claim descent from the Lost Tribes Pashtuns of Afghanistan and Pakistan Among the Pashtuns, there is a tradition of being descended from the exiled lost tribes of Israel. This tradition was referenced in 19th century western scholarship and it was also incorporated in the "Lost Tribes" literature which was popular at that time (notably George Moore's The Lost Tribes of 1861). Recently (2000s), interest in the topic has been revived by the Jerusalem-based anthropologist Shalva Weil, who was quoted in the popular press as stating that the "Taliban may be descended from Jews". The traditions surrounding the Pashtuns being the remote descendants of the "Lost Tribes of Israel" are to be distinguished from the historical existence of the Jewish community in eastern Afghanistan or northwest Pakistan which flourished from about the 7th century to the early 20th century, but has essentially disappeared from the region due to emigration to Israel since the 1950s. Mughal-era historiography According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites can be traced to Makhzan-e-Afghani, a history book which was compiled for Khan-e-Jehan Lodhi in the reign of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir in the 17th century. Modern findings The Pashtuns are a predominantly Sunni Muslim Iranic people, native to southern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, who adhere to an indigenous and pre-Islamic religious code of honor and culture, Pashtunwali. The belief that the Pashtuns are descended from the lost tribes of Israel has never been substantiated by concrete historical evidence. Many members of the Taliban hail from the Pashtun tribes and they do not necessarily disclaim their alleged Israelite descent. In Pashto, the tribal name 'Yusef Zai' means the "sons of Joseph". A number of genetic studies on Jews refute the possibility of a connection, whereas others maintain a link. In 2010, The Guardian reported that the Israeli government was planning to fund a genetic study to test the veracity of a genetic link between the Pashtuns and the lost tribes of Israel. The article stated that "Historical and anecdotal evidence strongly suggests a connection, but definitive scientific proof has never been found. Some leading Israeli anthropologists believe that, of all the many groups in the world which claim to have a connection to the 10 lost tribes, the Pashtuns, or Pathans, have the most compelling case." Assyrian Jews Some traditions of the Assyrian Jews claim that Israelites of the tribe of Benjamin