This is a truly excellent article and a very important study.
As Ashkenazi Jews, we’re constantly accused of having no connection to the ancient Israelites—of being merely descendants of converts. That claim is simply false.
It’s crucial to know that solid scientific research disproves this antisemitic myth. Of course, most antisemites are too ignorant to care about facts, but studies like this can help reach those who might otherwise be misled.
Who? Who is accusing Ashkenazi Jews of having no connection to the ancient Israelites?
How can any Semitic/Hebrew/Jewish person by DNA ancestry over religious practices have no connection to ancient to today's Israelis? That is absent of all common sense critical thinking. We know if we're 100% - It's the 100% we can't get away from is our DNA.
People do make that claim, whether you personally encounter it or not. It comes up in political debates, online discussions, and sometimes in older fringe theories like the Khazar hypothesis being overstated. So that part isn’t being invented.
But I think there’s a bit of confusion in how you’re framing the genetics.
First, terms like “Semitic” or “Hebrew” aren’t genetic categories in a strict scientific sense, they’re linguistic and cultural labels, not DNA markers. Genetics doesn’t work in clean, absolute categories like that.
Second, DNA doesn’t give you a “100% pure” identity tied to a single ancient group. In fact, no population on earth is 100% anything over long time spans. Populations mix, that’s normal human history.
What genetic studies actually show is more nuanced:
Ashkenazi Jews do have clear Middle Eastern ancestry, consistent with origins in the ancient Levant
But they also show significant European admixture, especially over the last 1,000–2,000 years
So it’s not:
“no connection”
or “100% unchanged ancient lineage”
It’s:
continuity + mixture over time
That’s how population genetics works everywhere, not just here.
So the takeaway isn’t about proving some kind of “100% DNA purity”, it’s about understanding how real populations evolve across history.
I have no time for self proclaimed intellectuals who think it’s a thought provoking fart -
I do not read your eugenic diatribe
If you did not feel in your bones and soul and gut and heart October 7, 2023 Israel genocide, then you don’t know what the Flying Fuck you’re farting about
How can any Semitic/Hebrew/Jewish person by DNA ancestry over religious practices have no connection to ancient to today's Israelis? That is absent of all common sense critical thinking.
I get what you’re trying to say, but the way you’re framing it mixes a few different things that genetics doesn’t actually treat as the same.
As I said, terms like “Semitic,” “Hebrew,” or even “Jewish” aren’t strict DNA categories—they’re linguistic, cultural, and religious identities. There isn’t a single gene that makes someone “Semitic” or “Hebrew,” so it’s not as straightforward as “if you are X, your DNA must show Y.”
Second, nobody is really arguing that Ashkenazi Jews have zero connection to ancient Israelites, that’s not what mainstream genetics says. What the science shows is more nuanced:
There IS a real ancestral connection to populations from the ancient Levant
But there has also been significant mixing with other populations, especially in Europe over many centuries
So it’s not about “common sense vs. no connection”, it’s about avoiding an oversimplified either/or.
Also, the idea of being “100% anything” over thousands of years just isn’t how human genetics works. Every population changes over time through migration and intermarriage. That doesn’t erase earlier ancestry, it just adds layers to it.
Whoever does lacks critical thinking common sense reality to the enth degree. I don't know what the enth degree is but it was common to hear moms and grand moms use that phrase then, the enth degree - And all I knew, I didn't want to go and end up in the enth degree. Though I've been too close in my early life, only the demons in hell give the thoughts to weak minds that antisemites mindsets and actions thereof, are of common sense critical thinking.
I think you’re right to push back on the claim that Ashkenazi Jews have no connection to the ancient Israelite. That idea isn’t supported by mainstream genetic research.
That said, this particular study doesn’t prove as much as you’re suggesting. It focuses specifically on mitochondrial DNA (maternal lineages) and mainly deals with distinguishing founder lineages from later admixture. It doesn’t analyse paternal DNA or the full genome, so it can’t by itself establish a complete picture of Ashkenazi origins.
When you look at the broader body of genetic research, the consensus is more nuanced: Ashkenazi Jews are a diaspora population with substantial Middle Eastern ancestry, consistent with origins in the ancient Levant, AND significant European admixture over time. Both of those things are well-supported and not mutually exclusive.
So yes, claims of “no connection at all” are incorrect. But it’s also an oversimplification to present studies like this as proving a single, pure origin. The reality the science points to is more complex, and honestly more interesting: continuity and mixture over centuries.
