Differences in origins between different North African Jewish groups?

[Sikeliot]

Based on GEDmatch it appears to me that Moroccan and Algerian Jews share an origin with European Sephardim, while Tunisian and Libyan Jews are genetically distinct from all other Jewish groups and are more Levantine than Sephardim but not entirely so. Is this correct?

Moroccan and Algerian Jews seem genetically close to some Sicilians and Maltese, but Libyan and Tunisian Jews seem more removed from the European Jewish cluster.

What is the origin of these Jewish groups? Where did they pass through and how did they form?

[StonyArabia]

Based on GEDmatch it appears to me that Moroccan and Algerian Jews share an origin with European Sephardim, while Tunisian and Libyan Jews are genetically distinct from all other Jewish groups and are more Levantine than Sephardim but not entirely so. Is this correct?

Moroccan and Algerian Jews seem genetically close to some Sicilians and Maltese, but Libyan and Tunisian Jews seem more removed from the European Jewish cluster.

What is the origin of these Jewish groups? Where did they pass through and how did they form?

Libyan Jews are mostly descendants of Berber converts to Judaism, and the same is true of Tunisian Jews especially the Dejerba island Jews. This probably why they are removed from the Euro Jewish cluster.

[waam]

Libyan Jews are mostly descendants of Berber converts to Judaism, and the same is true of Tunisian Jews especially the Dejerba island Jews. This probably why they are removed from the Euro Jewish cluster.

Not really...
https://i.imgur.com/PIm0tcc.png

They are more like Levantine with a slight shift towards a Sardinian-like component. Not sure where they would have picked it up.

[waam]

I gathered a few Libyan Jewish kits through my matches.

Eurogenes K13

#1
Admix Results (sorted):

# Population Percent
1 East_Med 39.92
2 West_Med 20.34
3 West_Asian 14.91
4 Red_Sea 11.58
5 North_Atlantic 7.29
6 Northeast_African 2.26
7 Sub-Saharan 1.88
8 South_Asian 0.84
9 East_Asian 0.69
10 Amerindian 0.17
11 Oceanian 0.12

Single Population Sharing:

# Population (source) Distance
1 Tunisian_Jewish 5.52
2 Libyan_Jewish 6.05
3 Cyprian 7.01
4 Algerian_Jewish 8.43
5 Sephardic_Jewish 8.66
6 Samaritan 8.81
7 Lebanese_Muslim 9.71
8 Italian_Jewish 9.77
9 Syrian 9.97
10 Lebanese_Christian 10.86
11 Palestinian 11.1
12 Jordanian 11.57
13 Lebanese_Druze 13.38
14 South_Italian 13.79
15 Ashkenazi 14.19
16 Bedouin 14.43
17 East_Sicilian 15.18
18 Central_Greek 16.91
19 Egyptian 16.98
20 Kurdish_Jewish 17.65

Mixed Mode Population Sharing:

# Primary Population (source) Secondary Population (source) Distance
1 51.2% Algerian_Jewish + 48.8% Samaritan @ 2.63
2 87% Samaritan + 13% French_Basque @ 3.08
3 57.1% Algerian_Jewish + 42.9% Lebanese_Christian @ 3.2
4 78.3% Palestinian + 21.7% Sardinian @ 3.24
5 82.7% Samaritan + 17.3% Spanish_Andalucia @ 3.27
6 55% Libyan_Jewish + 45% Cyprian @ 3.32
7 84.3% Samaritan + 15.7% Spanish_Aragon @ 3.36
8 77.6% Cyprian + 22.4% Algerian @ 3.39
9 83.6% Samaritan + 16.4% Spanish_Castilla_La_Mancha @ 3.45
10 76.2% Cyprian + 23.8% Tunisian @ 3.47
11 79.1% Cyprian + 20.9% Moroccan @ 3.47
12 82.5% Samaritan + 17.5% Spanish_Extremadura @ 3.47
13 50.5% Sephardic_Jewish + 49.5% Samaritan @ 3.47
14 84.3% Samaritan + 15.7% Spanish_Cantabria @ 3.48
15 65.4% Tunisian_Jewish + 34.6% Samaritan @ 3.49
16 83.4% Samaritan + 16.6% Spanish_Valencia @ 3.53
17 83% Samaritan + 17% Spanish_Murcia @ 3.54
18 58.9% Tunisian_Jewish + 41.1% Cyprian @ 3.58
19 85% Samaritan + 15% Southwest_French @ 3.62
20 79.4% Cyprian + 20.6% Mozabite_Berber

