Author takes scientific look at cultural myths

“Abraham’s Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People,” by Jon Entine (2007, Grand central publishing)

Yes, we are told by author Jon Entine, most Jewish males and half of Palestinian Arabs do have a common male ancestor, a veritable DNA Abraham, who lived about 7,800 years ago. Entine kicks off this year’s Jewish Book Fair Nov. 3. (See box below for details)

Through DNA studies, we can thus learn about prehistoric “blood relationships” and group migrations. There is also the possibility of getting answers to genetic diseases, such as a form of breast cancer that primarily afflicts Jews, including the Entine family. A third motivation for DNA testing is the search for lost or unknown relatives.

Jon Entine likes to probe controversy. Having written about why different populations excel in different sports, he now asks about a genetic basis for the perception that most Jews are unusually smart. He reports that high IQ scoring is largely confined to the Ashkenazi segment of Jews — those from north of the Alps. Sephardic or Mediterranean Jews are usually testing no higher than average, although insular pockets do test higher. This may help rebut the theory of something innate and permanent in the Jewish genes. Evolutionary or cultural developments in the history of Ashkenazi Jews seem to have prepared them, on average, for high IQ scores and other achievements.

Unmentioned in Entine’s valuable book is the use of DNA to undercut the “German” and “Russian” labels that plagued past generations. While my paternal line was considered “German” by my family, my DNA matches strongly suggest Lithuanian or at least Eastern European origins prior to the late 18th century, when known family history disappears. On the other hand, testing by another Kansas City family with an Eastern European history shows long-ago matches with a German-Jewish family that apparently never lived in Eastern Europe. These results are consistent with history. Many German Jews sought refuge in the East in the Middle Ages. Westward movement back to Central Europe seems to have been triggered by events such as the Cossack outbreaks in the late 1640s. Jewish family histories in Northern Europe are thus thoroughly scrambled.

The Entine book examines and rejects the hostile theory that Ashkenazi Jewish males had no historic association with the biblical homeland. It does, however, confirm that a minority — about 20 percent — may have Euro-Asian prehistoric origins and never lived in the Levant. One plausible explanation would be converts, such as the nobility of the Khazar empire, north of the Black Sea. Picking up another related controversy, Entine discusses the testing of men with Ashkenazi Levite traditions. About half have families with something like Khazar ancestry, who were not on the scene in biblical times. Similar test results were found for the Burgheimer family from Kansas City, the only such results I know about locally. One theory explaining such results could be that the common ancestor, about 1,000 years ago, had Levites in the maternal line, and possessed the prestige or power to obtain recognition of Levite status for himself.

Entine also discusses testing of the all-female lines. He endorses the view that a very large segment of Ashkenazi female inheritance comes from non-Jewish European women. This form of family creation may have largely ceased when both Jews and Christians adopted restrictions on intermarriage late in the days of the Roman Empire. The narrowing of marital choices has resulted in almost 40 percent of Ashkenazi Jewish women being identifiably descended from only four women, or “matriarchs,” who lived long ago. The male lines also contain large clusters of descendants from a single person. It has been suggested that the large cluster in which my Sachs line fits contains as cousins almost 7 percent of Ashkenazi Jewish males.

Jon Entine has produced a comprehensive book on DNA science and Jewish history that may be mind-boggling for many in the Jewish community.

Howard F. Sachs is a senior judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

2009 Jewish Book Fair schedule

This year’s Jewish Book Fair, sponsored by the Jewish Community Center, kicks off with Jon Entine, the author of “Abraham’s Children: Race, Identity and the DNA of the Chosen People,” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.
• At 7 the next night, Wednesday, Nov. 4, Louise Borden, author of “The Journey that Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey,” will speak at the Jewish Community Campus, co-sponsored by the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education.
• Gloria Goldreich, author of “Open Doors,” will talk about her novel at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, at the Campus.
• The JCC is a co-sponsor of the Festival of Faiths, featuring Eboo Patel, author of “Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, The Struggle for the Soul of a Generation.” Patel will talk at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, at Congregation Beth Shalom, 9400 Wornall Road.
• Benyamin Cohen, author of “My Jesus Year: A Rabbi’s Son Wanders the Bible Belt In Search of His Own Faith,” will headline the annual continental breakfast at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, at the Campus.
• Veteran broadcast journalist Martin Fletcher, author of the memoir “Breaking News,” will give the Milton Firestone & Bea Firestone Flam Memorial Lecture at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, at the Campus.
• “Rashi’s Daughters” author Maggie Anton will appear at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, at Kehilath Israel Synagogue.
• “Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean,” discussed by author Edward Kritzler, will conclude the Book Fair at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23, at Village Shalom.
There is a charge for Patel’s Festival of Faiths speech and for the breakfast with Cohen, however reservations are requested for all events. Tickets are available at the Jewish Community Center. For more information, call (913) 327-8000 or visit www.jcckc.org.

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