DNA testing is revealing that as many as 152 million additional people have Jewish roots. If more people knew they were part-Jewish, would they still hate Jews?
There's an old saying in British culture, particularly in the East End of London: 'Shake any family tree and a Jew will fall out.'
I know this first hand as my own father was Jewish, but in marrying my mother, an Irish Catholic, he shielded his identity because he feared that the discrimination he suffered would be experienced by his children. In his case, despite providing the main weather stats for vital bombing raids over Germany in WW2 plus also the Whittle project on jet propulsion, he could not join his local golf or tennis clubs because he was Jewish. And this ludicrous situation continued until the late 1960s.
How many more Jews in the UK and elsewhere did the same?
John, your father's story mirrors my own hidden past. My grandfather fled Hamburg's horrors with just a suitcase of memories. My grandmother's family escaped Ukrainian pogroms a generation earlier. Yet, I buried my Jewish roots to avoid exclusion. At seven, I went to military boarding school. I faced slurs on the fields and in the dorms. As a result I grew up to hide my identity. In the army, I marked "Christian-non-denominational" on forms just to fit in. That choice still burns a hole in my soul. Your dad hid his identity to protect you from 1960s rejections. I silenced myself for the same reasons. Hiding only gives hateful and antisemitic bigots the win.
My trek back saved me. I had always silently lit Shabbat candles and I refrained from eating pork. That kept a quiet ember of my Judaism alive. COVID's pause made it flare like a burning fire. I entered synagogue for the first time after decades away. The chanting felt so comforting like ancestors forgiving me from afar. I actually started waking in the middle of the night chanting form my dreams. It was a beautiful and feeling of synchronicity.
I raised my kids with stories of our heritage and the proverbial matzah ball soup. I taught them pride in their heritage. Their identity now burns bright as proud Jews. In two weeks my daughter becomes a Bat Mitzvah. It is a testament to our ancestors reaching down from the heavens to guide our souls here on earth.
Your father's war work shaped history. He gave weather for raids and aided jet propulsion. Bias erased his contributions. He hid his Jewishness to spare you pain and heartache. How many families sadly did the same? My return shows we can reclaim it all and reclaim our blessing. We stand tall so our children never have to hide.
My paternal ancestor emigrated from Venice to London in the mid-1500’s. Since his grandson emigrated to the Virginia colony 100 years later, and was one of the early European settlers, this history is well documented.
My cousin connected with a woman in Venice who is distantly related to us. Her friend wrote a biography of our Venetian ancestor which said he had been born in the Jewish quarter of Venice.
I was in Italy last Spring and met this woman. When I asked her about our possible Jewish ancestry, she became quite indignant, insisting that information was not true.
She said “People keep asking me about this! I don’t know why anyone would think it was a nice thing to be descended from a Jew!” I was stunned.
This and other experiences in Europe, (as well as comments from various sources in the US), have only strengthened my conviction of the need for a Jewish state.
I had my DNA done many years ago through 23 and Me. It showed only 1% Italian ancestry and no Jewish traits. It has been almost 500 years, and most of my other ancestors came from the British Isles, so I’m not really surprised, but I’m curious to find out more about this heritage.
I don’t feel it will change much if anything for most people. It’s an interesting fact and ancestry can be riveting. But I feel about Judaism the way native Americans do. It’s not just genetic. Affiliation and involvement matter. AOC has Sephardic ancestry. In Spain probably 10-20% of population has some Sephardic ancestry.
I am one of these people. I thought my paternal line was Indigenous Guarani from Paraguay. It's not, it's Sephardic. My masculine line probably goes back to Second Temple Judea. I wrote an essay about it on my profile in case you are interested.
Several years ago my sister told me that our Dad had told her a couple of years before he died, that his Mother was Jewish. I was absolutely gobsmacked! I can't tell you how many questions I had and decided that that would drive the papers I was writing for my degree in Religious Studies. Several years later I finally converted. Since this would put me in a mixed marriage, I wanted him to be OK with the conversion. I did do my DNA through Ancestry and was 25-30% Ashkenazi Jewish. No surprise there!
There could be 352 million. Won’t matter. The fact that by your own example in this column, individuals who were told they had Jewish ancestors still felt compelled to hide their identity tells us all we need to know. It’s always been an antisemitic world and it won’t change. What will continue to allow us to survive is not who has the DNA. It’s who has the spine.