Why are you making the statement you are or did and the link not about Semitic/Hebrew/Jewish DNA as your statement is protesting a most absurd and ridiculous matter. So, you get readers wondering and you provide a link. A URL. And that URL comes to an article "...MUSLIMS VERSUS JEWS" - I think then your outrage at something only stand up comedians could work into a bit, was an intentional ruse to a link to yet another topic I'm not interested in and because it has nothing to do with what I was expecting. So your Ashkenazi Jews against all Semitic/Hebrew/Jewish DNA is nothing but spilled can of vegetable soup. And like Penn and Teller, You didn't fool me!
They are generally considered by many to be descended from one of Abraham’s sons. That’s pretty antique.
And it’s well recognized that many of the indigenous Arabs of Palestine, whom you so easily demean, are in fact descended from Jews, who stayed after the destruction of the temple and simply assimilated via a process that we see every day right here in the United States of America. Finally, unless you rely on the most tortured of arguments, being on a land for at least 1500 uninterrupted years constitutes being pretty antique as compared to people whose most recent claim is 2000 years old.
It’s all a tiresome argument, and we would do well to accept that.there is a multi tribal, multi religious, multi ethnic indigenous group in Palestine/Israel, and that they will all need to live together. It’s obviously the only way forward is the one state solution and many of us find it strange that so many Israelis, as well as Jews around the world, seek a single state that encompasses East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, even though that single state will have more Gentiles than Jews. Go figure…
Of course you aren’t like every other Jew. There just aren’t many doppelgängers out there. But they are just as Jewish as you are, even Ivanka Trump. And if you convert to be a Lutheran you’ll be just as Lutheran as I am. It’s not an exclusionary thing. Why would you be offended to be compared to a fellow Jew? And why would the assumption that you are inclusionary say anything apparently negative about me? Maybe it means there is more than a whiff of racism where you’re concerned even when it involves other Jews. No wonder the Ethiopian Jews got such a bad reception in Israel.
These sentiments are most likely what makes it so easy for the West Bank squatters (and their amazing family trees) to abuse the indigenous Arabs of Palestine. A proud lineage apparently doesn’t result in basic human goodness where they are concerned.
I have a clear genetic connection back to the Vikings. So we can both break our arms patting ourselves on the back about our antique genetics. Despite that Scandinavia isn’t my homeland. The United States is where my birthright is. I’m not clear as to the land of your birth and where your birthright resides.
But congratulations Apparently you qualify for the Jewish equivalent of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
What’s it say inside the Liberty Bell? I was born here too. Who was Haym Solomon? Admiral Rickover? You’re a disrespectful little prick who doesn’t understand the values this country is built on. Congratulations on being descended from barbarians. I come from a much older civilization. We prefer compassion to whatever you’re writing here. Feel free to proclaim your liberties somewhere else junior viking.
You are every bit as Jewish as Ivanka Trump! If you choose to be a Lutheran then you’ll be as Lutheran and I am. If you’re an American your birthright country is the USA. Just like Ivanka and the rest of us.
If you’re Israeli then Palestine, including Israel, is your birthright region. Just as it is for the rest of the Jews there and all of the indigenous Arabs.
Have you even read the article I’m commenting on? Probably not—because if you had, you wouldn’t have written such a silly comment. The article clearly explains that Ashkenazi Jews have Middle Eastern genetics, traceable all the way back to biblical times. It doesn’t matter where someone was born in the last generation—the genetic connection is still there.
That also explains why people like me are different from others born in the same places—physically, behaviorally, and even in how we think. I descend from the lineage of kohanim, who served in the Temple, and my mother’s family can trace its documented history in a European ghetto back several centuries.
So if you’re comparing me to a convert with no Jewish ancestry at all, it says a lot about you—but nothing about me.
It challenges earlier interpretations that maternal ancestry is largely European
It argues that some “European-looking” mtDNA may actually be:
misclassified founder lineages
rather than true later admixture
👉 That’s a methodological refinement, not a total rewrite of history.