#2
Admix Results (sorted):

# Population Percent
1 East_Med 43.55
2 West_Med 20.69
3 Red_Sea 10.72
4 West_Asian 10.08
5 North_Atlantic 7.5
6 Northeast_African 3.39
7 Sub-Saharan 1.91
8 Siberian 1.2
9 Oceanian 0.97

Single Population Sharing:

# Population (source) Distance
1 Tunisian_Jewish 5.93
2 Libyan_Jewish 6.18
3 Algerian_Jewish 8.71
4 Italian_Jewish 9.76
5 Sephardic_Jewish 10.18
6 Samaritan 10.56
7 Cyprian 10.61
8 Palestinian 12.5
9 Lebanese_Christian 12.75
10 Jordanian 13.59
11 Lebanese_Muslim 13.79
12 Syrian 14.12
13 Lebanese_Druze 14.72
14 Ashkenazi 14.83
15 South_Italian 16
16 Bedouin 16.04
17 Egyptian 16.18
18 East_Sicilian 17.25
19 Tunisian 18.87
20 Central_Greek 19.2

Mixed Mode Population Sharing:

# Primary Population (source) Secondary Population (source) Distance
1 76.7% Algerian_Jewish + 23.3% Yemenite_Jewish @ 4.9
2 56.6% Algerian_Jewish + 43.4% Samaritan @ 5.01
3 74.9% Tunisian_Jewish + 25.1% Samaritan @ 5.06
4 72.7% Libyan_Jewish + 27.3% Samaritan @ 5.11
5 77.7% Libyan_Jewish + 22.3% Lebanese_Christian @ 5.19
6 81.1% Tunisian_Jewish + 18.9% Lebanese_Christian @ 5.27
7 90.3% Tunisian_Jewish + 9.7% Yemenite_Jewish @ 5.37
8 63.1% Algerian_Jewish + 36.9% Lebanese_Christian @ 5.55
9 52.8% Italian_Jewish + 47.2% Samaritan @ 5.59
10 62.6% Algerian_Jewish + 37.4% Palestinian @ 5.59
11 89.5% Tunisian_Jewish + 10.5% Egyptian @ 5.66
12 85% Libyan_Jewish + 15% Lebanese_Druze @ 5.69
13 79.4% Libyan_Jewish + 20.6% Cyprian @ 5.72
14 87.8% Tunisian_Jewish + 12.2% Palestinian @ 5.73
15 91.2% Libyan_Jewish + 8.8% Yemenite_Jewish @ 5.74
16 90.4% Tunisian_Jewish + 9.6% Lebanese_Druze @ 5.75
17 86.9% Tunisian_Jewish + 13.1% Cyprian @ 5.78
18 95.2% Tunisian_Jewish + 4.8% Saudi @ 5.79
19 92.6% Tunisian_Jewish + 7.4% Bedouin @ 5.81
20 77.4% Palestinian + 22.6% Sardinian @ 5.83

#3
Admix Results (sorted):

# Population Percent
1 East_Med 37.03
2 West_Med 16.29
3 Red_Sea 13.18
4 West_Asian 12.93
5 North_Atlantic 12.85
6 Northeast_African 5.72
7 South_Asian 1.28
8 Oceanian 0.35
9 Sub-Saharan 0.28
10 Amerindian 0.1

Single Population Sharing:

