→Recent Genetic Evidence: removing weasel words; the studies were clear |
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==Recent Genetic Evidence== |
==Recent Genetic Evidence== |
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Two recent genetic research studies have |
Two recent genetic research studies have called the main thesis of ''The Thirteenth Tribe'' into question. One, a 2000 study of [[haplotypes]] by Hammer ''et al'' suggests that [[Y chromosome]]s of most Ashkenazi and [[Sephardic Jews]] are of Middle Eastern origin, containing mutations that are also common among [[Palestinians]] and other Middle Eastern peoples, yet are uncommon in the general European population. These results suggest that the male ancestors of the Ashkenazi Jews can be traced primarily to the Middle East.<ref name="hammer">{{cite journal| title=Jewish and Middle Eastern non-Jewish populations share a common pool of Y-chromosome biallelic haplotypes| first=M. F.| last=Hammer| coauthors=A. J. Redd, E. T. Wood, M. R. Bonner, H. Jarjanazi, T. Karafet, S. Santachiara-Benerecetti, A. Oppenheim, M. A. Jobling, T. Jenkins, H. Ostrer, and B. Bonné-Tamir| journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences| month=May 9| year=2000}}</ref> |
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A second study (2006) by Behar ''et al'', based on [[haplotype]] analysis of [[mitochondrial DNA]] (mtDNA), |
A second study (2006) by Behar ''et al'', based on [[haplotype]] analysis of [[mitochondrial DNA]] (mtDNA), suggests that about 40% of the current Ashkenazi population is descended matrilineally from just four women. These four "founder lineages" were "likely from a [[Hebrews|Hebrew]]/[[Levant]]ine mtDNA pool" originating in the Near East in the first and second centuries CE.<ref name="behar">{{cite journal| url=http://www.ftdna.com/pdf/43026_Doron.pdf| title=The Matrilineal Ancestry of Ashkenazi Jewry: Portrait of a Recent Founder Event| first=Doron M.| last=Behar| coauthors=Ene Metspalu, Toomas Kivisild, Alessandro Achilli, Yarin Hadid, Shay Tzur, Luisa Pereira, Antonio Amorim, Lluı's Quintana-Murci, Kari Majamaa, Corinna Herrnstadt, Neil Howell, Oleg Balanovsky, Ildus Kutuev, Andrey Pshenichnov, David Gurwitz, Batsheva Bonne-Tamir, Antonio Torroni, Richard Villems, and Karl Skorecki| journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics| month=March| year=2006| volume=78| issue=3| pages=487-97| id=PMID 16404693}}</ref> |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
Revision as of 16:58, 11 June 2007
The Thirteenth Tribe (1976) is a book by Arthur Koestler. It advances the controversial thesis that North/East European Jews and their descendants, or Ashkenazim, are not descended from the Israelites of antiquity, but from a group of Khazars, a people originating in the Caucasus region (historical Khazaria) who converted to Judaism in the 8th century and were later forced to move westwards into current Eastern Europe(Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, and other places). Koestler stated that part of his intent in writing the book was to defuse anti-Semitism by undermining the identification of European Jews with the Jews of the Bible, rendering anti-Semitic epithets such as "Christ killer" inapplicable.[citation needed] Arthur Koestler himself was a Hungarian Ashkenazi Jew by ancestry, and so took a special interest in the subject.[citation needed]
Contrary to Koestler's intentions, his thesis that Ashkenazi Jews are not Semitic (or only minimally so) has become an important claim of many anti-Semitic groups.[citation needed] Some Pan-Arab and Palestinian advocates have also eagerly adopted this idea, since they believe identifying most Jews as non-Semites would seriously undermine Jewish historical claims to the land of Israel.[citation needed]
Recent Genetic Evidence
Two recent genetic research studies have called the main thesis of The Thirteenth Tribe into question. One, a 2000 study of haplotypes by Hammer et al suggests that Y chromosomes of most Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews are of Middle Eastern origin, containing mutations that are also common among Palestinians and other Middle Eastern peoples, yet are uncommon in the general European population. These results suggest that the male ancestors of the Ashkenazi Jews can be traced primarily to the Middle East.[1]
A second study (2006) by Behar et al, based on haplotype analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), suggests that about 40% of the current Ashkenazi population is descended matrilineally from just four women. These four "founder lineages" were "likely from a Hebrew/Levantine mtDNA pool" originating in the Near East in the first and second centuries CE.[2]
Notes
- ^ Hammer, M. F. (2000). "Jewish and Middle Eastern non-Jewish populations share a common pool of Y-chromosome biallelic haplotypes". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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