Thanks for your response.

I've written previously that the origins of what later became Christianity are an impenetrable mystery. So in that sense I am not saying or suggesting anything; I am open to all possibilities.

What this current article is proposing is that, if there was a historical Jesus (which some researchers doubt) then at least some of the material in the gospels as we have them refers to an earlier prophet by the name of Issa. Apart from that, much other material from mythological sources has also been added, but that wasn't my topic here.

In relation to your second question, in modern times there is little difference between the words Israel and the Jews – we think we are talking about the same people. The hypothesis in my article is that at the time there was a big religious schism between the Israelites and the Jews, and that Jesus identified with the Israelites.