Addressing the (Ashkenazi) Jews are not really the Jews accusation

I hear this accusation quite often, and it's usually directed towards Ashkenazi Jews. There is also some comments about their fair skin and some reference to the "synagogue of Satan" in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9. I find it curious that they don't make that same accusation of Ethiopian Jews or other Jewish groups, it's only directed at Ashkenazi Jews.

First of all, when John wrote the Book of Revelation, Ashkenazi Jews as we know them didn't exist. John was referring to a specific group of Jewish opponents during his day.  It wasn't a condemnation of Judaism or Jewish people as a whole; John himself was a Jew. And it certainly wasn't intended to be used as a blanket condemnation of every Jew living today.

Ashkenazi Jews are simply Jews who migrated or were taken against their will to Europe after the Diaspora, which for the Jews began around 70 AD after the destruction of the Second Temple (the Diaspora actually began much earlier, but that was when they began migrating to Europe). Jews have always been an insular people, but they did mix with the local populace once there, likely Europeans who converted to Judaism. That explains why they have a lighter skin tone, but that doesn't make them any less Jewish. It wasn't uncommon even in Biblical days for the twelve tribes to intermix with the local populace. Moses, for example, married a Black Ethiopian/African woman. And Joseph, Jesus' earthly father, had several gentile ancestors in his ancestry.

There are many different types of Jews: Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, Sephardi, Ethiopian, etc. All groups share a significant Levantine (ancient Israelite/Middle Eastern) DNA component but differ due to regional admixture. Below is a breakdown of those major groups that live in Israel:

Mizrahi Jews: 70-90% Levantine/Middle Eastern, 10-20% North African/Arab, <10% Other

Sephardi Jews: 50-70% Levantine/Middle Eastern, 20-40% Southern European, 10-20% North African

Ashkenazi Jews: 30-60% Levantine/Middle Eastern, 30-60% Southern/Eastern Europe, 5% other.

Ethiopian Jews: 70-80% East African, 15-25% Levantine/Middle Eastern, <10% Other

As you can see, all groups share between 20% and 90% Levantine core DNA. Ashkenazi Jews don't have the most, but they don't have the least either. As an aside, Ashkenazi Jews are not even the majority in Israel; it's the Mizrahi Jews.

As further evidence that the Ashkenazi Jews are really Jews, those with the surname Cohen share a common DNA marker, Cohen Modal Haplotype (CMH), and share a common male ancestor from the Near East around 2,000 to 3,000 years ago. Cohen actually means "priest," and they trace their lineage back to the priestly Kohanim tribe, who trace their lineage to Aaron.

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