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Jews Really Are a Tribe, Study Finds

(Los Angeles Times) Thomas H. Maugh II - Jews of European descent living on opposite sides of the globe are more closely related to one another than they are to their fellow countrymen, according to the largest study ever conducted of what it means genetically to be Jewish. Ashkenazis, the primary group descended from European Jews, are all as closely related as fourth or fifth cousins would be, the study found. The study, which was conducted primarily to further medical knowledge of genetic diseases, rejected a highly controversial idea that Ashkenazi Jews are descended from Khazars in Eastern Europe who converted to Judaism - an idea that has been used in an attempt to discredit the idea that Jews belong in Israel because it is their historic homeland. The study, which appeared last week in the American Journal of Human Genetics, shows that there is "clearly a shared genetic common ancestry among geographically diverse populations consistent with oral tradition and culture...and that traces back to the Middle East," said geneticist Sarah A. Tishkoff of the University of Pennsylvania.
2010-06-11 09:19:00
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