What it does not overturn
It does NOT overturn the broader consensus that:
Ashkenazi Jews are a genetically admixed population
With both Middle Eastern and European ancestry
🧾 My overall assessment
Strengths of the study:
Useful new method for distinguishing founder vs later lineages
Helps explain why previous studies may have overestimated “European maternal ancestry”
Limitations:
Narrow scope (mtDNA only)
Cannot justify sweeping claims about:
total ancestry
both maternal and paternal origins
geographic origin of the entire population
🧠 Bottom line
The study is legitimate but specialized
The headline you showed is overstated and simplified
The best-supported view remains:
Ashkenazi Jews descend from a Middle Eastern ancestral population that mixed significantly with European populations, especially during the early diaspora.
If you want, I can break down how mtDNA vs Y-DNA vs autosomal DNA each tell different parts of the ancestry story—that’s usually where a lot of confusion comes from.
Great article. But inveterate Jew-haters will never change, regardless of the facts. Interesting how no Jew-hater calls for ARAB DNA tests to see if they are "indigenous" to any place outside of Arabia. (And not even there, as they are do mixed.)
Just keep this in mine my fellow and related Semitic/Hebrew/Jewish folks. We also share the same DNA as Yeshua Messiah Lord Jesus Christ. Don't fall over backwards or do back flips, this is pure science of critical thinking common sense.
Yeshua Messiah shares YHVH'S DNA and our own! HE is ours. And we let HIM go and we can easily, easier than ordering off a menu in a restaurant, get HIM back, just merely for the asking!
Cool article. But I think if you ask any Jew today, we are of mideastern DNA. In fact when I fill out those ridiculous doctor office intake forms when they ask for race, I am offended that Semitic or at least mideastern origin is not a selection.
I’ve been saying I’m mideastern for 30 years - without revealing my age when I am now to when I started. I believe by the time most humans become middle age, we become ethnocentric.
Cool article. But I think if you ask any Jew today, we are of mideastern DNA. In fact when I fill out those ridiculous doctor office intake forms when they ask for race, I am offended that Semitic or at least mideastern origin is not a selection.
1. Not reviewed and in pre-print (not necessarily an issue, however, the explicit note in the preprint ("Please do not cite") suggests that the findings are preliminary, and potential flaws may only be fully identified once peer-reviewed).
2. The authors have faced criticism in the past relating to their use of phylogenetic analysis, particularly in accurately placing lineages on a family tree. For instance, Karl Skorecki himself noted flaws in the phylogenetic analysis of a 2013 study by Costa et al., suggesting that such issues could also apply to his own work. The 2025 study relies heavily on lineage extinction calculations and the Galton-Watson branching process to estimate the proportion of founder versus absorbed lineages. If the phylogenetic assignments of mtDNA haplogroups are not robust, the conclusions about the Near Eastern versus European origins of maternal lineages could be misleading.
3. The study challenges the hypothesis of significant European maternal ancestry (e.g., Costa et al., 2013, which suggested up to 81% of Ashkenazi maternal lineages were European). Livni and Skorecki argue for a predominantly Near Eastern origin for both maternal and paternal lineages, but their conclusions may downplay evidence of European admixture supported by other studies. For example, haplogroups like K1a1b1a, K1a9, and K2a2a1 have been linked to European ancestry in prior research, which could contradict the study's assertion of a unified Near Eastern origin. This discrepancy suggests potential bias in interpreting haplogroup origins or insufficient consideration of alternative data.
4. The use of lineage extinction theory and the Galton-Watson branching process assumes high degrees of endogamy and specific population growth rates (e.g., a geometric growth ratio). These models may not fully account for historical events like migrations, conversions, or intermarriage, which could introduce additional mtDNA lineages. For instance, the study acknowledges minor introgression from non-Ashkenazi Europeans but may underestimate the impact of such events if the models are too rigid.
5. Assigning mtDNA haplogroups to specific geographic regions (e.g., Near East vs. Europe) is inherently challenging due to the ancient distribution of haplogroups across multiple regions. The study's assertion that major lineages like N1b2 are of Levantine origin may oversimplify the complex history of these haplogroups, which could have been present in both the Near East and Mediterranean Europe. The reliance on a limited set of reference populations may also skew the interpretation of lineage origins.
6. I hate to say it - but this seems like a ploy by them to counter the mountains of online talk about the "indigeneity" of Ashkenazim. Dismissing significant European maternal ancestry may reflect an agenda-driven approach rather than a purely scientific one.
Well, if Ashkenazi Jews are really European, why the nearly 2,000 year slaughter of Jews in Europe? Why the racial theories that Jews were Semitic Asiatic aliens? And that includes *Sephardi* Jews in the Iberian Peninsula. They were not of the "Pura sangre" persuasion.
