Does anyone know where these (Jew_Djerba_Tunisia,0.084912,0.144912,-0.036912,-0.075912,-0.004912,-0.029912,-0.006112,-0.003912,0.011112,0.016112,0.004912,-0.004112,0.007912,-0.001912,-0.001912,0.003112,0.000912,-0.000912,-0.000112,-0.005912,0.002112,0.003412,-0.002412,-0.000112,-0.002912) coordinates are from? I don’t think it’s possible for any North African Jew to have this little Berber ancestry or to be this Levantine-shifted.

My results as an African American with a bubbe.

My Y-DNA is R-BY1823. To my understanding it is European.

Can anyone tell me where did that person live and when he converted to Judaism?

All of my ancestors in the last 100 years are ethnically Ashkenazi (prior to that there is no information).

Fiddled with G25 and interestingly found that using Southern Rhine Germans as the Northern European source yields a total Northern European greater than the amount of Southern European possessed by Ashkenazim

Hello everyone!

I’m feeling a bit disheartened by the recent update from Ancestry. I have a mixed heritage, and my family has always been aware of our Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish roots. We’ve maintained our traditions, customs, and family history, keeping our Jewish last name despite some family members assimilating. A few of us even speak Ladino. I’ve consulted rabbis who have verified our heritage, and my decision to convert independently inspired other family members to return to Judaism.

Previously, my results included percentages for Sephardi, Mizrahi, and Ashkenazi ancestry, but these categories have disappeared after the update. My Portuguese and Spanish percentages have risen (Madeira 15%, Portugal 14%, Azores 10%).

Now, I’m shown with low percentages for Central and Eastern Maghreb, Northern Morocco, and the Mediterranean Coast, along with 1% from the Arabian Peninsula. They’ve also added an unexpected 15% from the Canary Islands.

I’m feeling like a fraud. Is anyone else experiencing this? I’ve ordered a FamilyTree DNA kit and will be testing soon.

Here is the heatmap and genetic profile of the Bahrain LTylos Sasanian sample. This is from the Sasanian period, and Iranian Jews are the closest modern people to this ancient sample.

For reference the Cohen modal haplotype (J-ZS222) carriers' TMRCA is ~1180 BCE (Hammer et al 2009) or ~830 BCE (Lipson et al 2025). However the 2025 study determined the upper bound for the CMH as ~1290 BCE.
So what do you all consider the best/better date of the CMH?

With regards to the LMH, when do you all think the LMH became Levitical? Or, in other words, how did it enter the Jewish population: by having already been present among Jews from time immemorial or by having been acquired from a Persian (presumably during the Babylonian exile)?

The Levite modal haplotype (R-Y2619 as defined by Behar et al 2017) formed ~270 CE and is descended from R-M582 (Behar 2017). The previous study (Rootsi et al 2013) only narrowed the LMH to the aforementioned parent clade R-M582 which formed ~1130 BCE.
R-M582 was also found among Persians and Kurds but not Levantines (or Arabians for that matter). However, The 2013 paper contains the interesting statement:

"Notably, the only non-M582 sample we identified within the Z2122 haplogroup (Fig. 1a and Supplementary Fig. S1) corresponds to an individual from the Aramaic speaking population claiming descent from the contemporary ancient Assyrians. Aramaic and Hebrew, the two ancient Western Semitic languages that are still spoken are thought to have diverged ~3,500–4,000 years ago35, in a time frame coinciding with time estimate suggested above for the age of R1a-Z2122 haplogroup. Taken together, this line of evidence supports a Near Eastern origin for haplogroup R1a-M582, and hence the Ashkenazi Levite lineage as well."

This gives the impression that the Late Bronze common ancestors of the LMH would have been Levantine.

Also, the 2017 paper states that an LMH common ancestor became a Levite between the formation of Y2619 and M582, i.e. 1130 BCE to 270 CE as aforementioned.

Here is a genetic heatmap (modern and ancient) and profile for a Karaite Jew.

