The Karaites' Controversial Separation: A Tale of Identity and Deception

For many years, rabbis debated with the Karaites, who argued they were the true Jews. A large body of literature was written on the subject. However, in the 19th century, a remarkable shift occurred: with the increasing decrees of the Russian Tsar against Jews, a delegation of Karaites went to the Tsar's palace, armed with documents, testimonies, and opinions, arguing that Karaites were not Jews at all. They were good and beneficial citizens, and thus, the decrees should not apply to them...

At that time, the Haskalah movement was flourishing in Eastern Europe. The maskilim, who had grown weary of rabbinic Judaism, suddenly "discovered" the Karaites and portrayed them as enlightened and proper Jews. Professor Israel Bartal writes: "In Europe, the image of the Karaite emerged as a model for correcting Jews, contrasting the stubborn 'rabbinic' characteristics with the superior behavior and virtues of the Karaites... Thus, Karaites were perceived, in the minds of some reformers of Judaism in Western and Central Europe, as precursors of enlightenment or Christianization for Jews... The positive image of the Karaites was nourished not insignificantly by Karaite literature written for... and carried explicit apologetic intentions and adjustments to the taste of the Christian scholar... The ideal depiction of the Karaites as corrected Jews found its way to Eastern Europe through the channels of Jewish enlightenment..."

Haskalah literature presented the Karaites in a positive light. Writers like Pinsker and Raphael Mahler dedicated volumes to glorifying them and describing an imaginary picture of Karaites as having an enlightened approach to the Torah. In reality, these ideas had no basis. Karaites were not "enlightened"; they were just as strict as rabbis, imposing heavy penalties on those who deviated from their teachings, and they claimed arbitrary authority that was not open to question.

Pinsker and his fellow enlightened thinkers relied on a unique collection of Karaite documents, known as the "Firkovich Collection," created by a Karaite named Avraham Firkovich. In 1830, Avraham Firkovich, alongside the leader of the Russian Karaites, Simcha Babovich, embarked on a research visit to Jerusalem. The two returned with a plethora of ancient documents on the history of the Karaites and the rabbis. Two years later, Firkovich began publishing volumes based on the documents they collected.

Haskalah writers seized the opportunity and published historical studies based on the documents disseminated by Firkovich. "The Society for History and Antiquities" appointed Firkovich to write historical studies on the history of the Karaites and the rabbis in return for handsome compensation. A special budget was given to him to document ancient Karaite tombstones from Crimea and the Caucasus. In 1842, Firkovich released another vast series of studies backed by documents and records.

The fascinating conclusion of all his studies was that the Karaites existed before the crucifixion of Jesus by the Jews and therefore were not guilty of the eternal sin attributed to the Jews. In 1853, a Karaite petition was sent to the Russian authorities, arguing that they should not be called "Jewish Karaites" but simply "Karaites," to lift the decrees intended for Jews and the blame for Jesus's crucifixion...

In 1856, the Imperial Public Library purchased Firkovich's collection for 125,000 rubles, but library experts discovered the documents were riddled with forgeries, alterations, and inventions, like "records" of non-existent tombstones. Among other things, Firkovich falsely claimed he found the tombstone of Rabbi Yitzhak Sangari. Avraham Harkavy exposed his forgeries, and other enlightened writers fought against him, but slowly it was acknowledged that even if it was impossible to prove everything was fake, the fact that many documents were forgeries could not be contested, and thus he could not be trusted. Historian Rabinowitz wrote about him: "Now all wise men familiar with times testify that no greater forger than him has ever arisen."

Regardless, the act could not be undone. Karaites created a narrative of superiority over Jews, claiming they weren't Jewish. During the Holocaust, they approached Nazi occupation authorities for non-Jewish certificates, and indeed, anyone holding a Karaite certificate was not deported to extermination camps. Furthermore, many Karaites in Europe collaborated with the Nazis, informed on Jews, and even joined the Nazi military and Waffen-SS, thereby sealing their fate as separate from the Jewish people.

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