So what about DNA testing companies claiming to be able to find Jewish ancestry?
Michael says he isn’t a science buff so he isn’t a position scientifically to say if it is legitimate or not.
From what Michael has learned from speaking with geneticists it seems they have a strong case to make that they can identify what are typically Jewish genes. In the eyes of Jewish law a person is Jewish if their matrilineal line is Jewish.
So the child of a non-Jewish father and a Jewish mother would be considered Jewish. Whereas the child of Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother would not be considered Jewish.
Freund believes DNA tests raise an interesting question of whether a DNA test can be presented to a rabbinical court to prove Jewishness.
“It means that we might be entering a new era where DNA evidence could come to play a more central role in determining or helping to determine someone’s Jewish identity.”
He added that we still have to be careful because being Jewish is a mixture of a religion and a nation.
“If someone wants to be a Jew it is not just taking on oneself the actions of the religion it is also taking on the identity of the nation.
"Those are two things that go together. We know throughout history, there have been non-Jews or outsiders who have joined the Jewish people and therefore we would assume there are plenty of people walking around that consider themselves Jewish and are considered Jewish but who knows what their DNA test would reveal.”
While optimistic about the potential usage of DNA testing to reveal Jewish ancestry, he said it should not be something that is used to kick people out of Israel. He also noted that it will be very interesting to see how the rabbis decide to relate to genetic testing.
Israel one nation, with many faces.
Michael added that diversity is one of Israel’s greatest strengths.
“Some people view it as a disadvantage because of diverse perspectives about policies issues. On the other hand we live in a world that is increasingly globalized and it is in Israel’s interest as a nation and people that there shouldn’t just be Russian Jews, American Jews and Canadian Jews, there should be Chinese Jews and Brazilian Jews. We need to start looking at diversity as something that is not only good when you are building your financial portfolio but also your national portfolio. It is a sign of strength for our people that we don’t all look alike, and sound alike.”
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