The oldest profession

What is the oldest profession? Judaism of course. There is no older religion
that any group professes to believe in. In India, Hinduism comes next with
origins dating back ca. 4,000 years ago in the Brahmaputra River valley. In
China, Confucianism is of about the same vintage. The origin of the Japanese
is shrouded in mystery, but their original religion, Shintoism, is no more
than 2,000 years old. These religions are all specific to a certain tribe or
people, and they all have the common attribute that they represent a life
style of practice rather than simply a belief system.
Later came the "universal" religions of proselytization, such as Christianity
and Islam, that were developed in relationship to a specific reformer or
prophet. Actually there were many such "new" religions, that took off from
the originals, including the heretical offshoots from Roman Catholicism such
as Protestantism, including Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Baptism, Mormonism,
Jehovah's Witnesses etc. and Orthodox Christianity (Greek, Russian, etc,) as
well as Coptic, Ethiopian, etc. and in Islam, such as Shia Islam, Drusism and
Ismailism. And all these religions, are like an inverted pyramid balanced
precariously on the carapace of Judaism.
People talk about the "Abrahamic religions," i.e. those with a common
Judaic origin. But, given the vicious hatred that has been manifested for
two thousand years against Jews and Judaism, I doubt that there is any
chance of a common front there. Even though Catholic Christianity changed
its official stance, Islam and liberal Christianity (manifested in the World
Council of Churches) are so virulently anti-Israel that there is no hope.
I suggest that there is more potential for common purpose for Israel with
India, China and Japan, and other states that find themselves under attack
from Islam, but that don't have Christian-based cultures. In the long run
such relationships based on similar civilizations and the absence of endemic
anti-Semitism might be more productive for Israel.