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I hate the Khazarian myth with a passion. Same for similar Edomite and Christian Identity cult claims about White people being the true Jews etc. Completely anti-scientific long disproven nonsense.
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Genetic continuity in the Levant is real and strongest in Palestinians and Lebanese. But that doesn’t make Ashkenazi Jews “Europeans with zero connection” or “Khazars.” Genome-wide studies since 2010 and ancient-DNA work through 2022 consistently model Ashkenazim as admixed—substantial Levant-derived ancestry plus European admixture—with an early founder bottleneck. The “zero link” and “Khazar” claims collapse on contact with the data.
What the data actually say
Ashkenazim form a distinct cluster with mixed Southern-European and Levantine ancestry. Two large 2010 genome-wide studies showed that Jewish diaspora groups, including Ashkenazim, form related clusters that are intermediate between Southern Europeans and Levant/North-African Middle Easterners—consistent with substantial Near-Eastern/Levantine ancestry plus European admixture acquired in the Diaspora.
Modern ancient-DNA modeling keeps finding the same thing. The Southern Arc mega-study (727 ancient genomes) explicitly models AJs as a mix of Mediterranean-European and Levant/Middle-Eastern sources; it does not support a steppe-Turkic/Khazar origin. Medieval German Jewish genomes likewise show the classic AJ founder bottleneck already in place and ancestry tied to Mediterranean Europe and the Middle East—not the Khazar steppe.
Paternal vs maternal lines: different signals, same conclusion. It’s true that several maternal founder lineages in AJs are European (≈40% of AJ mtDNA falls into four European-origin founders). But uniparental markers don’t trump autosomal ancestry: the genome-wide picture still shows a large Levant-derived component. (Put simply: European mothers joined a Near-Eastern-derived community.)
Khazar hypothesis: repeatedly tested, repeatedly unsupported. A dedicated genome-wide analysis found no evidence that AJs derive from Khazars. This was published as a direct rebuttal to Elhaik’s claim and remains the consensus view. Medieval AJ genomes also contradict a Khazar model.
Levantine continuity is real—especially among Palestinians/Lebanese—and Jews share in it. Ancient Canaanite/Levantine DNA (e.g., Sidon ~2000 BCE) shows strong continuity into present-day Lebanese (and, by extension in related work, Palestinians). That strengthens Palestinian indigeneity—but it does not erase Levant-related ancestry in Jews detected by the genome-wide studies above. Both can be true: Palestinians ≈ highest continuity; AJs = admixed, with a substantial Judean/Levant-related component.
Language isn’t dispositive for ancestry. Ashkenazim spoke Yiddish as a vernacular while maintaining Hebrew/Aramaic as liturgical and scholarly languages. Linguistic shift in the Diaspora says little about biological descent, and the genetics don’t rely on language to infer sources. (This is why the field uses genomes, not philology, to model ancestry.) No citation needed here; it’s standard inference logic.
Specific refutations:
“No genetic continuity / Ashkenazim are just Europeans.” False. Multiple genome-wide studies place AJs between Southern Europeans and Levant/North-African Middle Easterners and infer substantial Levantine/Middle-Eastern input (alongside European admixture).
“It’s all Khazar.” Not according to the data. A focused genome-wide paper reports no Khazar signal, and medieval AJ genomes point to Mediterranean+Levant sources with an early founder event.
“mtDNA proves European origin.” mtDNA reflects maternal lines only. Yes, several maternal founders are European (~40% of AJ mtDNA), but the autosomal genome still shows major Near-Eastern/Levantine ancestry. Uniparental ≠ whole-genome.
“Palestinians (and Lebanese) are the Canaanites; Jews aren’t.” Levantine continuity into today’s Palestinians/Lebanese is robust. But genome-wide work on Jews shows shared Middle-Eastern/Levant connections, not zero. The correct framing is relative continuity, not exclusivity.
Citations:
Behar et al. Nature 2010 — Jewish diaspora clusters with shared Middle-Eastern ancestry.
Atzmon et al. AJHG 2010 — Distinct Jewish clusters; Near-Eastern relatedness across diasporas.
Costa et al. Nat Commun 2013 — ≈40% AJ mtDNA founders are European (maternal signal only).
Behar et al. Human Biology 2013 — “No evidence from genome-wide data of a Khazar origin for the Ashkenazi Jews.”
Carmi et al. Nat Commun 2014 — AJ founder event; Jewish + European origins illuminated.
Waldman et al. Cell 2022 — Medieval German Jews show founder event pre-14th c.; Mediterranean+Levant links.
Haber et al. AJHG 2017 — Canaanite aDNA → strong continuity into modern Lebanese (parallel for Palestinians).
Lazaridis et al. Science/Cell portfolio 2022 — Southern Arc ancient DNA; AJ ancestry modeled as Mediterranean Europe + Levant/Middle East, not Khazar.
