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Doesn't make sense. As a genealogist, I know that with each generation, the number of ancestors doubles, so that by the time you are at the level of great-great grandparents you are looking at 16 individuals who contributed to your heritage/gene pool.

If Ms Gonzalez was raised a Catholic, it is logical to think that her Jewish ancestors intermarried with the Catholic Spaniards, therefore, she probably has a whole lot more gentile blood than Jewish. Perhaps she believes that one drop is enough to negate her family's history with all the other lines? The fact is that if you go back far enough, she likely had Moslem ancestors too since the Moors were in Spain for many centuries before the reconquest under El Cid.

Doesn't make sense. As a genealogist, I know that with each generation, the number of ancestors doubles, so that by the time you are at the level of great-great grandparents you are looking at 16 individuals who contributed to your heritage/gene pool....The fact is that if you go back far enough, she likely had Moslem ancestors too since the Moors were in Spain for many centuries before the reconquest under El Cid.

Is there a genealogy ping-list here? I'm into genealogy as well, but I digress.

As you say, if we go back far enough, we are going to find all kinds of things, and for many, it may make them a bit uncomfortable. I wouldn't be surprised if I had Moorish blood - in fact I would be surprised if I didn't. I pointed to an article about Lute Olson - he didn't even know hardly anything about his family past his parents, because of early deaths. Many people are like that as well - ask them who their great-grandparents were and you'll get a blank look.

I do find it interesting that this article brings up the fact that some seemingly-Jewish traditions were passed down in Ms. Gonzalez line. Those make for very strong arguments about having Jewish ancestors, but if you that far back, your going to find non-Catholics, maybe Muslim, etc.

That's an excellent point. There are two ways to be a Jew; to have your mother a Jew and you to practise and identify, or to convert. However, for some people, it might be lifechanging for them to reconnect with a seemingly lost or suppressed part of their heritage that their family has carried on for many years without truly understanding why.

A few drops of Jewish blood does not make someone Jewish. Even many half-Jews are not Jewish. It's a matter of identifying.

with each generation, the number of ancestors doubles

That's assuming that each great-great-[...]-grandparent is a different individual, when coming from a small and close-knit community your great-great-greats from several generations back might be the same person.