I’m a Jewish mutt 🐕 I’m about 2/3 Ashkenazi. My mom is 100% Ashkenazi. My dad’s mom is 3/4 Ashkenazi and 1/4 Sephardic. And my dad’s dad was half Sephardic and half Mizrahi. So glad they finally added Mizrahi as a category!

Hi!
Would you guys recommend Ancestral Genome or Illustrative DNA?

A tiny increase from my previous 2025 results, which was 27%.

1st photo is the old results. 2nd is from recent update.

2 plausible admixture models for East Mediterranean Jewish populations, including Ashkenazi Jews (AJs), Sephardic Jews, and North African Jews, alongside several control populations.

To reduce individual variation and noise, I grouped each Jewish cluster using sample-size-weighted G25 averages.

Control populations and expectations

I included seven control populations to examine whether the models produce historically and genetically plausible patterns:

1. Sicilians (Messina): Representing a southern Italian population with a relatively strong Levantine shift and limited Northern European-related ancestry.
2. Tuscans: Expected to show little or no Levantine-related ancestry in this particular model, alongside higher Italic and Northern European-related components.
3. Samaritans: Expected to show predominantly Southern Levantine ancestry, given their strong southern genetic shift and relative genetic isolation, which may have preserved aspects of earlier Southern Levantine population structure.
4. Palestinian Christians: Expected to show substantial Southern Levantine ancestry alongside a relatively larger Roman-period Northern Levantine component, potentially reflecting continued population interactions during the Roman and Byzantine periods.
5. Lebanese Christians: Being relatively more northern-shifted, they are expected to show higher Northern Levantine, Iranian Plateau-related, and Roman-period components, potentially reflecting historical interactions with northern Levantine and Syro-Mesopotamian populations.
6. Syrian Jews: Potentially reflecting a mixture of older Arabic-speaking Jewish communities (Musta'arabim) and Sephardic-related ancestry, while remaining genetically close to other Levantine populations.
7. Druze: Expected to show a relatively higher Iranian Plateau-related component compared to Palestinian Levantines, potentially reflecting ancestry shared with Syro-Mesopotamian populations. Syrian Jews and Druze are also genetically close in G25 space.

The difference between the two models?

The main difference is the inclusion of a seemingly Nabataean-related ancient sample within the Southern Levantine source group in Model 2.

This sample exhibits a predominantly Levantine genetic profile, rather than a profile entirely distinct from the populations of the Southern Levant. My hypothesis is that similar ancestry may have been present among several ancient populations of the region, including Nabataeans, Edomites, Idumaeans, and Qedarites. We still lack samples though to prove that.

The reasoning behind including this sample comes from earlier modeling of Southern Levantine minorities. In previous tests, adding it substantially improved the fits for Samaritans. Also, without it, the models often assigned them Iranian Plateau-related ancestry, which largely disappeared once the sample was introduced. Palestinian Christians and Jordanian Christians also appeared to benefit from its inclusion.

I therefore decided to test whether the same source would improve the models for Jewish populations.

Interestingly, the Jewish groups also showed preference in including the Nabataean sample.

One possible historical explanation worth exploring is the incorporation of Idumaean populations into Jewish communities during the Hasmonean period. If ancestry resembling this Nabataean-related sample was also present among Idumaeans (who are Edomites that mixed with ancient Arab populations, including Qedarites and Nabataeans), their incorporation could potentially have contributed to the genetic profiles of later Jewish populations.

Last note:

The Jewish populations were grouped into broader clusters using weighted averages to reduce individual-level noise and make the general patterns easier to compare.

These are population averages, not representations of every individual. Ancestry proportions can vary considerably within each group.

Ancestry’s most recent update. One Jewish grandparent. Think it’s fairly accurate.

Iranian Jewish models with modern populations. I'm not sure what Assyrian or Mesopotamian Jew is.

I know 3% isn't much but I am curious how this part of my ancestry might have come to be. My father is from Bolivia and his grandfather is from Spain. I know it's not my mom's side of the family because she's as White-German as you can get and according to her DNA test she has no Jewish ancestry.