Are the Ashkenazi Jews genetically white or Middle Eastern?

[Smeagol]

This plot uses a pretty arbitrary cut off point. For example, Ashkenazi/South Italian are in a different racial cluster from Thessaly but in reality those groups are closer to each there than to most other Europeans or Middle Easterners. Also, Semite is not a race. Turks, Iranians, Armenians, etc, are by no means Semites.

[Rgvgjhvv]

Depends on your categorical inclinations. But also I would say it depends on the Ashkenazi in question, because they range widely in appearance. Some look as white as any Germanic.

Did you make this?

[Voyt]

This plot uses a pretty arbitrary cut off point. For example, Ashkenazi/South Italian are in a different racial cluster from Thessaly but in reality those groups are closer to each there than to most other Europeans or Middle Easterners. Also, Semite is not a race. Turks, Iranians, Armenians, etc, are by no means Semites.

Of course, racial categorization is often arbitrary, especially within the intersections. I think whoever decided on those circles also used some historical or biblical reasoning.

[TheForeigner]

They are not a European ethnic group, but they are white. Their culture and their ethnic origins are partially Near Eastern and partially European, but as Jews they have to be considered Near Eastern people, regardless of genetics or other criteria.White means more than just Europeans though. Turks, Armenians and other Near Eastern peoples are neither European, nor Semitic, but they are white people. And of course Ashkenazis are Semitic people too. Considering they have a small amount of Mongoloid admixture, they may well have also assimilated a small amount of Judaic Khazars.

[The Great Uniter]

Many plot in and around me, yet their ancestors are without a doubt Middle Eastern. They could be considered 50% Levantine and 50% Central European (Northern Italian included) I believe. Recently Sarah Silverman was under fire for having a photo of herself in blackface. I'm sure nobody in America cares where ancestors are from, or what religion she is. They just see her as a white woman being racist.

Yet dumbass Krystals and Karens dress their kids in redface every bloody year and no one bugs an eye.

[Dawnbringer]

They are not a European ethnic group, but they are white. Their culture and their ethnic origins are partially Near Eastern and partially European, but as Jews they have to be considered Near Eastern people, regardless of genetics or other criteria.White means more than just Europeans though. Turks, Armenians and other Near Eastern peoples are neither European, nor Semitic, but they are white people. And of course Ashkenazis are Semitic people too. Considering they have a small amount of Mongoloid admixture, they may well have also assimilated a small amount of Judaic Khazars.

There was no possibility of direct contact between Ashkenazi Jews and Khazars. The possibility is rather of a Byzantine/Romaniote Jews mixed with Khazars elite who assimilated after the dissolution of their Khaganate, in the Kievan Jewish community, assimilating into Ashkenazi Jews.

Ashkenazi Jews do have East Asian admixture of about 1-2% based on a variety of alleles associated with East Eurasian ancestry. As one example, based on one sample of 230 Ashkenazi Jews, 1.7% carried the 1540C allele on the EDAR gene associated with thick and coarse hair, shovel-shaped incisors, more sweat glands, and smaller breasts. This allele is very strongly associated with East Eurasian admixture and is essentially absent among Western Europeans.

Interestingly Ashkenazi Jews do not share any Haplogroup subclades with Central Asians, but there are rare subclades that Ashkenazi Jews share with East or Northeast Asians. MtDNA Haplogroup M subclade M33c is only found among South Chinese and some Litvak Jews from around Belarus.

The exact origin of the East Eurasian admixture in Ashkenazi Jews is undetermined.

[Decius]

In between, but they are culturally and paternally MENA so I wouldn’t count them as being European.

[Pine]

This plot uses a pretty arbitrary cut off point. For example, Ashkenazi/South Italian are in a different racial cluster from Thessaly but in reality those groups are closer to each there than to most other Europeans or Middle Easterners. Also, Semite is not a race. Turks, Iranians, Armenians, etc, are by no means Semites.

You can move it south and Ashkenazim will still be in the Middle East, while South Italians won't. Are you still pushing this narrative?

[Pine]

Did you make this?

Dude, he just drew 2 circles in the K15 map.

[Pine]

There was no possibility of direct contact between Ashkenazi Jews and Khazars. The possibility is rather of a Byzantine/Romaniote Jews mixed with Khazars who assimilated after the dissolution of their Khaganate, in the Kievan Jewish community, assimilating into Ashkenazi Jews.

Ashkenazi Jews do have East Asian admixture of about 1-2% based on a variety of alleles associated with East Eurasian ancestry. As once example, based on one sample of 230 Ashkenazi Jews, 1.7% carried the 1540C allele on the EDAR gene associated with thick and coarse hair, shovel-shaped incisors, more sweat glands, and smaller breasts. This allele is very strongly associated with East Eurasian admixture and is essentially absent among Western Europeans.

Interestingly Ashkenazi Jews do not share any Haplogroup subclades with Central Asians, but there are rare subclades that Ashkenazi Jews share with East or Northeast Asians. MtDNA Haplogroup M subclade M33c is only found among South Chinese and some Litvak Jews from around Belarus.

The exact origin of the East Eurasian admixture in Ashkenazi Jews is undetermined.

Even the idea of Northern Romaniotes mixing with Khazars is no longer tenable. Not after this summer, when Khazar bones were inspected for this very thing.

I'm one of those Ashkenazim with high East Asian, maybe even a bit over 2%. While the origin is undetermined, a Khazar one is no longer plausible. Available options are East Asian women through the silk road and/or East Asian inherited from other MENA migrations, as was found in the Lebanese Roman sample QED-2. He has the exact same East Asian as I do (Malayan in K36).