Published: 5 March 2019
Last updated: 4 March 2024
A FEW WEEKS AGO, something extraordinary happened that could forever affect the future of the Jewish People and the State of Israel.
There has long been speculation of significant Jewish ancestry among the populations of Latin and North America and Europe. Much of that was consistent with historical data, in that we know that extremely large numbers of those Jews who had been forcibly converted in Spain and Portugal – referred to variously as Anousim, Marranos, Conversos and Crypto-Jews – fled the Iberian Peninsula to the New World during the Age of Discovery, beginning late in the 15th century.
Now, unprecedented genetic research undertaken by dozens of professors from around the world has provided evidence that almost a quarter of Latinos and Hispanics have significant Jewish DNA.
The study, published in Nature Communications in December 2018, revealed that the number of descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jewish communities is far higher than even the largest estimates previously suggested.
FULL STORY Genetic research: Almost 25% of Latinos, Hispanics have Jewish DNA (Jerusalem Post)
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