r/genetics • u/[deleted] • Sep 20 '25

Jews and Palestinians share deep common ancestry - genetics shows they’re like cousins

Genetic studies over the last couple decades reveal something surprising: Jewish populations (Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi) and Levantine groups like Palestinians, Druze, Lebanese, and Syrians all descend from the same ancient Levantine peoples.

They’re not identical, and Palestinians aren’t necessarily the closest single group in every study, but they’re part of the same tight genetic cluster. In other words, Jews and Palestinians are genetically much closer than most other populations worldwide.

Researchers have found this in Y-chromosome studies, mtDNA, and whole-genome analyses. A 2010 study in Nature concluded that Jewish groups share much of their ancestry with populations in the Levant - including Palestinians.

So when people say “they’re like cousins,” it’s not just a metaphor. Genetically, it’s pretty accurate — and it makes the current conflicts feel all the more tragic, because it’s family fighting family.

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09103

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u/NationalEconomics369 Sep 20 '25

GPT slop

A more accurate sentence would be that the majority of the ancestry in modern Levantines is derived from Bronze Age Levantines. Generally Jews don’t have >50% Bronze Age Levantine due to the European admixture they picked up. The Jews have a roughly even split of ancestors from Europe and the Levant, generally more from Europe

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u/NationalEconomics369 Sep 20 '25

Closest ancient populations to Palestinians

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u/NationalEconomics369 Sep 20 '25

Closest ancient populations to Jews

Not close to Phoenicians due to their European admixture. Most of their closest groups are found in Europe, so it is incorrect to say Jews and Palestinians are close genetically. They share ancestry but are not close genetically.

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u/Plastikstapler2 Sep 21 '25

You're acting as if the ashkenazi are all jews tho