On the leaders of the Bar Kokhba Revolt

FOR LAG B'OMER: Who really led the Bar Kochba revolt? New research sheds light on rebellion’s enigmas. Recent paper suggests Jewish veterans from the Roman army may have initially led the 2nd-century Jewish war against the Romans, one of the events connected with Lag B’Omer (Rossella Tercatin, Times of Israel).

Jewish veterans from the Roman army — and not Shimon Bar Kochba — may have initially led the 2nd-century Jewish rebellion against the Romans commonly known as the “Bar Kochba Revolt.”

The revolt — launched by outraged Jews protesting Emperor Hadrian’s decision to construct a city dedicated to Jupiter on the ruins of Jerusalem — is one of the events connected to the Jewish holiday of Lag B’Omer, observed on May 15-16 this year.

While Jewish leadership is traditionally attributed to Shimon Bar Kochba, Dr. Haggai Olshanetsky, a researcher at the University of Warsaw, postulated in a recent paper that experienced Roman army veterans launched the revolt, and only later, the extremist self-aggrandizing zealot Bar Kochba took up the reins.

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I already noted Dr. Olshanetsky's article when it came out, but it's worth mentioning again for the holiday. I have also noted more of his work here, here, and here.

For more on Lag B'Omer and the Bar Kokhba Revolt, see here, here, here and here.

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