Dispelling Some Myths About the World’s Most Persecuted People
Genome studies a few years ago established — as per the Bible thousands of years before them — how both Jews and Arabs have the same ancestors in common, a fact many find unsettling:
Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, including one pair of ‘sex chromosomes’ which are XY in males and XX in females. Thus the Y chromosome is passed down only through the male line, from father to son.
… Michael Hammer at the University of Arizona in Tucson and colleagues, some from Israeli universities, analysed 18 sections of the Y chromosomes from 1,371 men. They came from 29 different populations, including seven Jewish (Ashkenazi (European), Roman, North African, Kurdish, Iraqi and Iranian, Yemenite and Ethiopian Jews), five Arabic (Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians, Israeli Druze and Saudis) and 16 non-Semitic groups.
The close similarities within the Jewish Y-chromosomes, even from widely scattered populations, was compelling evidence that they all come from a common ancestor. The study also showed that Arabs are closely related to Jews.
Dr. Harry Ostrer, director of the Human Genetics Program at New York University School of Medicine, one of the co-authors of the paper, said:
‘Jews and Arabs are all really children of Abraham … And all have preserved their Middle Eastern genetic roots over 4,000 years.’
The study also showed that the Jewish populations had generally remained genetically isolated from gentile populations all this time. It is further evidence that modern Jews largely kept the Old Testament laws (albeit with extra man-made traditions) for centuries after they were dispersed, until quite recently.
What about those “lost tribes” we keep hearing about? And what does “British Israelitism” have to do with it? Sarfati explains:
(Click on image to enlarge.)
Some have promoted the idea that the British people are descended from the 10 allegedly ‘lost tribes of Israel’. Alas, a major feature of British Israelitism is that it ignores or explains away the weight of biblical evidence, which must be normative for the Christian. It also ignores the well-documented history of the Jews after the close of the Biblical Canon, but places a heavy weight on non-biblical accounts of dubious reliability. Fact is, the tribes were not lost. The Bible is clear where the tribes went, and that representatives of all tribes returned from Israel (Ezra 6:17). The prophetess Anna was a Jewess from the tribe of Asher (Luke 2:36), which proves they were not ‘lost’ even by the time of Christ. Even later, James wrote an epistle ‘To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations’ (literally ‘To the twelve tribes which are in the diaspora/dispersion’) (James 1:1), and it would be hard to know where to mail it if 10 of the tribes had been lost! — Ibid.
Is it “Once a Jew, always a Jew”? Yes, says Sarfati:
Since the coming of Christ, the barrier between Jew and Gentile has been broken down (Ephesians 2:14). Now both Jews and Gentiles can become one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28, Col. 3:11).
Note also, the true biblical definition of Jew is purely one who is a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It has nothing to do with religion. Biblically speaking, one is born either a Jew or a Gentile, and one remains this way till death. The Bible calls Gentiles who converted to Judaism ‘proselytes’, not ‘Jews’ (Acts 2:10–11). Conversely, a Jew remains a Jew whether he believes in Jesus Christ or becomes an atheist. The first Christians were all Jews, and I myself am a Jewish Christian; conversely many Israelis are secular. — Ibid.
The fact that modern Israel is overwhelmingly secular and continues further in that direction daily has implications for U.S.-Israeli foreign policy far beyond this discussion.
Sarfati’s conclusions:
The Y chromosome evidence is consistent with the Bible’s teaching that Abraham would be the ancestor of a great nation, namely Israel or the Jews, and that the Arabs are also children of Abraham (via Ishmael). It is also consistent with the biblical teaching that all Jewish priests are descendants of Aaron.
The same evidence confirms that all Jewish people groups today really are physical descendants of Abraham [the Bible], not from Khazar converts [Arthur Koestler’s theory], while the British people are not physical descendants of Abraham [“British Israelitism”].
Jesus Himself, while fully God, is a Jew and a descendant of Abraham. Both Jews and Gentiles can become spiritual descendants of Abraham by believing on Jesus. — Ibid.
When you consider how Satan has targeted the Jews for extermination since the beginning of time, it’s nothing short of a miracle that the children of Abraham still exist!
Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, including one pair of ‘sex chromosomes’ which are XY in males and XX in females. Thus the Y chromosome is passed down only through the male line, from father to son.
The same evidence confirms that all Jewish people groups today really are physical descendants of Abraham [the Bible], not from Khazar converts [Arthur Koestler’s theory], while the British people are not physical descendants of Abraham [“British Israelitism”].