This is too true. I'm European and a Christian. I discovered my Jewish roots through a genetic DNA test in the year 2014 and I am so proud of it. I always felt a connection with Israel, with the Jewish people, but the feeling is not enough. I wanted proof and my genetic DNA result confirms that I am coming from the ancient tribes of the Jews. Wow! I am so proud of my roots 💪
I recently read Simon Sebag Montefiorie’s family history. It is absolutely amazing, like out of One Thousand and One Nights.
Thank for your post and all the statistics. I could not have imagined there are so many of us LOL. We always say: we are such a tiny minority. Apparently, not so much.
Greetings Eric, I’ve been following your work for a little while, and I really appreciate the depth you bring to these topics.
I explore something similar, but from a slightly stranger angle: forgotten travel narratives, old geographies, and the ideas they obscured from modern history.
My latest piece dives into an obscure book that records giant beings with a clarity that raises more questions than it answers.
If that kind of thing interests you, here’s the link:
I read an article like this tucked away in Future of Jewish and I find it earth-shattering. What a freakin tool to fight antisemitism. Instead of all the useless Jewish organizations that have had relatively little impact on combating antisemitism, why dont they use all that money they beg for each month and offer FREE DNA TESTING to find out if a person has Jewish ancestry? Can you imagine what kind of impact that could have???
Of course, nothing will be done. This story will go into the archives, and it will be another glaring example of why we are getting decimated in the PR War.
Jerry, I couldn't agree more. Free DNA testing to reveal Jewish ancestry? Game-changer. It turns curiosity into connection. Prejudice into pride. Bold. Proactive. Way better than endless fundraising with zero punch. My personal feeling: many legacy organizations have lost their way. Just like large the foundations that drift off their missions. They beg monthly and deliver little.
This makes me laugh, since many do a DNA test and discover they're full Jews, since their families never told them the truth of where their families truly originated from. I have seen that happen many times.
I don't think it would. Today's anti-semitism is rooted in hatred of Jewish Nationalism i.e. Zionism rather than blood or Christianity. Those who hate Israel will not change their minds if they learn they have Jewish DNA anymore than full blooded leftist Jews will support Israel.
There's an old saying in British culture, particularly in the East End of London: 'Shake any family tree and a Jew will fall out.'
I know this first hand as my own father was Jewish, but in marrying my mother, an Irish Catholic, he shielded his identity because he feared that the discrimination he suffered would be experienced by his children. In his case, despite providing the main weather stats for vital bombing raids over Germany in WW2 plus also the Whittle project on jet propulsion, he could not join his local golf or tennis clubs because he was Jewish. And this ludicrous situation continued until the late 1960s.
How many more Jews in the UK and elsewhere did the same?
John, your father's story mirrors my own hidden past. My grandfather fled Hamburg's horrors with just a suitcase of memories. My grandmother's family escaped Ukrainian pogroms a generation earlier. Yet, I buried my Jewish roots to avoid exclusion. At seven, I went to military boarding school. I faced slurs on the fields and in the dorms. As a result I grew up to hide my identity. In the army, I marked "Christian-non-denominational" on forms just to fit in. That choice still burns a hole in my soul. Your dad hid his identity to protect you from 1960s rejections. I silenced myself for the same reasons. Hiding only gives hateful and antisemitic bigots the win.
My trek back saved me. I had always silently lit Shabbat candles and I refrained from eating pork. That kept a quiet ember of my Judaism alive. COVID's pause made it flare like a burning fire. I entered synagogue for the first time after decades away. The chanting felt so comforting like ancestors forgiving me from afar. I actually started waking in the middle of the night chanting form my dreams. It was a beautiful and feeling of synchronicity.
I raised my kids with stories of our heritage and the proverbial matzah ball soup. I taught them pride in their heritage. Their identity now burns bright as proud Jews. In two weeks my daughter becomes a Bat Mitzvah. It is a testament to our ancestors reaching down from the heavens to guide our souls here on earth.
Your father's war work shaped history. He gave weather for raids and aided jet propulsion. Bias erased his contributions. He hid his Jewishness to spare you pain and heartache. How many families sadly did the same? My return shows we can reclaim it all and reclaim our blessing. We stand tall so our children never have to hide.
And then there’s Bernie Sanders. Ouch!
And Schiff, and Nadler, and Schumer, and Pritzker, and Mayorgas, and Garland (nee Garfinkel), and Blinken, and …
And it doesn’t go unnoticed.
My paternal ancestor emigrated from Venice to London in the mid-1500’s. Since his grandson emigrated to the Virginia colony 100 years later, and was one of the early European settlers, this history is well documented.
My cousin connected with a woman in Venice who is distantly related to us. Her friend wrote a biography of our Venetian ancestor which said he had been born in the Jewish quarter of Venice.
