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“The closest genetic neighbors to most Jewish groups were the Palestinians, Israeli Bedouins, and Druze in addition to the Southern Europeans, including Cypriots,” as Ostrer and Skorecki wrote in a review of their findings that they co-authored in the journal Human Genetics in October 2012.

The Lemba tribes in Zimbabwe have oral tradition that their ancestors were "Jews" who left Judea about 2,500 years ago and settled in a place called Senna, later migrating into East Africa. After 2,500 years of exile, British DNA tests have proven that the Lemba traces its linage to the Kohanim (Priests) of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, After entering Africa, the tribe is said to have split off into two groups, with one staying in Ethiopia, and the other traveling farther south, along the east coast. Some settled in Mozambique, and eventually migrated to South Africa and Zimbabwe. Most...

The Lemba people of Zimbabwe and South Africa may look like their compatriots, but they follow a very different set of customs and traditions. They do not eat pork, they practise male circumcision, they ritually slaughter their animals, some of their men wear skull caps and they put the Star of David on their gravestones. Their oral traditions claim that their ancestors were Jews who fled the Holy Land about 2,500 years ago. It may sound like another myth of a lost tribe of Israel, but British scientists have carried out DNA tests which have confirmed their Semitic origin. These...

"The Genetic Bonds Between Kurds and Jews"by Kevin Alan BrookKurds are the Closest Relatives of JewsIn 2001, a team of Israeli, German, and Indian scientists discovered that the majority of Jews around the world are closely related to the Kurdish people -- more closely than they are to the Semitic-speaking Arabs or any other population that was tested. The researchers sampled a total of 526 Y-chromosomes from 6 populations (Kurdish Jews, Kurdish Muslims, Palestinian Arabs, Sephardic Jews, Ashkenazic Jews, and Bedouin from southern Israel) and added extra data on 1321 persons from 12 populations (including Russians, Belarusians, Poles, Berbers, Portuguese,...

Genetic evidence links Jews to their ancient tribe By Judy Siegel JERUSALEM (November 20) - Genetic evidence continues to provide additional proof to the claims that the Jewish people are descended from a common ancient Israelite father: Despite being separated for over 1,000 years, Sephardi Jews of North African origin are genetically indistinguishable from their brethren from Iraq, according to The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. They also proved that Sephardi Jews are very close genetically to the Jews of Kurdistan, and only slight differences exist between these two groups and Ashkenazi Jews from Europe. These conclusions are reached in an...

T h e L e m b a The Black Jews of Southern Africa Historical Introduction Over 2,700 years ago, the Assyrians exiled the ten tribes of the Kingdom of Israel. "In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and he carried them away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of Medes." In the years 722-721 BC (over 2700 years ago), the Ten Tribes who comprised the northern Kingdom of Israel disappeared. Conquered by the Assyrian King Shalmaneser V, they were exiled to...

This week's Torah portion, Emor, opens with an extensive series of laws regarding the conduct of the Kohanim, the priests of the Jewish nation, who minister and serve in the Tabernacle and the Temple. Because of the elevated status of the Kohanim and the sanctity of the Tabernacle and Temple, priests are required to follow a strict physical and spiritual regimen. Because of the serious responsibility conferred upon them, the Kohanim are expected to live up to a sacred ideal, and be adequately prepared to properly perform their Temple and Tabernacle duties. Members of the priestly class are not, for...

ERRIADH, TUNISIA // In 586BC the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar laid waste to Jerusalem, inadvertently sowing seeds for a Jewish haven across the sea that has outlived his realm by 25 centuries and counting. Legend tells that refugees fled to the Tunisian island of Djerba, carrying a block from the ruined Temple of Solomon. Today it lies beneath the El Ghriba synagogue, the cornerstone of a thriving Jewish community. And after decades of Jewish exodus from Arab countries, that community is growing. For western holidaymakers, Djerba is a strip of lavish resorts along a sandy Mediterranean coast. For Tunisians, it also...

Genetics, DNA - strong Proof of (almost all) Jews' roots to the land of Israel, not so for Arabs /"palestinians" [The "palestinian" Arabs as "cousins" MYTH]Jews and their neighbors: The Middle East With Jews looking increasingly like a relatively cohesive population largely of Middle Eastern origin, the logical next question is how close a genetic relationship exists with other Middle Eastern groups. A study of Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs published in 2000 by Israeli researchers revealed what the authors described as "a relatively recent common ancestry." It was greeted with euphoric proclamations that Palestinians and Jews are "brothers." A...

During the 1990s, Welsh professor Tudor Parfitt, known around the world as the “British Indiana Jones,” discovered evidence that the Lemba tribe in central Zimbabwe and northern South Africa has Jewish roots. He identified a genetic element in the male chromosomes of the tribe that comes from the Kohanim, the Jewish priestly line. This year, Dr. Parfitt published his latest of 25 books, Black Jews in Africa and the Americas. He also joined the faculty of Florida International University (FIU) and led an expedition to Papua New Guinea to visit the Gogodala tribe, which like the Lemba claims to be...

