Unkefer2020

Y-DNA affinities of Jewish males, according to the Family Tree DNA database (Unkefer (2020)). Like Palestinians, peninsular Arabs, and other modern Semitic peoples, haplogroup J is the most frequently occurring paternal clade today among Jewish males (41%). The lineage first introgressed into the ancient Semitic gene pool around the Bronze Age, when it was introduced by foreigners from the Iranian plateau/Caucasus. This is also supported by Behar et al. (2017), who note that “haplogroup J grants the largest overall contribution to the Ashkenazi paternal gene pool, accounting for 38% of the total variation.” The next most prevalent Y-DNA haplogroup carried by Jewish males is E1b1b (20%), the main paternal lineage of the Semites’ immediate Pre-Pottery Neolithic and Mesolithic Natufian forebears. A significant minority of Jewish individuals also bear the R1 clade (~18%), a lineage that their Semitic ancestors appear to have picked up through intermixture with Indo-European speakers. All told, Jews predominantly carry Middle Eastern-associated Y-DNA lineages (~73% of the J, E, G and T clades).