Journal axes gene research on Jews and Palestinians
* Buzz up!
* Digg it
* Robin McKie, science editor
* The Observer, Sunday 25 November 2001 11.24 GMT
* Article history
A keynote research paper showing that Middle Eastern Jews and Palestinians are genetically almost identical has been pulled from a leading journal.
Academics who have already received copies of Human Immunology have been urged to rip out the offending pages and throw them away.
Such a drastic act of self-censorship is unprecedented in research publishing and has created widespread disquiet, generating fears that it may involve the suppression of scientific work that questions Biblical dogma.
'I have authored several hundred scientific papers, some for Nature and Science, and this has never happened to me before,' said the article's lead author, Spanish geneticist Professor Antonio Arnaiz-Villena, of Complutense University in Madrid. 'I am stunned.'
British geneticist Sir Walter Bodmer added: 'If the journal didn't like the paper, they shouldn't have published it in the first place. Why wait until it has appeared before acting like this?'
The journal's editor, Nicole Sucio-Foca, of Columbia University, New York, claims the article provoked such a welter of complaints over its extreme political writing that she was forced to repudiate it. The article has been removed from Human Immunology's website, while letters have been written to libraries and universities throughout the world asking them to ignore or 'preferably to physically remove the relevant pages'. Arnaiz-Villena has been sacked from the journal's editorial board.
Dolly Tyan, president of the American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, which runs the journal, told subscribers that the society is 'offended and embarrassed'.
The paper, 'The Origin of Palestinians and their Genetic Relatedness with other Mediterranean Populations', involved studying genetic variations in immune system genes among people in the Middle East.
In common with earlier studies, the team found no data to support the idea that Jewish people were genetically distinct from other people in the region. In doing so, the team's research challenges claims that Jews are a special, chosen people and that Judaism can only be inherited.
Jews and Palestinians in the Middle East share a very similar gene pool and must be considered closely related and not genetically separate, the authors state. Rivalry between the two races is therefore based 'in cultural and religious, but not in genetic differences', they conclude.
But the journal, having accepted the paper earlier this year, now claims the article was politically biased and was written using 'inappropriate' remarks about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its editor told the journal Nature last week that she was threatened by mass resignations from members if she did not retract the article.
Arnaiz-Villena says he has not seen a single one of the accusations made against him, despite being promised the opportunity to look at the letters sent to the journal.
He accepts he used terms in the article that laid him open to criticism. There is one reference to Jewish 'colonists' living in the Gaza strip, and another that refers to Palestinian people living in 'concentration' camps.
'Perhaps I should have used the words settlers instead of colonists, but really, what is the difference?' he said.
'And clearly, I should have said refugee, not concentration, camps, but given that I was referring to settlements outside of Israel - in Syria and Lebanon - that scarcely makes me anti-Jewish. References to the history of the region, the ones that are supposed to be politically offensive, were taken from the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and other text books.'
In the wake of the journal's actions, and claims of mass protests about the article, several scientists have now written to the society to support Arnaiz-Villena and to protest about their heavy-handedness.
One of them said: 'If Arnaiz-Villena had found evidence that Jewish people were genetically very special, instead of ordinary, you can be sure no one would have objected to the phrases he used in his article. This is a very sad business.'
14 comments:
I was speaking to a Muslim a few days ago and he said, you have something in u, I said yes "I am 1/4 Jew", he looked at me and said "Noooooooooo", I said yeeeeeeeess, and you my freind have more jew in you than you can imagine.It was the last thing that he thought of , me being part jewish, hehe, when I told him of his own ancestrial origins, he looked mortified. haha, the same people, who would have thought it :O)I may be a 3/4 Brit, but all my Ancestors have faught,including Sir General Picton is my Great Great,Great Grandfather have lost limbs ,given great sacrifice and even died for our country and that is the big difference..
T
Good to see you get a mention today Lee, only wish i could have heard your speech.
Of all nationalists, You inspire me the most with your great wide ranging intellect which contributes so much to the nationalist cause helping to keep things fresh, balanced and enlightening, I support the BNP as I can think for myself and draw my own conclusions, Which also means I am not a dumb dogmatic party animal but a pragmatist and a realist, something I see in the majority of your posts and in nationalism in general.
I hope one day we will meet and have a full discussion on the issue of nationalism and debate the best way forward as unfortunately I am far more articulate in person than through a keyboard - the written word.
Cheers Lee keep up the great work.
Genetics may not separate Jews and Arabs but the promises of God will e.g. "Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them" Deuteronomy 1:8.
Only literal Jews are the lineal descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
No Arab or 'Palestinian' gets in on the promised land.
However, another scripture, Zechariah 13:8-9 indicates that two-thirds of Jews in the land of Israel will die in the tribulation leading up to the 2nd Advent. That would be about 4,000,000 and maybe up to 9,000,000+ if Jews worldwide gravitated to Israel in those times.
