The origins of the Lemba "Black Jews" of southern Africa: evidence from p12F2 and other Y-chromosome markers.

The Lemba are a southern African Bantu-speaking population claiming Jewish ancestry. Allele frequencies at four different Y-specific polymorphic loci, as well as extended-haplotype frequencies that included data from several loci, were analyzed in an attempt to establish the genetic affinities and origins of the Lemba. The results suggest that > or = 50% of the Lemba Y chromosomes are Semitic in origin, approximately 40% are Negroid, and the ancestry of the remainder cannot be resolved. These Y-specific genetic findings are consistent with Lemba oral tradition, and analysis of the history of Jewish people and their association with Africa indicates that the historical facts are not incompatible with theories concerning the origin of the Lemba.     

Y chromosomes traveling south: the cohen modal haplotype and the origins of the Lemba--the "Black Jews of Southern Africa"

The Lemba are a traditionally endogamous group speaking a variety of Bantu languages who live in a number of locations in southern Africa. They claim descent from Jews who came to Africa from "Sena." "Sena" is variously identified by them as Sanaa in Yemen, Judea, Egypt, or Ethiopia. A previous study using Y-chromosome markers suggested both a Bantu and a Semitic contribution to the Lemba gene pool, a suggestion that is not inconsistent with Lemba oral tradition. To provide a more detailed picture of the Lemba paternal genetic heritage, we analyzed 399 Y chromosomes for six microsatellites and six biallelic markers in six populations (Lemba, Bantu, Yemeni-Hadramaut, Yemeni-Sena, Sephardic Jews, and Ashkenazic Jews). The high resolution afforded by the markers shows that Lemba Y chromosomes are clearly divided into Semitic and Bantu clades. Interestingly, one of the Lemba clans carries, at a very high frequency, a particular Y-chromosome type termed the "Cohen modal haplotype," which is known to be characteristic of the paternally inherited Jewish priesthood and is thought, more generally, to be a potential signature haplotype of Judaic origin. The Bantu Y-chromosome samples are predominantly (>80%) YAP+ and include a modal haplotype at high frequency. Assuming a rapid expansion of the eastern Bantu, we used variation in microsatellite alleles in YAP+ sY81-G Bantu Y chromosomes to calculate a rough date, 3,000-5,000 years before the present, for the start of their expansion.     

Genetics,History, and Identity: The Case of the Bene Israel and the Lemba

The paper examines the impact of genetic research on the religious identity of the Bene Israel Indian Jewish community and the Lemba Judaising group of southern Africa. It demonstrates how DNA tests which happened to support the possibility of the communities' legends of origin affected their self-perception, the way they are viewed by their neighbors, and their image in the West. It is argued that in both cases what accounted most for the Bene Israel and Lemba responses to the tests was the way the results were portrayed in the mass media, the history of the development of Judaism in their communities, and the local realities.     

Yearning for the Long Lost Home: The Lemba and the Jewish Narrative of Genetic Return

This commentary examines the relationship between genetics and Jewish identity. It focuses especially on the use of Y‐chromosome testing to map the genealogies of the Lemba in southern Africa.     

Yearning for the long lost home: the Lemba and Jewish narrative of genetic return

This commentary examines the relationship between genetics and Jewish identity. It focuses especially on the use of Y-chromosome testing to map the genealogies of the Lemba in southern Africa.     

Constructing black Jews: genetic tests and the Lemba--the 'black Jews' of South Africa

This commentary examines the use of Y-chromosome testing to reconstruct a genetic ancestry for the Lemba, a group in southern Africa that has long considered itself Jewish. The commentary looks especially at the reasons why this project drew such attention from the mainstream media.     

