Hasidic dancing of Jews.
Some Pashtuns only extinguish candles with 2 fingers instead of blowing them out, just like many Jews do (Ben Ish Hai – Pinhas 18 in the name of Ari, our Master of Kabala, Shaar Ruah Ha Kothesh, and Kaf Hahayim – Yore Dea 116:115).
Some Pashtuns never pee towards west, which is the direction of Israel/Jerusalem from Afghanistan, just like Jews, in accordance with the Talmud. If one looks at a map, he can also notice that Macca is south-west from Afghanistan. We can’t be sure about this one, because the west direction might have been chosen as an important direction because of Macca, not paying enough attention that it is south-west, but there might be something here, because the direction of Macca is south-west, and it is specifically the west direction that is important, and not south. In addition, I was told by Pashtuns that they don’t pee towards Jerusalem, and not that they don’t pee towards west or to Macca.
Some Pashtuns are praying towards west. This is too a law from the oral Tora (written in the Talmud) and the same analysis for the custom of not peeing towards west applies here too.
A nearly extinct Pashtuns’ tradition is to not count Pashtuns. Today, some Pashtuns are careful not to let anyone count their children, and others are careful not to count any group of loved ones. Jews do the same thing, only we don’t count any group of Jews, as we are commanded in Exodus 30:12.
In islam, circumcision is done privately, and today it is usually done by a dr. Pashtuns, like Jews, are doing it publicly, with food and other celebrations (except for places in which Pashtuns accustomed themselves to the other Muslims surrounding them).
In addition, Pashtuns also put the baby on the laps of the person who is called in Hebrew Sandaq, who is usually the baby’s grandfather or uncle, unlike Muslims who don’t do it.
Still in circumcision, after removing the extra flesh on top, pashtuns squeez a bit to extract more “unpure” blood, in what is called Murdara Weena or Ganda Weena. Jews are doing it a bit differently although i heard that some Jews used to do it exactly like that. Anyway, the principle is the same, and only Israelites do that.
Some Pashtuns, especially in Afghanistan, have a custom that kids should not go to a house where a dead body is present. Some even apply this rule to adults (when they don’t have to go there). It might not be Israelite specific, but it has a basis in the oral Tora, where it says that a person who goes to a house with a body in it becomes unpure, and although Jews today don’t keep it, in ancient days it was kept.
Pashtuns and Jews both have separate grave yards, and won’t bury their dead in grave yards of foreigners, Nor bury foreigners in theirs.
Pashtuns have 2 dishes that should be cooked all night, one is common to other nations around and the other is Landay. Each Jewish community has its own dish that should be cooked all night, because it was the main way to eat warm food on Shabbath, when nothing can be cooked. That dish is called Hamin, and although we don’t have sufficient evidence, it is possible Landay is the Hamin of the Pashtuns.
A few Pashtuns have a custom of couples sleeping in separate rooms or at least separate beds during menstruation. This is also done by Jews.
A few Pashtuns have a tradition not to eat meat if the animal was sloughtered by a non-Pashtun. According to Jewish Kosher laws, an animal that was sloughtered by a non-Israeli is in fact non-Kosher.
I’ve heard there are some parts of an animal the Pashtuns don’t eat and that the way of slaughter of Pashtuns is not identical to other Muslims, but my friend didn’t know exactly what parts nor exactly how it is different. It might fit the Tora laws of slaughtering and Kosher which are more strict than the Islamic law of slaughtering and Halal.
Some Jews and Pashtuns make sure that their shoes won’t stay on the floor upside-down because it is disrespectful to God, so they turn them over making sure they are on the on the right side (hinted in Talmud Yevamoth 25). The rumor says it is considered unIslamic.
Jews tear up their shirt in funerals as a sign of grief, and most Pashtuns do the same (it is based on Genesis 37:34). The rumor says it is considered unIslamic too.
Sometimes a Pashtun woman would wash her husband’s face, hands and feet as a sign of love, which is an ancient Jewish custom (Talmud Nedharim 81).
Muslims are washing their hands 3 times before prayer. Pashtuns, in addition to that are using a Koza to wash their hands before meals – 3 times each hand, then they rub their hands together with 3 pours – right right right, then left left left. After the meal they use only one pour, and only wash the fingers.