This is a truly excellent article and a very important study.
As Ashkenazi Jews, we’re constantly accused of having no connection to the ancient Israelites—of being merely descendants of converts. That claim is simply false.
It’s crucial to know that solid scientific research disproves this antisemitic myth. Of course, most antisemites are too ignorant to care about facts, but studies like this can help reach those who might otherwise be misled.
By the way, I recently reposted an article on a similar topic—Jewish genetics—that got a lot of attention on X. You can read it here: https://unplugisrael.substack.com/p/why-genetic-diversity-matters-a-tale
Who? Who is accusing Ashkenazi Jews of having no connection to the ancient Israelites?
How can any Semitic/Hebrew/Jewish person by DNA ancestry over religious practices have no connection to ancient to today's Israelis? That is absent of all common sense critical thinking. We know if we're 100% - It's the 100% we can't get away from is our DNA.
Wuzup with dat?
People do make that claim, whether you personally encounter it or not. It comes up in political debates, online discussions, and sometimes in older fringe theories like the Khazar hypothesis being overstated. So that part isn’t being invented.
But I think there’s a bit of confusion in how you’re framing the genetics.
First, terms like “Semitic” or “Hebrew” aren’t genetic categories in a strict scientific sense, they’re linguistic and cultural labels, not DNA markers. Genetics doesn’t work in clean, absolute categories like that.
Second, DNA doesn’t give you a “100% pure” identity tied to a single ancient group. In fact, no population on earth is 100% anything over long time spans. Populations mix, that’s normal human history.
What genetic studies actually show is more nuanced:
Ashkenazi Jews do have clear Middle Eastern ancestry, consistent with origins in the ancient Levant
But they also show significant European admixture, especially over the last 1,000–2,000 years
So it’s not:
“no connection”
or “100% unchanged ancient lineage”
It’s:
continuity + mixture over time
That’s how population genetics works everywhere, not just here.
So the takeaway isn’t about proving some kind of “100% DNA purity”, it’s about understanding how real populations evolve across history.
I have no time for self proclaimed intellectuals who think it’s a thought provoking fart -
I do not read your eugenic diatribe
If you did not feel in your bones and soul and gut and heart October 7, 2023 Israel genocide, then you don’t know what the Flying Fuck you’re farting about
You’re verklempt -
How can any Semitic/Hebrew/Jewish person by DNA ancestry over religious practices have no connection to ancient to today's Israelis? That is absent of all common sense critical thinking.
I get what you’re trying to say, but the way you’re framing it mixes a few different things that genetics doesn’t actually treat as the same.
As I said, terms like “Semitic,” “Hebrew,” or even “Jewish” aren’t strict DNA categories—they’re linguistic, cultural, and religious identities. There isn’t a single gene that makes someone “Semitic” or “Hebrew,” so it’s not as straightforward as “if you are X, your DNA must show Y.”
Second, nobody is really arguing that Ashkenazi Jews have zero connection to ancient Israelites, that’s not what mainstream genetics says. What the science shows is more nuanced:
There IS a real ancestral connection to populations from the ancient Levant
But there has also been significant mixing with other populations, especially in Europe over many centuries
So it’s not about “common sense vs. no connection”, it’s about avoiding an oversimplified either/or.
Also, the idea of being “100% anything” over thousands of years just isn’t how human genetics works. Every population changes over time through migration and intermarriage. That doesn’t erase earlier ancestry, it just adds layers to it.
Are you of the Yid? With a name like Casey, I doubt it.
What is your DNA ancestry? Do you feel it. Do you know it in your soul and bones?
Science has yet to come up with so-called findings to account for this.
I dismiss your ignorance with keep on learning and one day you’ll come to some modecom of facts.
But for now, the Shark Tank says you’re out!
Who ever said that Jew-haters possess common sense and critical thinking?
Whoever does lacks critical thinking common sense reality to the enth degree. I don't know what the enth degree is but it was common to hear moms and grand moms use that phrase then, the enth degree - And all I knew, I didn't want to go and end up in the enth degree. Though I've been too close in my early life, only the demons in hell give the thoughts to weak minds that antisemites mindsets and actions thereof, are of common sense critical thinking.
I think you’re right to push back on the claim that Ashkenazi Jews have no connection to the ancient Israelite. That idea isn’t supported by mainstream genetic research.
