I suppose that explains why you see some Jews with very "European" features and others with very Middle Eastern features. It also explains why so many movies cast Italian actors as Jewish characters, and vice-versa!
Sadly, I always get asked if I am arab.
French/German/Polish Jews in background. Cohen haplotype.
(And I am thinking to the people who ask me if I am arab, “Really, see the little round hat in the back. The suit?)
ping.
Should be approached with caution as these claims seem to contradict numerous past DNA studies, but this would lend credence to some indications that as much as 10% of the Roman Empire was Jewish or converts to Judaism.
The true genetic descendants of the Jews are the Palestinians.
I can recall being intrigued by how many of the world’s most brilliant physicists were Hungarian Jews from Budapest.
It just about has to be genetics.
Not to mention how, in large American cities in the early 20th century, the Italian "ghetto" and the Jewish "ghetto" always seemed to be near each other.
It explains the various features seen among us. Halachically speaking, they are most certainly Jews, and a part of the Jewish people.
Since "Jewishness" is transmitted along the maternal line, this could get complicated.
I used to love passing along ethnic jokes, when we still had a since of humor. So, I’d tell people I’m Cherokee/Norwegian and, as such, am allowed to tell them.
I’d love to know my DNA, but don’t want to get booked and sent to prison, for the privilege. It’s just too expensive for us peons.
funny, for some reason i thought the orthodox frowned on converts
I don't think that's what they're saying. Mitochondria is passed down through Mothers with no paternal contribution. So, you can trace the female line back into time.
I am 1/2 ethnically Jewish. As my father is 100% Ashkenazi (Lithuanian and Romanian). My mother is a Protestant of almost perfectly equally divided Irish, Swedish and German ancestry.
I would say I look Southern European. I’m usually accused of being ‘Italian’ and tan easily but have green eyes. My brother of the same genetic disposition as I has blond hair. My mother’s side has many blonds, my father’s side is what you would expect of Ashkenasim (but athletic!)
I took a DNA test some years ago and without a desire to get too technical here, it looked like a tour of Europe.
My personal belief is that Ashkenazi Jews do have some lineage that traces back to the ancient Israelites, but I believe the vast majority of Ashkenazi blood comes from Europe. The Sepphardic Jews, again in my opinion, are the Jews that most ancestrally tie back to ancient Israel.
There’ve been converts on both sides. At one point, the Khazar king and many, if not most, of his followers converted to Judaism. There’ve also been rapes and rebellious teenage girls, resulting in children of mixed lineage.
But the female convert thing is understandable. Supposing that a 1st Century French shiksah converted to Judaism. She might have changed her faith, but her prehistoric hotness remains intact, and is passed on to her daughters, who then became desirable matches to all those horny Jewish exile teenage boys, and thus grandma ex-shiksah’s legacy is passed down through the generations in ever-widening ripples, until the original hot genes dissipate at the edges of the gene pool.
As for Italians, like the Arabs, Jews and Italians are related.
Thank you.
It sounds like the “1st” Ashkenazi moms (or at least a good many of them) were the local (northern mediterranean and further north) wives of Jewish men from the diaspora from Israel, caused by the deteriorting state of affairs, and two wars, between the Romnans who demanded submission and the Jews of Israel/Palestine who did not want to submit.