Not only that, but after sleeping, they use their Koza 3 times, but then they do it right left right left right left, and of course 3 rubs per hand. (I should note that some Pashtuns are keeping only some of the details.) This is exactly what Jews do, based on the Talmud and Zohar. This is actually not a Tora commandment, but a Rabbie-made-commandment, that was created by a very important Rabbie (who was also a prophet) – king Solomon, according to Talmudh Eruvin 21. Pashtun Koza, followed by Jewish Natlan:
Pashtuns don’t drink water if they were left uncovered for the whole night or even if they were uncovered during the day. Not drinking them because of being uncovered is from from Hadith, but not drinking them because of being uncovered at night or during the day is a Jewish custom (Mishna Terumot 8:4, Talmud Hulin 10).
In some locations (I specifically heard about Mohmand and Bajaur agencies) lands are mainly sold to close relatives, and if it is sold to someone from a different tribe, if the original owner wants it back, he has the first right to buy it back, or even to get it back automatically, or at least a close relative of the original owner. In the Tora it is called Yovel, or in English, Jubilee. According to the Tora it is only relevant in the holy land, but obviously Pashtuns kept practising it even after being exiled.
In earlier times during a war, Pashtuns who just got married weren’t drafted for the first few months after the marriage. This is a commandment of the Tora (Deuteronomy 24:5): “When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out in the army, nor shall he be subjected to anything associated with it. He shall remain free for his home for one year and delight his wife, whom he has taken”.
Both Jews and Pashtuns don’t say their parents name. Even if they are reading a letter in which their father’s name is written, even if it just refers to some other man with the same name as their father, Jews and Pashtuns would not read the father’s name out loud in the presence of their father.
Some Pashtuns clean vegetables from bugs. For example, they take lettuce, take it apart and each leaf is checked and washed thoroughly. While most people wash vegetables from the dirt and chemicals, most of the other nations do not check it for bugs. There are bugs that are stuck to lettuce and similar vegetables so they practically eat bugs, but we have the Tora forbidding it, even when it isn’t disgusting because the bugs are too small to be noticed without a thorough check, so we (the Jews) do it in a similar way as the Pashtuns (although we also put it into water with soup for a few minutes before washing the leaves). Some Pashtuns also use a chaNrawonay (in Hebrew it is called Napa) for filtering flour from bugs.
Some Pashtuns even put Oreze (Orez in Hebrew, rice in English) on a table before cooking it and move it from side to side, then throw away the non-rice things they find which are suspected of being parts of dead bugs, just like we Jews do. Some Pashtuns even put the rice in water, then throw away those that float because they might have bugs’ parts in them, just like we Jews do.
Most of Pashtuns would not marry non-Pashtuns. In some places Pashtuns do marry non-Pashtuns but it is a new phenomenon that didn’t exist until a few decades ago. In some areas of Pashtuns, marrying a non-Pashtun might result in being killed by family members or a change of name to separate the sinners from the pure Pashtuns.
Some Pashtuns would consider a child that has a Pashtun father and a non-Pashtun mother as Pashtuns but some wouldn’t marry them. The are tribes that speak Pashto and sometimes called Pashtuns, but they are not real Pashtuns (they are either Arabs or Greek or have other non-Israelite origin), so the real Pashtuns don’t marry them. Similarly, Jews do not marry non-Jews. If a Jew marries a non-Jewish woman/man, he/she is consider dead, and when he/she dies, the family used to wear nice cloths and celebrate. Amongst Jews, the tribe goes by the father, but being Jewish depends on the mother, so a child that has a Jewish mother but non-Jewish father is a Jew but doesn’t belong to any tribe, and a child that has a Jewish father but non-Jewish mother is not a Jew at all. It is worth noting that a Jew cannot be married to a non-Jew according to Judaism, so a Jew who “married” a non-Jew in any way, does not need to a divorce as they are not really married.When Ezra came from Babylon to Israel, he found out that some Jews “married” non-Jewish women, so he and the rest of the Jews made those people leave those women and their own biological children, because those children were not Jewish and were not even considered their children. Some Pashtuns have family tree scrolls or other documentation of their family history that actually show that the percent of mixing is close to zero. The same is true for Jews.
Some Pashtuns rotate a chicken or money around the head of loved ones for different reasons, like when doing a sacrifice or against evil eye, and then giving the chicken or money to the poor. The Jews are doing exactly the same thing every year on the day before Yom Kipur.
Some Pashtuns have a custom to change the name of a person who is sick, which is very common amongst Jews and is based on the Tora (God changed the name of Avram to Avraham, and his wife Saray to Sara, and although she couldn’t have children until then, a year afterwards our father Yishaq was born). Some Pashtuns would never name a person or a place after a living person, or after a person that died a strange death, which is also very common and basic custom of Jews.
Pashtuns have a custom to not let dogs drink from a cup from which a person drank. Jews have the same custom, but not because a person drank from it but because a person blessed God before eating/drinking, calling God’s name over the food or drink, which gives it extra importances and requires us to treat it with extra respect.