That said, this particular study doesn’t prove as much as you’re suggesting. It focuses specifically on mitochondrial DNA (maternal lineages) and mainly deals with distinguishing founder lineages from later admixture. It doesn’t analyse paternal DNA or the full genome, so it can’t by itself establish a complete picture of Ashkenazi origins.
When you look at the broader body of genetic research, the consensus is more nuanced: Ashkenazi Jews are a diaspora population with substantial Middle Eastern ancestry, consistent with origins in the ancient Levant, AND significant European admixture over time. Both of those things are well-supported and not mutually exclusive.
So yes, claims of “no connection at all” are incorrect. But it’s also an oversimplification to present studies like this as proving a single, pure origin. The reality the science points to is more complex, and honestly more interesting: continuity and mixture over centuries.
Why are you making the statement you are or did and the link not about Semitic/Hebrew/Jewish DNA as your statement is protesting a most absurd and ridiculous matter. So, you get readers wondering and you provide a link. A URL. And that URL comes to an article "...MUSLIMS VERSUS JEWS" - I think then your outrage at something only stand up comedians could work into a bit, was an intentional ruse to a link to yet another topic I'm not interested in and because it has nothing to do with what I was expecting. So your Ashkenazi Jews against all Semitic/Hebrew/Jewish DNA is nothing but spilled can of vegetable soup. And like Penn and Teller, You didn't fool me!
They are generally considered by many to be descended from one of Abraham’s sons. That’s pretty antique.
And it’s well recognized that many of the indigenous Arabs of Palestine, whom you so easily demean, are in fact descended from Jews, who stayed after the destruction of the temple and simply assimilated via a process that we see every day right here in the United States of America. Finally, unless you rely on the most tortured of arguments, being on a land for at least 1500 uninterrupted years constitutes being pretty antique as compared to people whose most recent claim is 2000 years old.
It’s all a tiresome argument, and we would do well to accept that.there is a multi tribal, multi religious, multi ethnic indigenous group in Palestine/Israel, and that they will all need to live together. It’s obviously the only way forward is the one state solution and many of us find it strange that so many Israelis, as well as Jews around the world, seek a single state that encompasses East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, even though that single state will have more Gentiles than Jews. Go figure…
A bit touchy?
Of course you aren’t like every other Jew. There just aren’t many doppelgängers out there. But they are just as Jewish as you are, even Ivanka Trump. And if you convert to be a Lutheran you’ll be just as Lutheran as I am. It’s not an exclusionary thing. Why would you be offended to be compared to a fellow Jew? And why would the assumption that you are inclusionary say anything apparently negative about me? Maybe it means there is more than a whiff of racism where you’re concerned even when it involves other Jews. No wonder the Ethiopian Jews got such a bad reception in Israel.
These sentiments are most likely what makes it so easy for the West Bank squatters (and their amazing family trees) to abuse the indigenous Arabs of Palestine. A proud lineage apparently doesn’t result in basic human goodness where they are concerned.
I have a clear genetic connection back to the Vikings. So we can both break our arms patting ourselves on the back about our antique genetics. Despite that Scandinavia isn’t my homeland. The United States is where my birthright is. I’m not clear as to the land of your birth and where your birthright resides.
But congratulations Apparently you qualify for the Jewish equivalent of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
What’s it say inside the Liberty Bell? I was born here too. Who was Haym Solomon? Admiral Rickover? You’re a disrespectful little prick who doesn’t understand the values this country is built on. Congratulations on being descended from barbarians. I come from a much older civilization. We prefer compassion to whatever you’re writing here. Feel free to proclaim your liberties somewhere else junior viking.
It’s such nonsensical blabber, completely unrelated to the article about genetics, that I won’t waste any more time on it. Sorry.
So we can both break our arms patting ourselves on the back about our antique genetics. Let’s celebrate the wonderful mess of us.
No antique Arabs.
You are every bit as Jewish as Ivanka Trump! If you choose to be a Lutheran then you’ll be as Lutheran and I am. If you’re an American your birthright country is the USA. Just like Ivanka and the rest of us.
If you’re Israeli then Palestine, including Israel, is your birthright region. Just as it is for the rest of the Jews there and all of the indigenous Arabs.