# Population (source) Distance
1 Libyan_Jewish 4.26
2 Tunisian_Jewish 4.95
3 Sephardic_Jewish 7.77
4 Italian_Jewish 9.41
5 Algerian_Jewish 9.74
6 Palestinian 11.74
7 Jordanian 12.04
8 Syrian 12.13
9 Lebanese_Muslim 12.64
10 Cyprian 12.83
11 Ashkenazi 13.04
12 Samaritan 13.49
13 South_Italian 13.62
14 East_Sicilian 13.99
15 Bedouin 14.05
16 Egyptian 15.25
17 Lebanese_Christian 15.76
18 Central_Greek 16.23
19 Lebanese_Druze 16.32
20 West_Sicilian 16.42

Mixed Mode Population Sharing:

# Primary Population (source) Secondary Population (source) Distance
1 81.9% Palestinian + 18.1% French_Basque @ 2.77
2 78% Palestinian + 22% Spanish_Aragon @ 3.14
3 75.9% Palestinian + 24.1% Spanish_Andalucia @ 3.21
4 76.9% Palestinian + 23.1% Spanish_Castilla_La_Mancha @ 3.33
5 93.8% Tunisian_Jewish + 6.2% Ethiopian_Amhara @ 3.54
6 93.6% Tunisian_Jewish + 6.4% Ethiopian_Tigray @ 3.56
7 76.1% Palestinian + 23.9% Spanish_Murcia @ 3.56
8 94.9% Tunisian_Jewish + 5.1% Somali @ 3.63
9 75.6% Palestinian + 24.4% Spanish_Extremadura @ 3.65
10 78.2% Palestinian + 21.8% Spanish_Cantabria @ 3.67
11 76.8% Palestinian + 23.2% Spanish_Valencia @ 3.69
12 92.2% Libyan_Jewish + 7.8% Saudi @ 3.71
13 96.3% Libyan_Jewish + 3.7% Balochi @ 3.72
14 76.8% Palestinian + 23.2% Spanish_Castilla_Y_Leon @ 3.73
15 96.4% Libyan_Jewish + 3.6% Brahui @ 3.74
16 95.4% Libyan_Jewish + 4.6% Tadjik @ 3.75
17 95.9% Libyan_Jewish + 4.1% Afghan_Pashtun @ 3.76
18 94.9% Tunisian_Jewish + 5.1% Ethiopian_Oromo @ 3.76
19 96.1% Libyan_Jewish + 3.9% Makrani @ 3.76
20 95.6% Libyan_Jewish + 4.4% Tabassaran @ 3.77

#4
Admix Results (sorted):

# Population Percent
1 East_Med 42.75
2 West_Med 17.14
3 West_Asian 12.73
4 Red_Sea 11.32
5 North_Atlantic 9.48
6 Sub-Saharan 2.84
7 Northeast_African 2.65
8 Siberian 0.74
9 Oceanian 0.35

Single Population Sharing:

# Population (source) Distance
1 Tunisian_Jewish 4.54
2 Libyan_Jewish 5.57
3 Sephardic_Jewish 8.75
4 Algerian_Jewish 9.26
5 Cyprian 9.53
6 Italian_Jewish 9.58
7 Samaritan 9.63
8 Palestinian 10.04
9 Lebanese_Muslim 11.15
10 Jordanian 11.36
11 Lebanese_Christian 11.4
12 Syrian 11.53
13 Lebanese_Druze 12.18
14 Ashkenazi 14.05
15 Bedouin 14.41
16 South_Italian 15.21
17 Egyptian 15.55
18 East_Sicilian 16.37
19 Central_Greek 18.24
20 Kurdish_Jewish 18.9

Mixed Mode Population Sharing:

