The Dangers of Jewish Genetics

This morning’s paper brought news of genetic similarities among Jews of Ashkenazi and Sephardi backgrounds. Citing studies published in the prestigious journal Nature, the New York Times reported that “Jewish communities in Europe and the Middle East share many genes inherited from the ancestral Jewish population that lived in the Middle East some 3,000 years ago, even though each community also carries genes from other sources — usually the country in which it lives.”

Pondering both the study and its results, I realized that I had several different responses to this story. On the one hand, I love the underlying vision of Jews as diverse on the outside but united on the inside. Such a study suggests that despite our differences when it comes to important issues such as whether to eat rice at Pessach, we may well share a common ancient origin. It undercuts claims of supremacy, often implied by power structures if not overtly claimed, in terms of being the true keepers of Torah.

But there is a darker set of questions that emerges from mixing Judaism and science in this way. The idea that one could trace Judaism in the body is not a new one. During the Inquisition in Spain, many Jews underwent forced conversions. Taken at face value, these conversions should have paved the way for the complete integration of these former Jews into Spanish society. Yet, in relating to these converts, Old Christians developed the system of Limpieza de sangre which defined people within society by the ancestral purity of their blood. Those with Jewish, or Muslim, blood were considered significantly inferior to those whose blood was pure and faced discrimination and retaliation as a result. One could leave the Jewish faith but not the Jewish body. In the 20th century, similar lines of reasoning were essential to Nazi eugenics. The body became the essential holder of Judaism. The destruction of Judaism meant the physical destruction of Jews and vice versa.

Even as we step away from this extreme precipice, there are lesser dangers raised by linking Judaism so closely with the body. Tying Judaism down to genetic markers raises the danger of essentializing Jewishness to the point of irrelevance. If Judaism can be measured by tags on DNA, what is the place of the learning of our sages, our historical and cultural experiences and our ritual behaviors in defining Judaism. As we continue to do battle with the Orthodox religious establishment in Israel about who is a Jew, the thought that one might be able to test for Jewishness, is truly frightening. The possibility of being able to identify “pure” of “real” Jews could be powerfully destructive. As Reform Jews, we are committed to the outreach and welcoming of all those who seek to join our community. We look not at the bodies but at the actions and faith of those who want to become Jews.  Jews and Judaism cannot be reduced to genetic components without seriously compromising the complexity and texture that is our inheritance.

The idea that we are one people is a beautiful and romantic notion. It speaks to a vision of unity that is a compelling and important element of Jewish tradition and interconnection. But mapping that vision of unity onto bodies is highly problematic.