Ages ago ten Israelite tribes were expelled from their land by the Assyrians and disappeared forever. Until recently I thought one of the lost tribes might actually have resurfaced, right here in Iceland.

As bizarre as it may sound, this is not a Jewish conspiracy to claim this land and its natural resources, but a story I once heard from an insurance sales agent who came to my house trying to persuade me to buy life insurance.

As any good sales person who knows their job, the sales agent started with a “breaking the ice” conversation topic, which is necessary to make the client feel more comfortable so that it is more likely that he or she signs the papers at the end of the sale process.

After I told the insurance agent that I’m from Israel, he asked the mandatory question: “How do you like Iceland?” And I answered: “very much.”

I sometimes fantasize about replying, “I don’t really like it here” just to see what the reaction will be, but I do want to be honest and tell the truth.

While we were talking, the sales agent told me two interesting things:

Firstly that Iceland was the first country to vote on the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine about the division of the western portion of the British Mandate of Palestine into two provisional states, one Jewish and one Arab. The act led to the establishment of the state of Israel.

And secondly (that came almost as a whisper) that Icelanders are probably one of the lost tribes of Israel. "At least that’s I want to believe," he added.

I was surprised by his remarks, especially about the second one. I refrained from asking whether he was Jewish, thinking: "This guy is really desperate to sell."

A while later I found out that the guy had been right about the first part; Iceland was indeed the first country to vote on the UN 181 resolution. It was genuine remark and it made me think that maybe he was right about the second thing as well. Maybe Icelanders really are one of the lost tribes of Israel?

This idea kept haunting me for some time and even though I didn't expect to make any big historic discoveries, I decided to do my own little investigation to see what I could find out about the subject.

A few attempts to find more resources about this theory online didn’t bring any results so I quickly gave up the whole idea and dismissed it at the guy’s own wishful thinking.

Icelanders, so it seems, are descents of Vikings and Celts, not Middle Eastern tribes. Finding my Hebrew roots in Iceland is definitely not something I expected before I came here, so I can’t really say that I’m disappointed.

I think the insurance guy shouldn't be disappointed either. At the moment Iceland has enough trouble for itself, so why raising more? Throwing this small and peaceful island directly to the "Who Is a Jew?" question is really not necessary. 

Iceland is a land of many myths. I realized that when I first opened a tourist map, like the ones you can have for free at any tourist information (which is also the one used by the editor of Iceland Review Online). Trolls, ghosts and sea monsters can be spotted in different locations across the island.

As much as I’m fond of Icelandic stories and myths, I think that the lost tribe of Iceland tale is one myth too many, even for Iceland.

And in case you’re wondering about my life insurance status, I am still looking to get one. But that’s a different story.  

Guy Gutraiman – gutraiman@gmail.com
www.9uy.info