All,

I am compiling a list of projects at FTDNA that focus on Jewish
ancestry. With FTDNA's help, I currently have a list of about 70
such surname projects. However, with over 3300 surname projects to
search through, I am sure we missed some.

If those of you who run or participate in an FTDNA surname project
could please send me a private email with the surname and the join
link and/or website, I would greatly appreciate it.

The compiled list will be made available on JewishGen's website in
a few weeks.

Thanks!

Elise Friedman
Baltimore, Maryland
elisejg@comcast.net

On 2006.07.22, Elise Friedman <elisejg@comcast.net> wrote:

I am compiling a list of projects at FTDNA that focus on Jewish
ancestry. With FTDNA's help, I currently have a list of about 70
such surname projects.

Let me make a pitch for an additional solution. There is a "Jewish
DNA Project" at FTDNA that can be reached at http://tinyurl.com/zjbpc
The left side of screen has a request to join the group which you
should select. You can join this project even if you belong to a
surname project and a haplogroup project.

I recommend this because you can find deep relatives >from prior to the
time surnames were adopted. I have found fourteen others >from such
diverse locations as Kovno, L'viv, Oswiecim, Varin, Kamenets, etc.
These individuals with various surnames match my haplogroup and are
exact matches at twelve markers (or one off). Extended testing proves
that they share a rare haplogroup. Note that this also aids in the
understanding of Jewish migration through Europe.

Sam Vass (Weil/Vaider). My current surname was adopted in 1901 in
Hungary.

On 2006.07.23, Sam Vass <SVass@comcast.net> wrote:

Let me make a pitch for an additional solution. There is a "Jewish
DNA Project" at FTDNA that can be reached at http://tinyurl.com/zjbpc
The left side of screen has a request to join the group which you
should select. You can join this project even if you belong to a
surname project and a haplogroup project.

Of course, joining the Jewish Heritage Project is a good idea for an
overall study of Jewish ancestry. This project, among other large
Jewish studies, will also be included in my list of projects.

However, there are many surname studies out there, run by people who
are trying to specifically prove links between "unconnected"
families with the same surname. The majority of the projects at
FTDNA are surname projects that exist specifically for this reason.

The purpose of the Jewish project list will be to help show
JewishGenners who are new to DNA testing, or who are skeptical of
it, just what is out there already and to encourage them to use this
worthwhile tool in their genealogy research.

I recommend this because you can find deep relatives >from prior to the
time surnames were adopted. I have found fourteen others >from such
diverse locations as Kovno, L'viv, Oswiecim, Varin, Kamenets, etc.
These individuals with various surnames match my haplogroup and are
exact matches at twelve markers (or one off). Extended testing proves
that they share a rare haplogroup. Note that this also aids in the
understanding of Jewish migration through Europe.

Just a quick comment/clarification here. You do not need to
participate in a project just to find different-surname genetic
matches. Just go to your FTDNA Setup Preferences page and make sure
you have selected to be matched against the entire database instead
of being matched only to people in your projects. Limiting your
matches to your projects unnecessarily cuts you off >from the
majority of FTDNA's database, which now includes over 100,000 DNA
records.

Elise Friedman
Baltimore, Maryland
Palevsky: A Genealogical Study
http://www.research.palevsky.net
http://www.ftdna.com/public/Palevsky

On 2006.07.23, Elise Friedman <elisejg@comcast.net> wrote:

[...] joining the Jewish Heritage Project is a good idea for an
overall study of Jewish ancestry. This project, among other large
Jewish studies [...]

As Elise mentioned, there actually are more than a few projects
exploring Jewish genealogy. My suggestion would be that if you had any
questions, to contact Bennett Greenspan at FTDNA, who is an extremely
friendly gentleman who has been an incredible help to me with my own
project.

My project actually focuses on R1b Jews who have a definitive history
of Jewish lineage without conversion. This project started out in
March and most assumptions circled around recent conversions,
intermarriage or other such admixtures.

_However_, fifty members later we seem to have found evidence that
might support less admixture that we'd thought. Rather, all but two of
our members have no matches (past Y12) in Western Europe, and actually
have several matches in the Middle East (especially Turkey and
Armenia), Spain, Portugal and South America.

Evidence >from research papers seems to hint of an Eastern R1b that was
the progenitor of Western R1b. Furthermore, recent results >from Deep
Clade tests and DYS markers might well hint at ancient origins with
the Jewish people. Most of this comes >from loose theories backed by
educated hypothesis and what evidence we've found in our markers, but
it's been enough that FTDNA and some leading scientists are quite
interested in our project. There is a good chance that we might find
something of true significance outside of presumed admixture in the
1400s, middle ages, Roman times or what have you.

Additionally, 6 out of our 20 DYS393=12 R1bs, 393=12 being a rare
result >from a _very_ slow mutating marker that seems to find its
origins in Anatolia (modern day Turkey) and the near Middle East,
happen to have an oral history of being Kohanim. Furthermore, our
project is almost evenly split between 393=12 and 393=13, though even
our 393=13s have little or no matches in Western Europe.

Just thought I'd offer my own plug as well as something of interest!

Sean Silver
R1b Jewish project administrator
http://www.familytreedna.com/public/JewishR1b