I was in Italy last Spring and met this woman. When I asked her about our possible Jewish ancestry, she became quite indignant, insisting that information was not true.
She said “People keep asking me about this! I don’t know why anyone would think it was a nice thing to be descended from a Jew!” I was stunned.
This and other experiences in Europe, (as well as comments from various sources in the US), have only strengthened my conviction of the need for a Jewish state.
I had my DNA done many years ago through 23 and Me. It showed only 1% Italian ancestry and no Jewish traits. It has been almost 500 years, and most of my other ancestors came from the British Isles, so I’m not really surprised, but I’m curious to find out more about this heritage.
I don’t feel it will change much if anything for most people. It’s an interesting fact and ancestry can be riveting. But I feel about Judaism the way native Americans do. It’s not just genetic. Affiliation and involvement matter. AOC has Sephardic ancestry. In Spain probably 10-20% of population has some Sephardic ancestry.
I'd love to know how many in Gaza, Jordan, Egypt, Iran, Syria, Lebanon etc etc also have these jewish genes!!!!
I am one of these people. I thought my paternal line was Indigenous Guarani from Paraguay. It's not, it's Sephardic. My masculine line probably goes back to Second Temple Judea. I wrote an essay about it on my profile in case you are interested.
Several years ago my sister told me that our Dad had told her a couple of years before he died, that his Mother was Jewish. I was absolutely gobsmacked! I can't tell you how many questions I had and decided that that would drive the papers I was writing for my degree in Religious Studies. Several years later I finally converted. Since this would put me in a mixed marriage, I wanted him to be OK with the conversion. I did do my DNA through Ancestry and was 25-30% Ashkenazi Jewish. No surprise there!
There could be 352 million. Won’t matter. The fact that by your own example in this column, individuals who were told they had Jewish ancestors still felt compelled to hide their identity tells us all we need to know. It’s always been an antisemitic world and it won’t change. What will continue to allow us to survive is not who has the DNA. It’s who has the spine.
How amazing!
Get tested, Susan! I'd love to know...
I think I will!
Please let me know when/if you do! :-)
I will
👍
This is too true. I'm European and a Christian. I discovered my Jewish roots through a genetic DNA test in the year 2014 and I am so proud of it. I always felt a connection with Israel, with the Jewish people, but the feeling is not enough. I wanted proof and my genetic DNA result confirms that I am coming from the ancient tribes of the Jews. Wow! I am so proud of my roots 💪
Am Yisrael Chai 💙💙💙🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱💙💙💙
I recently read Simon Sebag Montefiorie’s family history. It is absolutely amazing, like out of One Thousand and One Nights.
Thank for your post and all the statistics. I could not have imagined there are so many of us LOL. We always say: we are such a tiny minority. Apparently, not so much.
Greetings Eric, I’ve been following your work for a little while, and I really appreciate the depth you bring to these topics.
I explore something similar, but from a slightly stranger angle: forgotten travel narratives, old geographies, and the ideas they obscured from modern history.
My latest piece dives into an obscure book that records giant beings with a clarity that raises more questions than it answers.
If that kind of thing interests you, here’s the link:
https://open.substack.com/pub/jordannuttall/p/the-history-of-giants?r=4f55i2&utm_medium=ios
I read an article like this tucked away in Future of Jewish and I find it earth-shattering. What a freakin tool to fight antisemitism. Instead of all the useless Jewish organizations that have had relatively little impact on combating antisemitism, why dont they use all that money they beg for each month and offer FREE DNA TESTING to find out if a person has Jewish ancestry? Can you imagine what kind of impact that could have???
Of course, nothing will be done. This story will go into the archives, and it will be another glaring example of why we are getting decimated in the PR War.
papa j
Jerry, I couldn't agree more. Free DNA testing to reveal Jewish ancestry? Game-changer. It turns curiosity into connection. Prejudice into pride. Bold. Proactive. Way better than endless fundraising with zero punch. My personal feeling: many legacy organizations have lost their way. Just like large the foundations that drift off their missions. They beg monthly and deliver little.
This makes me laugh, since many do a DNA test and discover they're full Jews, since their families never told them the truth of where their families truly originated from. I have seen that happen many times.
I don't think it would. Today's anti-semitism is rooted in hatred of Jewish Nationalism i.e. Zionism rather than blood or Christianity. Those who hate Israel will not change their minds if they learn they have Jewish DNA anymore than full blooded leftist Jews will support Israel.
Good material for the anti-vaxxers. Imagine the headlines mRNA Covid shots change your DNA. Watch out, it will make you Jewish!