Some Pashtuns wear amulets, written in Pashto letters by Afghan Sufis, that contain names of angels and the 2 words: “Shema Israel” which are part of the most important verse in the Tora that we say at least 4 times every day. They wear it (or do other mystical things with it) for protection, blessings, pregnancy, health, etc. Literally those 2 words mean “Understand Israel” (Deuteronomy 6:4) (the whole verse means “Understand Israel, God, our Lord, is one”). Here is the amulet written by an Afghan who was taught by his grandfather how to write it. (First in Pashto then the translation)
For comparison, here are a few examples of amulets (talisman, or Kamea in Hebrew) according to Kabala. The following was written by Rabbie Hayim Wital in the Book of Actions, 500 years ago:
He also writes about amulets with names of angels and other words, but he didn’t draw them in the book. Here is another example, from the web (I’m not sure who wrote it) of a part of an amulet according to Jewish Kabala. It says that it was written for safety and blessing and against evil eye for Yishaq Yehudha son of Ester (taken from Israel Album, protected by copyrights). On the bottom left corner, amongst other things, it says Gavriel, Mikhael, Refael, Uriel.
It is also worth noting that Pashtuns sometimes use numbers instead of names in their amulets, and in those Hebrew ones, you can see tables with letters in them. The truth is that in Hebrew there are no signs for numbers, and we use letters to denote them.
I heard from an Afghan politician who frequently visits rural areas that in some places Pashtun women go to the river especially to deep themselves after they get their period. This one of the most important Tora commandment.
Another rare but existing tradition is to not do tattoos, which is also a Tora commandment.
Some Pashtuns raise their hair long, only cutting it once or twice a year. This is a custom similar to what a person who became a Nazir did. Interestingly, this custom is especially common in the tribe of Wazir.
Pashtuns have a special bread called Patira, prepared specifically in the spring, with only water, flour and salt. At this point I can’t assert that this is what I think it is, until I’ll have a chance to see how it is prepared, but there’s a Tora commandment to not eat any kind of bread except for Matza during the Pesah holiday. Matza is prepared only with water and flour (it is possible that previously salt was put in it too), in Aramaic Matza is called Patira, and Pesah is called the holiday of the spring, because it is because of Pesah that Jews add an extra month every few years to make sure that our lunar Hebrew months system is in sync with the sun, such that Pesah will always come during the spring specifically. Still gotta to see how it is prepared but it is too big of a coincidence to only be the result of chance.
Using names like Yaakov (Christians use Jacob but only Jews and Pashtuns use it as it should be pronounced), Israel, Barak, Asaf, Asif, Hanan (means ‘gave freely’ in Hebrew, and besides Hanan, Khanan, which has a similar sound, is also a Pashtun name, which means someone wealthy who gives freely/generously), Benyamin, Kenan, Tamir, Timor, Shir, Sahar, Ermia, Aharon, Zalman, Ehezkel, and there are more.
Another evidence is names of places in Afghanistan and Kashmir that resemble ancient towns in Israel that are mentioned in the bible, like Sodom (Sedom). And there is the province of Zavulistan which might have been the land of the Israeli tribe of Zevulun.
One of the places the tribes of Israel were taken to was Halah (Kings 2 17:6), and there are at least 3 places in Ghor that are called Halah: Halah Bayd, Nuh Halah, and Halah Ku. I checked and the name Halah is pronounce the same by Pashtuns as it is pronounced in Hebrew.
Another place the tribes of Israel were taken to was Havor, which might be Pesa Habor, an ancient name of Peshawar (V and B are the same letter in Hebrew – ב). I’ve heard that some claim that the Pashtuns came to Peshawar relatively recently, but Herodotus, in his writings (426-468 BC), mentions the Pakhtues living in Peshawar, Afghanistan. He also mentions Samartians (the capital of the kingdom of the 10 tribes) colonies near the area of Perssia. (Eyal Beeri, ‘The Indian Pathans’, p. 56.)
Some say that until not so long ago, one of the names of the Amu Darya river was Gozan, which is mentioned as one of the places the tribes were taken to, but I checked and Pashtuns don’t know this river as Gozan. I don’t know what is the basis of that claim in wikipedia, but I would definitely guess that the Gozan river is today’s Ghazni river (both G and GH are the same letter in Hebrew – ג).
The fourth and last place that is written as the place of the Israeli tribes is the cities of Medes. In the Talmud (Yevamoth 17) it is said that those cities are either Hamadan or Nihar and their surrounding cities. Hamadan is probably Hamadan (of Ghaws) or Rabat-e Hemdin. And probably be Nihar is Nahri-e Saraj, that in some dialects is called Nihar.
