A Tale of Two Hypotheses: Genetics and the Ethnogenesis of Ashkenazi Jewry

Article // University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 2013. - 35 p. A recent study of genetic variation in southeastern European populations also proposed a Khazarian origin for Ashkenazi Jews, eliciting considerable criticism from other scholars investigating Jewish ancestry who favor a Near Eastern origin of Ashkenazi populations. This paper re-examines the genetic data and analytical approaches used in these studies of Jewish ancestry, and situates them in the context of historical, linguistic, and archaeological evidence from the Caucasus, Europe and the Near East. Based on this reanalysis, it appears not only that the Khazar Hypothesis per se is without serious merit, but also the veracity of the 'Rhineland Hypothesis' may also be questionable.