Verse 9 refers to refinement. Therefore, one possibility is that, by means of selective genocide, God intends to cull the mixed race portion of Jewry.
Which might please some British anti-Semites. Best not to shout about it, though:
"And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" Genesis 12:3.
It's just a question of waiting to see how it works out.
Thanks mate,
I look forward to having a chat with you one day.
All ideas and opinions welcome.
We cant evole without free thinkers.
Also good to see you back as well Alan, hope you are well mate.
Lee
One thing about the Jews I have always respect Extant is that they are fighters.
You are right mate, they are a strong and tough people.
They are q people to admire for their toughness and loyalty to their community.
They have a lot to teach us as regards loyalty and dedication to a cause.
Lee
Hi Lee
Yes, thanks, we're well up here in the NE, the snow not withstanding. Hope you are likewise doing well.
A further thought on Israel, one thing to monitor I suggest is the likelihood of increasing pressure for Israel to accept some form of UN control. The late Arafat was unequivocal about eventual Arab domination of the land of Israel when he addressed the UN a number of years back. His intentions probably still command a lot of support within that not-so-august body.
Hi alan,
yes mate, cold but fine in the SE.
I remember that Arafat speech - I think you may be right,
regards,
Lee
Lee ,
You are right to a degree, the lineage is there mate, but my fathers Grandfather was a real scum bag, my Grandmother got rid of him soon after they were married..
I come from a long line of Welsh fighters, not Jews.
I have dealt with many of jew in my time, I have never had a problem, simply because I think like some of them;deep and crafty ;o)
You are right, we must adopt like them and stop our people self destructing by stabbing their own kind in the back; thats the key !!
If I knew u were speaking the other day, me and my Mrs would have attended for sure..you are a real insperation .
Lover boy or Fighter ;o)
Well, well ....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38471000/jpg/_38471545_straw_arafat150ap.jpg
You will find that the Jews of present day Israel divide genetically into two groups ; the intellectual Ashkenazi and the lower class Sephardin. The former came from eastern Europe mostly after the war and are the descendants of the Khazars a tribe which converted to Judaism in the 9th century and originally inhabited an area close to Armenia. The Sephardim are the Mediterranean converts most of whom converted in the 7th and 8th centuries and were Arabs.
The concept of a Jewish nation and the myth of the expulsion in AD 70 are all 19th century invented stories and have no basis in fact. The most interesting genetic analysis would be between Sephardim and Ashkenazi as there will be no link.
Here are the results of another DNA study:
The finding of a common set of genetic markers in both Ashkenazi and Sefardi Kohanim [priestly line] worldwide clearly indicates an origin pre-dating the separate development of the two communities around 1000 C.E. Date calculation based on the variation of the mutations among Kohanim today yields a time frame of 106 generations from the ancestral founder of the line, some 3,300 years, the approximate time of the Exodus from Egypt, the lifetime of Aharon HaKohen [Aaron of the Book of Exodus]...
Wider genetic studies of diverse present day Jewish communities show a remarkable genetic cohesiveness. Jews from Iran, Iraq, Yemen, North Africa and European Ashkenazim all cluster together with other Semitic groups, with their origin in the Middle East. A common geographical origin can be seen for all mainstream Jewish groups studied.
This genetic research has clearly refuted the once-current libel that the Ashkenazi Jews are not related to the ancient Hebrews, but are descendants of the Kuzar tribe - a pre-10th century Turko-Asian empire which reportedly converted en masse to Judaism. Researchers compared the DNA signature of the Ashkenazi Jews against those of Turkish-derived people, and found no correspondence.
All interesting stuff.
hehe. Don't ya just love those Zionists and their racial supremacist dogma. Remember though race doesn't exist - apparently!
Allnorei I have just read that link you added and it is about as credible as links you can get to sites explaining how we are all descended from Adam and that Noah's Ark is somewhere in Turkey!
Try this link to a real Israeli professor and his historical book on where the Jews actually came from.
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/120309b.html
Anon 14:52
The genetic item in the article simply refers to 2 rival DNA studies. No firm conclusion can be drawn on a genetic basis, therefore.
You are clearly a Bible denier. Fine. I am a KJ Bible believer.
The only way really to resolve the difference is to wait and see how things work out in the next few years w.r.t. Israel, the Jews and the 2nd Advent.
It appears that the theory of modern Jews being descended from Gentile Khazars originated in Jesuit-controlled Austria in the early 1900s. Such a theory gives carte-blanche to any Arab/Muslim-led, UN-supported i.e. Vatcian strategy of genocide against Israel.
This is not surprising as the Vatican has always perceived herself at the rightful ruler in and of Jerusalem. Witness the Crusades.
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