Increased resolution of Y chromosome haplogroup T defines relationships among populations of the Near East, Europe, and Africa

Increasing phylogenetic resolution of the Y chromosome haplogroup tree has led to finer temporal and spatial resolution for studies of human migration. Haplogroup T, initially known as K2 and defined by mutation M70, is found at variable frequencies across West Asia, Africa, and Europe. While several SNPs were recently discovered that extended the length of the branch leading to haplogroup T, only two SNPs are known to mark internal branches of haplogroup T. This low level of phylogenetic resolution has hindered studies of the origin and dispersal of this interesting haplogroup, which is found in Near Eastern non-Jewish populations, Jewish populations from several communities, and in the patrilineage of President Thomas Jefferson. Here we map 10 new SNPs that, together with the previously known SNPs, mark 11 lineages and two large subclades (T1a and T1b) of haplogroup T. We also report a new SNP that links haplogroups T and L within the major framework of Y chromosome evolution. Estimates of the timing of the branching events within haplogroup T, along with a comprehensive geographic survey of the major T subclades, suggest that this haplogroup began to diversify in the Near East -25 kya. Our survey also points to a complex history of dispersal of this rare and informative haplogroup within the Near East and from the Near East to Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. The presence of T1a2 chromosomes in Near Eastern Jewish and non-Jewish populations may reflect early exiles between the ancient lands of Israel and Babylon. The presence of different subclades of T chromosomes in Europe may be explained by both the spread of Neolithic farmers and the later dispersal of Jews from the Near East. Finally, the moderately high frequency (-18%) of T1b* chromosomes in the Lemba of southern Africa supports the hypothesis of a Near Eastern, but not necessarily a Jewish, origin for their paternal line.     

Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of Semitic languages identifies an Early Bronze Age origin of Semitic in the Near East

The evolution of languages provides a unique opportunity to study human population history. The origin of Semitic and the nature of dispersals by Semitic-speaking populations are of great importance to our understanding of the ancient history of the Middle East and Horn of Africa. Semitic populations are associated with the oldest written languages and urban civilizations in the region, which gave rise to some of the world''s first major religious and literary traditions. In this study, we employ Bayesian computational phylogenetic techniques recently developed in evolutionary biology to analyse Semitic lexical data by modelling language evolution and explicitly testing alternative hypotheses of Semitic history. We implement a relaxed linguistic clock to date language divergences and use epigraphic evidence for the sampling dates of extinct Semitic languages to calibrate the rate of language evolution. Our statistical tests of alternative Semitic histories support an initial divergence of Akkadian from ancestral Semitic over competing hypotheses (e.g. an African origin of Semitic). We estimate an Early Bronze Age origin for Semitic approximately 5750 years ago in the Levant, and further propose that contemporary Ethiosemitic languages of Africa reflect a single introduction of early Ethiosemitic from southern Arabia approximately 2800 years ago.     

The Multiple Meanings of Jewish Genes

This article addresses contemporary social challenges created by new genetic research on Jews and by Jews, and its implications for the meanings of Jewish identity, on both the individual and the collective levels. The article begins with a brief overview of selective genetic studies of Jewish populations and the controversies they have generated. It continues with an examination of the emerging field of Jewish genetic demography, which employs genetic tests to identify lineages, claim kin, and support Jewish historical and political claims. Here the article explores how Jewish genetic demographers interpret genetic studies to reinforce oral tradition and Biblical prophecy about the origins of the Jews and their experience in the Diaspora. This research is then juxtaposed with debates that emerge from contemporary rabbinic deliberations over the appropriate uses of new reproductive technologies, debates that, contrary to the assertions of Jewish genetic demographers, suggest genes are believed to possess limited ability to confer or create Jewishness in the traditional rabbinic imagination. In the final section of this article, a debate is staged about contemporary biomedical practices that allow for the exchange and transfer of body parts and bodily substances, as a strategy for challenging genetic notions of Jewish identity.     

Not black,but Habasha: Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants in American society

In this article, I examine the identity choices of Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants of Amhara, Tigrayan and Tigrinya ethnicity within the context of the larger debate on how non-white immigrants are being incorporated into American society. I argue that these immigrants resist racialization even while their actions and attitudes potentially reinforce America's racial divide. They implicitly challenge American racial categories by thinking of themselves as Habasha, which they view as a separate non-black ethno-racial category that emphasizes their Semitic origins. Meanwhile, they often distance themselves from American blacks through pursuing transnational connections, producing Habasha spaces, displaying the attributes of a ‘model minority’ and preserving Habasha beauty through endogamy. By remaining relatively isolated within their ethnic communities in Washington, DC, which is the focus of this study, they may succeed in differentiating themselves from American blacks, but they are not likely to join the American mainstream on a par with whites.     

