A study conducted at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine has uncovered some fascinating findings about North African Jewry by tracing their DNA. The study has exposed information about the origins and migratory patterns of this expansive branch of Jewry, information especially relevant to Jewish historical records and beliefs. According to Dr. Harry Ostrer, a medical geneticist at Einstein and principal author of the report, North African Jews are more closely related to other Middle Eastern and even European Jews than they are to non-Jews of the area. They are not the descendants of natives who converted to Judaism, implying minimal intermarriage. “Jews tend to be more related to one another than they are to non-Jews, including non-Jews living nearby — it’s true in every region,” Ostrer said.
These findings recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences are the most current in a series of genetic studies, which began in the 1990s. The findings demonstrate that the world’s Jews share more than just religious and cultural connections; they share biological similarities as well. The study “strengthens the case for a biological basis for Jewishness,” said Ostrer. Ostrer’s previous research had primarily focused on genetics of American Jews, but for this study he turned to analyzing DNA samples collected from 145 people of North African Jewish origin — from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Djerba, and Libya. Ostrer and his colleagues examined the genomes of 509 Jews and 11 non-Jews from North Africa.
The DNA samples used in the study also carry a record of their migrations over the centuries and show a link to the Middle Eastern people that migrated to North Africa more than 2,000 years ago (the time of the Diaspora), confirming that these populations date to biblical-era Israel. Other findings substantiate the genetic link between North African Jews and their Spanish and Portuguese Jewish neighbors who escaped to North Africa after the expulsion in 1492.
Moreover, scientists found that the Jewish populations of North Africa became more genetically distinct over time, with each country carrying their own unique DNA signatures. “That suggests they mostly married within their own religious and cultural group”, said Ostrer. “They lived in ghettos,” he said, “so their mobility was quite restricted, and by marrying each other they became as closely related as first cousins once removed.” Common DNA signatures also show that some African groups are more genetically related to European Jews than predicted. Ostrer concludes that this proposes “a shared set of founders,” from the Middle East who migrated west.
Furthermore, the scientists noticed that North African Jews formed two major groups: Moroccan and Algerian Jews shared more DNA with European Jews while Tunisian and Libyan Jews were more closely related to Middle Eastern Jews. This is most likely due to the fact that Jews living in Western Africa (Morocco and Algeria) intermarried with Sephardic Jews who left during the period of the Spanish Inquisition. According to Ostrer this discovery “could reflect bidirectional migrations” to and from North Africa and Europe over a thousand-year period. Similarly, the findings verify accounts that in 312 B.C., Egypt’s king settled Jews in what is now Tunisia. After the destruction of the second Temple in the year 70 C.E, 30,000 Jews were deported to Carthage, in what is now Tunisia.
In many cases, the analyses have confirmed what historians gathered from archaeological findings and historical accounts. Yeshiva University historian and professor Lawrence Schiffman said the results agreed with the historical record nicely. “It’s exciting to see that what we know from the history books is turning out to be real in the genetics,” he said.
The findings have also extended past North African Jewry and can help better understand “Jewish geography”. “What’s new here is the inclusion of several Jewish communities whose DNA had not been studied before, such as those of Tunisia and Georgia,” said geneticist Marcus Feldman of Stanford University, co-author of a 2009 study about genetic similarity between European and Middle Eastern Jews.
Another finding concluded from the research: Georgian Jews are closely related to those of the Middle East, including those in Iraq and Iran. “That shows there was significant migration of Jewish populations along the Silk Road beginning in the Persian Empire,” Ostrer said. “Just a small number of founders started Jewish communities in India, Burma, and Georgia.”
The research also found that Ethiopian Jews are so distantly related to other Jews that their community must have been founded by only a few nomads who converted local people to Judaism. It also suggests the founding was more than 2,000 years ago, which helps explain why Ethiopian Jews flown to Israel during “Operation Moses” in 1984 didn’t know about the story of Chanukah, which only happened after their ancestors had left Israel.
The scope of the research has added a new dimension to scientists’ understanding of the Jewish genetic web, which can possibly help genetic links to diseases. Ostrer, also a physician and director of genetic and genomic testing for the division of clinical pathology at Montefiore Medical Center, noted that obtaining an ample genetic fingerprint of different Jewish populations can help reveal genetic links to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Ostrer’s research has filled in the gap of the second largest Diaspora community, from North Africa. Professor Karl Skorecki, a leading genetics researcher and nephrologist at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center comments that, “This Einstein-led research is definitive…This paper continues the team’s excellent work in the past few years on DNA markers across the entire genome.” Skorecki agrees that understanding Jewish genetics can help understand disease patterns and stated that the research shows, “very interesting genetic consistency and a confirmation of history… using genetics can also be a historical tool.”