# Primary Population (source) Secondary Population (source) Distance
1 76.6% Tunisian_Jewish + 23.4% Lebanese_Christian @ 3.07
2 73.6% Tunisian_Jewish + 26.4% Samaritan @ 3.15
3 78.4% Tunisian_Jewish + 21.6% Lebanese_Druze @ 3.19
4 75% Tunisian_Jewish + 25% Palestinian @ 3.26
5 89% Tunisian_Jewish + 11% Yemenite_Jewish @ 3.52
6 73% Libyan_Jewish + 27% Lebanese_Druze @ 3.53
7 72% Libyan_Jewish + 28% Lebanese_Christian @ 3.66
8 52.4% Algerian_Jewish + 47.6% Palestinian @ 3.66
9 51.4% Italian_Jewish + 48.6% Palestinian @ 3.73
10 80.6% Tunisian_Jewish + 19.4% Jordanian @ 3.73
11 85.8% Tunisian_Jewish + 14.2% Bedouin @ 3.92
12 69.1% Libyan_Jewish + 30.9% Samaritan @ 3.96
13 91.9% Tunisian_Jewish + 8.1% Saudi @ 3.96
14 89.3% Tunisian_Jewish + 10.7% Kurdish_Jewish @ 3.96
15 89.5% Tunisian_Jewish + 10.5% Iranian_Jewish @ 3.98
16 83.5% Tunisian_Jewish + 16.5% Syrian @ 4.01
17 83.3% Tunisian_Jewish + 16.7% Lebanese_Muslim @ 4.04
18 64.7% Lebanese_Druze + 35.3% Algerian @ 4.07
19 88.6% Tunisian_Jewish + 11.4% Egyptian @ 4.11
20 62.6% Lebanese_Druze + 37.4% Tunisian @ 4.13

Last one seems odd in comparison to the rest. Either way I have a few more in case you're interested. I think it's safe to assume the slight shift towards Southwest Europe is from intermarriage with the Sephardis who were expelled and resettled there.

[Teucer]

Libyan Jews are mostly descendants of Berber converts to Judaism, and the same is true of Tunisian Jews especially the Dejerba island Jews. This probably why they are removed from the Euro Jewish cluster.

Doesn't make sense. They are really close to Cypriots and Cypriots have barely any North African affinity whatsoever

[Leto]

Last one seems odd in comparison to the rest. Either way I have a few more in case you're interested. I think it's safe to assume the slight shift towards Southwest Europe is from intermarriage with the Sephardis who were expelled and resettled there.
I thought all North African Jews were Sephardic.

[FilhoV]

North African Jews are not even close to Berbers

Berbers don’t score West Asian these Jews are scoring almost 20%

[Sp_loa]

I thought all North African Jews were Sephardic.
Nope.

Sikeliot why is it so surprising? The Spanish Jews arrived mostly to Morocco and less to Algeria (especially Coastal regions). Barely few arrived to Libya or Tunisia (only to tunis , not to jerba). Even in Morocco and Algeria they mixed with local Megrahbi Jews of the Atlas region (Thats why North African Sephardim are South shift to Balkan Sephardim in PCA).

Origin of Non Sephardi North African Jews:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maghrebi_Jews

[Astarte]

Doesn't make sense. They are really close to Cypriots and Cypriots have barely any North African affinity whatsoever

We do have a minor North African input.

[Teucer]

We do have a minor North African input.

It is minimal in comparison to everything else. Do we have more than Cretans?

[Astarte]

It is minimal in comparison to everything else. Do we have more than Cretans?

I think we have a slightly higher % of NA than Cretans, that's what I saw in a gedmatch spreadsheet.

[Teucer]

I think we have a slightly higher % of NA than Cretans, that's what I saw in a gedmatch spreadsheet.

Oh, really? That's a surprise to me. Maybe it is from the Jewish diaspora following the Spanish inquisition?

[Astarte]

Oh, really? That's a surprise to me. Maybe it is from the Jewish diaspora following the Spanish inquisition?

The difference was less than 1%

[waam]

I thought all North African Jews were Sephardic.

I thought so as well at first, until someone here told me Jews started settling in North Africa during the Roman Empire. You can read the article DR_2001 linked it has a good summery of events. Either way you can see in the results I posted they don't cluster exactly with Sephardis but not too far away. They seem more Levantine and less European (they score consistently 70%-80% Levant and the rest either Sardinian or Spanish unlike other Sephardis who are more in the 50-60/50-40 range as far as I know).