Making sense of Jewish ethnicity: Identification patterns of New Zealanders of mixed parentage

Modern social life is sometimes characterized as ‘post‐traditional’, an environment where personal identity is continually reconstructed. Concepts of ethnic identity on the other hand usually evoke some notion of tradition, continuity with the past, and intersubjectivity. This article discusses the personal accounts of Jewishness given by a sample of New Zealanders with ‘mixed’ (Jewish and gentile) backgrounds. It explores and analyses their use of themes that come from both modernity and Jewish tradition and defines the different types of identification implicit in their accounts. Particular attention is paid to how these kinds of identification are transmitted, because the literature (on both Jewishness and ethnicity in general) contains debates about the persistence of different expressions of identity. I conclude that a substantial dispersal of Jewish identity has occurred in New Zealand which apparently contradictory theoretical positions are useful in explaining. This suggests that a more holistic perspective is required to account adequately for the diversity of ethnic identity in contemporary society.     

Types Distinct from Our Own: Franz Boas on Jewish Identity and Assimiliation

Boas's published writings on assimilation were deeply influenced by his German Jewish background. In particular, his unwillingness to recognize Jewish cultural identity as a reality was central to his persistent emphasis on human plasticity and his insistence that people not be "classified" in groups. In support of this argument, 19th-century German and German Jewish history is reviewed, focusing on the relation between Kultur ideology and anti-Semitism. It is suggested that this approach to Boas's statements offers fresh perspective on some of the apparent confusion in his ideas about culture and assimilation.     

The sero-anthropology of the Rhodesian Lemba

122 Rhodesian Lemba were blood grouped to establish whether there was any serological evidence to support their claim to be immigrants into central and southern Africa; and whether their endogamous practices had resulted in blood group frequencies different from those of their present neighbours. Our results are typical of those found in central Africa, and show no similarity to the blood group frequencies of populations outside sub-Saharan Africa.     

Speaking the conflict,or how the Druze became bilingual: a study of Druze translators in the Israeli military courts in the West Bank and Gaza

The Druze community occupies a distinctive niche in the broader context of Israel/Palestine, one which is located in the interstices of various socio-political cross-currents, notably Jewish/Arab and Israeli/Palestinian. Druze Israeli identity is built around a politics of difference and separation from all other population groups residing in this area, yet it is an ambivalent and contradictory designation. This article focuses on those Druze who, through their service in the army, have been used as translators in the military courts in the occupied territories. The preference of Druze for this role relates to the fact that they have both bilingual skills (Hebrew and Arabic) and a socio-political status as 'non-Arab Arabs'. Following a general discussion of the politicization of Druze identity, I analyse the state's uses of Druze bilingualism for the purposes of maintaining and legitimizing the occupation, and the effects that fulfilling such a role have had on those who have functioned in this capacity.     

Jewish identity and the meaning of community in contemporary Denmark

This article examines social, ritual and political structures in the Jewish Community of Copenhagen, Denmark. This community maintains great vitality despite profound fragmentation in its membership, as well as intensive interaction by its members with non-Jewish culture. It does so by providing flexible contexts for participation by its members, so that Jews with profoundly diverse understandings of group and self can engage with Jewish identity. The community does not foster a single model of ethnic identity, but rather provides a symbolic space within which individual members can construct their own understandings of self and group. Such symbolic spaces may become increasingly essential for ethnic groups in late modern societies, where it has become difficult to maintain the sorts of cultural consensus and separation that have historically grounded ethnic communities.     