Have you even read the article I’m commenting on? Probably not—because if you had, you wouldn’t have written such a silly comment. The article clearly explains that Ashkenazi Jews have Middle Eastern genetics, traceable all the way back to biblical times. It doesn’t matter where someone was born in the last generation—the genetic connection is still there.
That also explains why people like me are different from others born in the same places—physically, behaviorally, and even in how we think. I descend from the lineage of kohanim, who served in the Temple, and my mother’s family can trace its documented history in a European ghetto back several centuries.
So if you’re comparing me to a convert with no Jewish ancestry at all, it says a lot about you—but nothing about me.
👌👍✡️🇮🇱🕎🙏🔥✡️🇮🇱🕎🙏🔥✡️🇮🇱🕎
What do you think of this ChatGPT analysis of the linked study and your headline?
Here’s a careful, evidence-based take on that study and the claim in the screenshot.
🔬 What the actual paper says
The paper you linked (in Human Gene) is much narrower than the headline suggests.
It focuses on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) — i.e., maternal lineages only, not the whole genome. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2773044125000713?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
Its key methodological point is distinguishing:
“Founder lineages” (from the original population)
“Absorbed lineages” (later admixture)
One of its main findings:
<15% of Ashkenazi mtDNA appears to come from later external admixture (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2773044125000713?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
👉 That means most maternal lineages trace back to a relatively small founding group — a known “founder effect.”
🧠 What the headline gets right (and wrong)
✔️ Reasonable interpretation
The study can support:
A strong founder population signal
Continuity in lineages over time
Some connection of that founding group to earlier populations (possibly including the Middle East)
❗ Where the headline overreaches
The claim:
“maternal and paternal lineages … share a common Middle Eastern origin”
is not something this study directly proves, because:
It does NOT analyze paternal DNA (Y-chromosome) → so it cannot independently conclude anything about paternal origins.
It does NOT analyze full genome ancestry (autosomal DNA) → which is what most population genetics uses to estimate overall ancestry.
It focuses on lineage structure, not geographic origin modeling
🧬 What the broader scientific consensus says
Across many large-scale genetic studies:
Ashkenazi Jews are consistently modeled as a mixed population:
Roughly ~40–60% Middle Eastern (Levantine)
Roughly ~40–60% European (mostly Southern European) (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/394471209_Genetic_Proximity_of_Modern_Palestinians_and_Ashkenazi_Jews_to_Iron_Age_Levantines_A_Quantitative_Paleogenomic_Analysis?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
Key pattern:
Paternal lines → mostly Middle Eastern
Maternal lines → significant European contribution (in many earlier studies) (https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/ashkenazi-jewish-ancestry-confirmed-european-by-mtdna-tests/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
Overall:
They cluster genetically between Middle Eastern and European populations, not exclusively one or the other (https://www.science.org/content/article/tracing-roots-jewishness?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
🧪 So how does this new study fit in?
What’s interesting about it
It challenges earlier interpretations that maternal ancestry is largely European
It argues that some “European-looking” mtDNA may actually be:
misclassified founder lineages
rather than true later admixture
👉 That’s a methodological refinement, not a total rewrite of history.
What it does not overturn
It does NOT overturn the broader consensus that:
Ashkenazi Jews are a genetically admixed population
With both Middle Eastern and European ancestry
🧾 My overall assessment
Strengths of the study:
Useful new method for distinguishing founder vs later lineages
Helps explain why previous studies may have overestimated “European maternal ancestry”
Limitations:
Narrow scope (mtDNA only)
Cannot justify sweeping claims about:
total ancestry
both maternal and paternal origins
geographic origin of the entire population
🧠 Bottom line
The study is legitimate but specialized
The headline you showed is overstated and simplified
The best-supported view remains:
Ashkenazi Jews descend from a Middle Eastern ancestral population that mixed significantly with European populations, especially during the early diaspora.
If you want, I can break down how mtDNA vs Y-DNA vs autosomal DNA each tell different parts of the ancestry story—that’s usually where a lot of confusion comes from.
Maybe convince *ucker Qatarson?
Maybe not.
Great article. But inveterate Jew-haters will never change, regardless of the facts. Interesting how no Jew-hater calls for ARAB DNA tests to see if they are "indigenous" to any place outside of Arabia. (And not even there, as they are do mixed.)
Just keep this in mine my fellow and related Semitic/Hebrew/Jewish folks. We also share the same DNA as Yeshua Messiah Lord Jesus Christ. Don't fall over backwards or do back flips, this is pure science of critical thinking common sense.
