The difference between Jewish and Palestinian DNA

The war between Israel and Gaza has been the occasion for certain folks to be labeled as “antisemitic”, including myself on the account of my various blogs. 

Yet, both Jews and Arabs share some ancestral links due to their Semitic roots, including genetic markers with ancient populations from the Eastern Mediterranean or Levant region, even though there some slight genetic differences between the two populations. In fact, the term "Semitic" refers mostly to a linguistic group. 

The language family in question includes Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, and others spoken in the Middle East and North Africa. Yet, it’s also vaguely linked to ethnicity. Obviously, over many centuries both groups intermixed with surrounding populations, leading to some genetic differences. 

Jews, for example, show some genetic connection to European and Middle Eastern populations they interacted with during their diaspora and Palestinian obviously show more genetic connections to populations from the Levant. This includes Mizrahi Jews from the Middle East and North Africa, Ashkenazi Jews who migrated from the Near East to the Rhine Valley region around the first millennium after Christ, Sephardi Jews from the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the late 15th century. 

As for the Palestinian population, it likely descends from a mixture of ancient inhabitants of the region, including Canaanites, Israelites, and Arab tribes who arrived in the 7th century of our current era. Over time, these populations intermixed, forming the core of the Palestinian identity. 

So, we’re dealing with pretty much the same people but with different religions and cultures, Judaism and Zoroastrianism two very ancient (respectively 4,000 and 3,500 years old) monotheistic beliefs, and then Islam an updated monotheistic religion inspired from Judaism and Christianity. 

In conclusion, pretty much the same folks with similar origins and DNA that are behaving like tribal factions, stealing their brother’s land and killing each other. Not a paragon of civilized behavior.