The ceremony has become a tradition ever since the liberation of the Temple Mount during the Six-Day War in 1967 and is seen as an observance of the Jewish obligation to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Temple three times a year, on Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles). During the weeklong Pesach and Sukkot holidays, the ceremony is held on the second of the Hol haMoed (intermediate) days. Hundreds of kohanim, Jews who trace their lineage to Aaron, the first High Priest, stood closest to the Western Wall to take part in the special blessings....

Israelites Came To Ancient Japan Many of the traditional ceremonies in Japan seem to indicate that the Lost Tribes of Israel came to ancient Japan.Arimasa Kubo Ark of the covenant of Israel (left) and "Omikoshi" ark of Japan (right) Dear friends in the world, I am a Japanese Christian writer living in Japan. As I study the Bible, I began to realize that many traditional customs and ceremonies in Japan are very similar to the ones of ancient Israel. I considered that perhaps these rituals came from the religion and customs of the Jews and the Ten Lost Tribes of...

Ever heard about the 'Khazar' myth pushed by the Neo-Nazis/KKK? In fact, Jews are both a nation and a religion. the percentage of those with any roots in khazaria is so minimal, that there was only one non-historian "writer" that came up with the idea to say that the percentage is higher. As a penpal who is of Jewish background told me once: 'Before the WW2 Were were told to go BACK to Palestine where we came from... now the same haters don't even grant us that...' Hitler VS Khazar mythOddly enough, Hitler's "aryanism" and anti-Jewish sick obession was AGAINST...

The search for the Ark of the Covenant has led to renewed speculation that the biblical artifact may be hidden inside a church in Ethiopia, but historians have pushed back against the theory. Archaeologists have searched for centuries for clues and hints of where the Ark, containing the stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God, could be. The BASE Institute has sent research teams to Ethiopia, Egypt, Israel and Rome and it believes the evidence points to Ethiopia. Although it has not found the actual Ark, it stated, "As unusual as this may sound, the BASE...

BIBLE scholars claim to have uncovered the final resting place of the legendary Ark of the Covenant – saying the holy relic was most likely smuggled out of Israel to Africa. _________________________________________________________________ Bible Archaeology, Search & Exploration Institute (BASE) claim there is strong evidence that the Old Testament’s ark’s resting place is in Ethiopia. The Ark of the Covenant is one of the most sought after relics from the Bible, being the trunk said to contain the Ten Commandments handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai. It is said the chest is made of wood and covered in gold, containing...

Readers of the Old Testament are familiar with the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred golden chest carried by the Israelites during their wanderings in the desert and finally placed in the temple built by King Solomon. The 1981 adventure/fantasy film Raiders of the Lost Ark by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas introduced a Hollywood version of the Ark to a much larger global audience outside the Jewish and Christian traditions. That movie ends with the Ark disappearing in a large crate, along with thousands of other similar crates, into a huge U.S. government warehouse. The Ark did indeed disappear,...

Last month, if you were visiting Adis Ababa in Ethiopia, you would have witnessed an astonishing sight. Every January, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrates a festival called Timkat, during which their senior priests parade through the streets of Ethiopia’s capital. They carry a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, as onlookers drop to their knees in reverence. This obscure branch of Christianity has approximately 50 million adherents, most of whom live in Ethiopia. Aside for this sect’s curious affinity to the Hebrew Scriptures and Jewish practices — evident in their observance of kosher laws, separation of the sexes...

Biblical tabernacle search under way At the site of an ancient city on the West Bank, archaeologists are hunting for evidence of the tabernacle that once housed the Ark of the Covenant. Associates for Biblical Research, a consortium of individuals and universities, recently completed four weeks of excavation in Shiloh with the goal of eventually locating the tabernacle.

Archaeologists funded by Christian organizations are taking a shovel — again — to Tel Shiloh, an archaeological site that was a major center of worship for ancient Israelites. They’re looking for the ark of the covenant, the holy chest containing the two stone tablets on which Moses is said to have written the Ten Commandments, which was stationed at the ancient city of Shiloh for 400 years.

Psalm 132 - in what is probably the least read verse: Lord Jehovah, remember David and all his affliction! For he swore to Lord Jehovah and vowed to the God of Jacob: “I shall not enter to the roof of my house; I shall not ascend to the mattress of my bed,” “I shall not give sleep to my eyes, neither slumber to my eyebrows” “Until I find a place for Lord Jehovah and a tent for the God of Jacob“. Behold, we heard it in Ephrata and we found it in the fields. We shall enter his tabernacle and...