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I suspected as much. I read that some people believe the Northern Tribes were proto-Celtics...what is your 'take' on that?

Absolute total garbage. There is no genetic or linguistic connection between Jews and Celtics.

I believe the Northern Tribes mostly settled in Afganistan/Kurdistan/Pakistan. There are strong linguistic, genetic, and cultural matches between Jews and Parthans (and other groups) in Afganistan/Pakistan. Genetically, Kurds are the closest people to Jews in the world. The remainder of the Norhtern Tribes either returned and assimilated into Judah, or dispersed throughout the nations.

"Genetically, Kurds are the closest people to Jews in the world."

Isn't the area of the present day Kurds the area where the Assyrians took the Northern Tribes...I think Mosul is the same as Nineveh(sp). Your ideas?

Origin Of The Kurds

"Modern-day Kurds themselves trace their origin to the Medes, an Indo-European tribe that descented from Central Asia into the Iranian plateau around 614 B.C. as one of the principal pre-isramic iranian dynasties."

Wasn't it around 614BC that the Assyrians took the Northern Tribes captive and moved them into this area?

I believe the Northern Tribes mostly settled in Afganistan/Kurdistan/Pakistan. There are strong linguistic, genetic, and cultural matches between Jews and Parthans (and other groups) in Afganistan/Pakistan. Genetically, Kurds are the closest people to Jews in the world. The remainder of the Norhtern Tribes either returned and assimilated into Judah, or dispersed throughout the nations.

Got to stop you there -- Kurds are most definitely NOT SEmitics -- they're Aryan and related to the Persians and Azeris.

As for Pathans, that has been proven that they are not linked to the Jewish peoples either linguistically or genetically. The most likely candidates for the northern tribes would be either amongs the Judeans themselves or IRAQIS.

Why? When the northern tribes were exiled by the Assyrians, the Assyrian practise was to take the people from one end of the Empire to the other -- and the other end woudl ahve been Babylonia -- and there is proof that Israelis were settled there. Since the locals were also SEmitic, I think the Israelis would have merged with the local population over time. When the Judaens also joined them, some would have come back with them (the Judaens were under capticity for a shorter time so would not have assimilated that easily)

So, your most likely candidates for the lost tribes would be Iraiqis - maybe SAddy had some Jewish blood in him -- would be a good one to spring on him, eh?