Yeshua Messiah shares YHVH'S DNA and our own! HE is ours. And we let HIM go and we can easily, easier than ordering off a menu in a restaurant, get HIM back, just merely for the asking!
I know. Trust me. I know!
Cool article. But I think if you ask any Jew today, we are of mideastern DNA. In fact when I fill out those ridiculous doctor office intake forms when they ask for race, I am offended that Semitic or at least mideastern origin is not a selection.
I’ve been saying I’m mideastern for 30 years - without revealing my age when I am now to when I started. I believe by the time most humans become middle age, we become ethnocentric.
Cool article. But I think if you ask any Jew today, we are of mideastern DNA. In fact when I fill out those ridiculous doctor office intake forms when they ask for race, I am offended that Semitic or at least mideastern origin is not a selection.
This is new?
Diaspora Jews are genetically linked and are genetically linked to Israel.
Thank you for this. I just discovered through my own DNA that I have Ashkenazi Jewish in me! I am 100% European. Truly fascinated!
Im Shocked!!!
ISSUES WITH THIS STUDY:
1. Not reviewed and in pre-print (not necessarily an issue, however, the explicit note in the preprint ("Please do not cite") suggests that the findings are preliminary, and potential flaws may only be fully identified once peer-reviewed).
2. The authors have faced criticism in the past relating to their use of phylogenetic analysis, particularly in accurately placing lineages on a family tree. For instance, Karl Skorecki himself noted flaws in the phylogenetic analysis of a 2013 study by Costa et al., suggesting that such issues could also apply to his own work. The 2025 study relies heavily on lineage extinction calculations and the Galton-Watson branching process to estimate the proportion of founder versus absorbed lineages. If the phylogenetic assignments of mtDNA haplogroups are not robust, the conclusions about the Near Eastern versus European origins of maternal lineages could be misleading.
3. The study challenges the hypothesis of significant European maternal ancestry (e.g., Costa et al., 2013, which suggested up to 81% of Ashkenazi maternal lineages were European). Livni and Skorecki argue for a predominantly Near Eastern origin for both maternal and paternal lineages, but their conclusions may downplay evidence of European admixture supported by other studies. For example, haplogroups like K1a1b1a, K1a9, and K2a2a1 have been linked to European ancestry in prior research, which could contradict the study's assertion of a unified Near Eastern origin. This discrepancy suggests potential bias in interpreting haplogroup origins or insufficient consideration of alternative data.
4. The use of lineage extinction theory and the Galton-Watson branching process assumes high degrees of endogamy and specific population growth rates (e.g., a geometric growth ratio). These models may not fully account for historical events like migrations, conversions, or intermarriage, which could introduce additional mtDNA lineages. For instance, the study acknowledges minor introgression from non-Ashkenazi Europeans but may underestimate the impact of such events if the models are too rigid.
5. Assigning mtDNA haplogroups to specific geographic regions (e.g., Near East vs. Europe) is inherently challenging due to the ancient distribution of haplogroups across multiple regions. The study's assertion that major lineages like N1b2 are of Levantine origin may oversimplify the complex history of these haplogroups, which could have been present in both the Near East and Mediterranean Europe. The reliance on a limited set of reference populations may also skew the interpretation of lineage origins.
6. I hate to say it - but this seems like a ploy by them to counter the mountains of online talk about the "indigeneity" of Ashkenazim. Dismissing significant European maternal ancestry may reflect an agenda-driven approach rather than a purely scientific one.
7. Lastly, as a note, we have a recent study from Erfurt dated 2022, which places Ashkenazi autosomal dna from the middle east as 22%. (Shamam Waldman et al). LINK: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867422013782
Well, if Ashkenazi Jews are really European, why the nearly 2,000 year slaughter of Jews in Europe? Why the racial theories that Jews were Semitic Asiatic aliens? And that includes *Sephardi* Jews in the Iberian Peninsula. They were not of the "Pura sangre" persuasion.
**at 22% ** for note 7. Got tired by the time I got to 7
Of course Jews have ties to the Middle East.
Not the European ones, though. ;)
“European ones” are Jews. Now your low IQ increased by a few points.
Nah. That's why they don't want DNA test.
You shouldn’t be getting your information about Israel from TikTok. I had a DNA test conducted in Israel, paid by insurance.
Don't.
Just take the DNA tests. What's the big deal? :)