HISTORY OF PUKHTOONS

The theory that the Pashtun or "ethnic Afghans" are descended from the ancient Israelites—more precisely, from the perspective of Jewish history the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel— has a longstanding basis as a tradition among the Pashtun themselves, was widely accepted by 19th century British scholars, and has been accepted by some reasonably recent and prominent individuals such as Itzhak Ben-Zvi, second President of Israel. However, contemporary anthropologists continue to debate this, putting forth an eastern Iranian people relation to the other peoples of the Iranian plateau based upon strong genetic and linguistic evidence, in addition to other possibilities such as admixture with invaders and groups that migrated to the region now inhabited by the Pashtuns.