Comparison of LCI studies in South Africa and Germany

This article investigates the possibilities for and potential applications of Life Cycle Assessments (LCA’s) and specifically of Life Cycle Inventories (LCI’s) in developing countries (e.g. South Africa). The situation in South Africa is compared to that prevailing in Germany, a highly developed country. Although South Africa is unique concerning the different degrees of development within the industry, most of the principles discussed in this article can be applied similarly to other developing countries. No significant full LCI studies have yet been performed in South Africa. Although the immediate local needs for the South Africa enonomy are solving labour problems, creating jobs, building houses, the industries should seriously consider performing LCA and related studies for their products. The concept of quality should be extended to include the environmental performance of a product, process or service.     

Invasive <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tamarix</Emphasis> (Tamaricaceae) in South Africa: current research and the potential for biological control

Most species of Tamarix originate in Eurasia and at least five species have become invasive around the world, including South Africa. However, T. usneoides is indigenous to southern Africa, where the potential for biological control of the invasive species is being investigated. Recent research on the invasive species is reviewed here with particular reference to these South African biocontrol efforts. The successful biological control programme against invasive Tamarix in the USA, using several species of “Tamarisk beetle”, is being used as a guide for the South African research. The South African programme is complicated by firstly, the presence of the indigenous T. usneoides which raises the precision of host-specificity required, and secondly, the introduced and indigenous Tamarix have a high intrinsic value for phytoremediation of mine tailings dams in South Africa. The phylogenetic proximity of these Tamarix species to each other has contributed to this challenge, which has nevertheless been successfully addressed by molecular techniques used to separate the species. In addition, classical morphological techniques have been used to separate the Tamarisk beetles, so that now they can generally be matched to Tamarix tree species. Overall, it is concluded that given the broad knowledge now available on the ecology and identity of both the trees and their biocontrol agents, the prospects for successful biological control of Tamarix in South Africa are good.     

Paperwork,patronage, and citizenship: the materiality of everyday interactions with bureaucracy in Tamil Nadu,India

This article explores the material practices through which lower-caste and poor villagers engage with bureaucracy in contemporary India. We take documents and paperwork – such as ration cards and community certificates – as a ‘lens’ through which to explore how paper materiality is infused with the politics of power, patronage, and identity. The article brings ethnography from rural Tamil Nadu, South India, in conversation with two bodies of literature: one on the materiality of bureaucracy and one on the nature of political mediation in contemporary India. We demonstrate how everyday engagements with paperwork as well as processes of applying, form filling, and securing recommendations are constitutive of social and political relationships and, ultimately, of citizenship itself. Political mediation around paperwork and bureaucracy generates a hierarchy of citizens rather than equal citizenship for all, yet ordinary villagers transpire as anything but passive. Drawing on patronage networks, engaging in affective performances, and navigating a politics of identity, they actively negotiate access to the state in an attempt to claim their rights as citizens.     

Genesis Dreams: Using a Private, Psychological Event as a Cultural, Political Declaration

The article examines the role of the 13 dreams in the book of Genesis. The dreams are first shortly described (following Gnuse, 1984, and Oppenheim, 1956) in their historical context: the Near-East of over 3000 years ago. The structure of some of the dreams is then discussed and compared to dreams from another historical period, that of modern Jewish Moroccan pilgrims (Bilu & Abramovitch, 1985), whose faith is based largely on the Bible. Following this discussion of the structure, the message of the dreams, regarding both the near future, and the remote, national future, is described. The article discusses the argument that all these dreams serve the purpose of establishing a common national identity, which has been historically the basis of Jewish faith. Possible reasons for using dreams in conveying the message are then discussed. The article ends with a discussion on the declining importance of the dream in the post-Genesis Bible.     

Race,ethnicity and German identity: a media analysis of the 2010 world cup men's national soccer team

Enjoying a surge of national pride, the German media celebrated the 2010 German World Cup team's success in South Africa. A dominant theme in this coverage was the ‘immigration background’ of 11 of the 23 players on the team and their claim to German identity despite their ethnic diversity. Amid debate over the changing nature of German citizenship, the national team's ‘multicultural kickers’ became the focal point for those who wished to re-frame German identity. This article examines German newspaper and magazine coverage of the national soccer team emphasizing the role that media played in constructing competing definitions of the German citizen and nation.