Saturday, January 16, 2010

Genetics and the Jews

My father sent me this JLTV video about John Entine's book "Abraham's Children". Geneticists' findings include the following:

-Arthur Koestler's claim that Ashkenazie (eastern European) Jews are descended from the Khazarian Empire is probably false.
-75-80% of Jews on the father's line have Middle Eastern genes and 50% of Jews on the mother's line have them. The difference is due to intermarriage when Jewish males settled in foreign areas, for instance, during the Roman era.
-70-80% percent of people named "Cohen" and so claim to be descended from Moses's brother Aaron have six genetic markers that trace back 3300 years, consistent with this claim.
-the African Lemba tribe in remote southern Africa that practice a variant of ancient Judaism have the same genes. More than 50% of the Lemba priests have the same Cohen markers that trace back 3300 years. Plus, the chief of the tribe is named Hymie Horowitz (just kidding).
-Jews have IQs that average between 7 and 17 points above the world average. If looking at verbal-only, Jews average an IQ 23 points higher than average.
-Into the 1400s Ashkenazie Jewry numbered between 15,000 and 25,000 people. Today, they are 80% of world Jewry despite a large percentage having been killed in the holocaust (most American Jews are Ashkenazie).
-The same gene that causes 40 Jewish-specific diseases may also cause higher IQs. If someone has two then it can result in disease, but if someone has one then it can result in higher IQs.

I can't help but wonder if the most virulent kinds of anti-Semitism that appeared in eastern Europe and Germany are related to the rapid growth of Ashkenazie Jewery between 1400 and 1900. In 1400 there were at most 25,000 Ashkenazie Jews in eastern Europe. In 1900 there were many millions.

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