| Web Wire Editor's Note: Four Frisky Foremothers |
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| Written by Daniel Estrin | |||||
| Wednesday, 01 February 2006 | |||||
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What Your Genes (Don’t) Say About You For Jewish news junkies glued to the moving CNN ticker, it has been an alarming couple of weeks: a party that refuses to recognize the State of Israel has taken over the Palestinian government, Iran has announced that it will host a Holocaust denial conference this spring, and the Prime Minister of Israel still remains comatose. But did you catch this delicious piece of Jewish news? A newly released genetic study finds that 40 percent of today’s Ashkenazi Jews are descended from just four women. According to the study, each woman left a genetic imprint that is traceable to their female descendants today. The women lived somewhere in Europe within the last 2,000 years, though it is unknown if they lived in the same place or even in the same century. This piece of news implies a number of things: first, those four foremothers were real frisky women. But more importantly, the findings are dramatically redefining identity. Now, with a $100 cheek swab test, you yourself can receive a printout featuring a breakdown of your genetic origins, a scientific pie chart of who you are. Amy Harmon, who forked out the $100 and was tested positive to being a descendant of one of the famed women, wrote about her experience in a recent New York Times article. She’s thrilled about the findings; the scientific proof about her identity gives her a sense of validation. But does identity really have anything to do with genetics? Harmon wonders. Her article features a former activist in the 1960s Black Power movement who is flabbergasted when her test results come in: her ancestors aren’t African at all; they are Native American, Sardinian and Chinese. The Israeli scientist who authored the study says that the study sheds light on disease patterns, but using the findings to construe identity presents a slippery slope. “Identity is metaphysical, not physical,” he says. Definitions are tricky, especially with the “who is a Jew” question. It doesn’t appear that rabbis will now look to gene printouts as sufficient proof of Jewishness. The genes that lurk behind your cheek, waiting for a swab test, don’t say anything about how you live your life as a Jew today. But if scientific proof of ancient ancestors sparks a new interest in exploring the religion, culture, and ideas of your fellow Ashkenazi gene-carriers today, maybe the gene map will point you in some new directions. It would certainly make your foremothers kvell. Here’s the genetic makeup of this Web Wire: Hillel students repair Katrina-damaged homes on the Gulf Coast, Jerusalem hosts the world’s largest Scrabble club, and Wicca meets Judaism meets urban life. There’s no scientific test to prove what Jews have got to do with Katrina, Scrabble and Wicca. You’ll just have to read to believe it.
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