[Pharmboy]

Well, SA, I'll tell ya this: U, my cousin-in-law, is a Kurdish Jew. Great guy--love him. But he is several shades darker than all the Ashkenazi Jews I know. This doesn't jibe with the evident lack of intermarriage that they talk about among the Ashkenazi. Oh well...I guess I still have to believe the genes.

[muawiyah]

The characteristic we call "skin color" is forced by latitude. This is most likely related to the need for Vitamin-D which is produced in the skin through exposure to Sunlight. Dark skin blocks out the Sun's rays. Light skin let's them in. There are numerous sites on the net that explain this.

[RobbyS]

guess I still have to believe the genes. Choice also enters in. Suppose Jews who live among light-colored non-Jews may unconsiciously prefer to marry lighter-colored members of their own group so that their children will not stand-out so much. It can work in reverse, so the descendents end up darker.

[A. Pole]

Well, SA, I'll tell ya this: U, my cousin-in-law, is a Kurdish Jew. Great guy--love him. But he is several shades darker than all the Ashkenazi Jews I know. This doesn't jibe with the evident lack of intermarriage that they talk about among the Ashkenazi. Oh well...I guess I still have to believe the genes.

Pigmentation can change relatively fast without admixture of foreign genes. After a thousand or so years related groups can diverge visibly in their adaptation to the climate and sunshine.