Who Knew? All European Jews Are 30th Cousins or Closer

[shira]

If you're European Jewish and meet another European member of the community, odds are you're at least as closely related as 30th cousins.

A study by an international team suggests the central and eastern European Jewish population, known as Ashkenazi Jews, from whom most American Jews are descended, started from a founding population of about 350 people between 600 and 800 years ago. Further, that group of Jews who experienced this "bottleneck" was of approximately evenly mixed Middle Eastern and European descent.

The findings bolster the mainstream view that the ancestors of European Jews were people from the Levant and local Europeans, said study researcher Itsik Pe'er, an associate professor OF COMPUTER science and systems biology at Columbia University.

more...
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/who-knew-all-european-jews-are-30th-cousins-or-closer-n199641

[Mosby]

1. pedigree collapse

Everybody on earth is at least 50th cousin to everybody else.