Another city that is mentioned in the Talmud (Kidushin 72) is Nehawand, which is located in Persia, south of Hamadan province of Persia, so to be honest, most chances are that the Hamadan and that is mentioned in the Bible is actually the Hamadan of Persia, and that the Pashtuns that reached Hamadan and Nehawand are part of those we call Persian Jews (and according to some tradition, Mordekhai and Ester from the Bible are buried in Hamadan of Persia, and they were from Binyamin tribe, fit in with this theory and the tradition of some Pashtun tribes being from Binyamin).
The fifth is Hara. This is the name of the surrounding area of Herat rivar (also known as Horridor river), and Hera was an ancient name of Herat, which makes it very likely that this is Hara that is mentioned in the Bible, especially when it isn’t far from Nihar.
The names of some of the Pashtun tribes resemble the names of the children of Yaakov (the names of the Israeli tribes), like Lewani (Lewi), Daftali (Naftali), Yusufzai (children of Yussuf-Yossef), Rubanni (Reuven), Gadoon, Afridi (Efrati – another name of Efrayim). That Said, from what I hear from Pashtuns, only Gadoons have a tradition of being from the tribe of Gad, so I assume that the rest are just similarities (especially given the fact that I keep hearing from Yousufzais that they are Binyamin, not Yossef). Anyway, we do have testimonies of Jews from Afghanistan that heard a few centuries ago that the Afghans are from the 10 tribes, and specifically that some tribes are from the Israelite tribes of Dan, Asher, Zevulun and Naftali, but those traditions (of being from a specific Israelite tribe) had been lost over the years.
Some Pashtuns have Jewish artefacts. For example, I heard first hand from a Zazai Pashtun that his grandmother had these jewelry:
I also heard from the same Zazai Pashtun that his family had a big Magen David (star of David) but the Taliban broke it.
In Mughal Empire texts there is an area named “Dasht-e Yahudi” (the desert of the Jews), which was used to refer to the land of the Pashtuns. It denotes their disgust and sarcasm of the Afghans, and specifically the Afridi, Khattak and Yusufzai tribes. It was used because the Afghans of that time and their neighbours, all knew that the Pashtuns are in fact the people of Israel.
In Tareekh-e-Khan Jahani wa Makhzan-e-Aghani, written in 1620, a Pashtun historian who claims that the Pashtuns are Bene Israel and goes over many bible stories, on page 12 (page 36 in the PDF), it is said that Og (Aj) the giant might have survived the great flood of Noah because he was so tall that the water only reached his chest. This is not written anywhere in the Quran/Hadith nor is it written anywhere in the bible. However, in the Talmud (Zevahim 113) it is said that according to Jewish oral tradition, Og held on to the ark of Noah, and because he was so tall he didn’t drown. As far as I know, the Talmud, which is written in mixed Aramaic and Hebrew, was not translated to any other language until recently. (Use this for text search.)
So if the writer of the book heard this story from anyone, it had to be from Jews who told him the story as a Jewish oral tradition. It is possible that this is how the writer knew about it, and it explains why he wrote it tentatively, but because the book was meant to be authentic while Jewish oral traditions are not considered authentic by Muslims, and because in the history book it isn’t mentioned that Og held on to the ark, making it a bit different from the Jewish tradition, and because from the Quran it is said that from the people of Noah, only his family survived, it might be the case that the writer knew that Og survived the flood by an oral tradition of the Pashtuns themselves.
Pashtuns know of other stories about the Israeli prophets that do not appear in any Islam writings, and they are sometimes dismissed by scholars as Israelite stories. I also heard that some Pashtuns tell a lot of stories about Moses’ life, while most of the other Muslims focus on Muhammad’s life. We are now trying to find such stories and see if they match oral traditions of Jews. It might be very promising, because it is probably the first time ever that Pashtuns and Jews work together on such projects.
It is important to note that there are other Pashtun customs that don’t match Jewish customs. One explanation is that the Pashtuns picked them up from neighbouring nations. A better explanation in my opinion, at least for the customs that do not contradict the Tora (which are the majority of the non-matching customs), is that there are some customs that the Pashtuns kept better than the Jews and they are Israelite customs too.
Like I said above, I think that this list, even on its own, is enough to prove that the Pashtuns are Bene/Bani Israel. In any case, if we add those traditions to the analysis of the origin of the tradition it self of being Bene/Bani Israel, we can be confident that our conclusion is correct.
Half Bangash half Afridi Pashtun
Half Iraqi half Polish Jew
Persian Jew
Pashtons Roots 
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