What DNA Really Says About Who Comes from Ancient Israel

And other facts you probably don't want to know...

Most people are told that the modern Jewish population in Israel today are the direct descendants of the ancient Israelites. But what if that’s only part of the story? Recent DNA studies suggest that many Palestinians may actually have more direct genetic ties to the ancient people of the region than many Jews living in Israel today — especially Ashkenazi Jews who came from Europe.

🧬 DNA Shows Deep Roots — But Not Always Where You Expect

A major study published in The American Journal of Human Genetics found that modern people in Lebanon share about 90% of their DNA with ancient Canaanites — the same population that lived in the area before and during biblical times. Link to study

Since Palestinians are from the same land and share similar ancestry, it strongly suggests that they, too, carry deep genetic links to the ancient Israelites and Canaanites.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What About Ashkenazi Jews?

Ashkenazi Jews are those whose families lived in Europe for centuries—places like Poland, Germany, and Russia. A 2017 genetic study published in Nature Communications shows that while Ashkenazi Jews do have some Middle Eastern ancestry, a large part of their DNA comes from European populations. Link to study

This means they are not purely descended from the people who originally lived in ancient Israel. Many of their ancestors converted to Judaism or intermarried in Europe over the centuries.

🤔 So Who Really Has the Ancient Connection?

If you go by DNA alone, Palestinians are more closely related to the people who lived in the land thousands of years ago than some of the European-descended Jews who live in Israel today. That’s not an opinion — that’s what the genetics show.

This doesn’t mean Ashkenazi Jews aren’t “real” Jews in a religious or cultural sense — but it does challenge the idea that ancestry alone gives one group exclusive claim to the land.

🔐 Why DNA Testing Is Restricted in Israel

Interestingly, Israel places strict controls on DNA testing, and many kits (like 23andMe) are banned or tightly regulated. Some believe this may be to avoid questions about ancestry that don’t line up with national narratives. Source: Fact check article on DNA testing in Israel

Are We Supporting a War Against the Real Descendants of Ancient Israelites?

This brings us to a striking and uncomfortable point: if Palestinians have more direct genetic links to the ancient Israelites than many modern Israelis, then what does it mean when the U.S. government supports Israeli military campaigns against Gaza?

The answer is unsettling. In supporting the State of Israel’s actions—especially its bombing of Gaza and displacement of Palestinian civilians—the U.S. may actually be backing violence against the people who are more closely tied by blood and land to the ancient Jews than the European-descended leaders directing the attacks.

Let that sink in: we are told Israel is defending “the Jewish homeland,” but the people being bombed may be the ones whose ancestors never left. They lived through the rise and fall of empires, converted religions across the centuries, and quietly remained rooted in the soil while others left and later returned under the banner of Zionism.

This is not to deny anyone’s right to safety or existence—but it does call into question the moral clarity often claimed in this conflict. If ancestry and connection to the land matter—as so many pro-Israel arguments insist—then the Palestinian people deserve a seat at the table, not bombs dropped on their homes.

If you’ve only heard one side of the story, it’s time to look deeper. The truth might surprise you.

Benjamin Netanyahu's 33 years of Iran nuclear warnings

Tens of thousands join Tel Aviv Pride Parade

Abortion Common in Israel

In Israel, abortion is legal and widely accessible, but it technically requires approval from a government committee made up of two doctors and a social worker. These committees approve about 98% of requests, making abortion effectively available to most women who seek it. The procedure is free in public hospitals for women under 33, over 40, or in cases of health risks, rape, or fetal abnormalities. In recent years, the process has become even easier, with online applications and abortion pills available through clinics. While private clinics sometimes perform abortions without committee approval, enforcement is rare, and access remains broad. Link to source.

🔚 Final Thought: What the DNA Really Shows

We’ve been told that modern Israel is the rightful home of the Jewish people because of their ancient connection to the land. But DNA studies show that many Palestinians—who have lived there for generations—may actually have stronger blood ties to the ancient Israelites than some of the people leading the Israeli government today.

And here’s something else to think about: God didn’t write the Old Testament. People from that region—over 2,500 years ago—did. And just like today, they believed they were special, chosen by God, and they wrote those beliefs into their scriptures. That doesn’t make it divine truth—it makes it their version of history.

If ancestry and history really matter, then we should recognize that Palestinians are not strangers to the land—they may be the descendants of the very people the world claims to be defending. And yet they’re the ones being bombed, pushed out, and ignored.

At some point, we have to stop blindly picking sides and start looking at the facts. Because the truth is, this isn’t just a war over land—it’s a war over a story. And it’s time we told the whole one.

1. Romans 2:28–29 (NIV)

"A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code."

🔹 Meaning: Being “God’s people” isn’t about ancestry—it’s about the condition of your heart and spirit.

---

2. Galatians 3:28–29 (NIV)

"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise."

🔹 Meaning: The “chosen” are those who follow God in faith—not a race or nation.

---

3. Matthew 21:43 (Jesus speaking)

"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit."

🔹 Meaning: Jesus directly tells the religious leaders that God’s favor can be removed from those who take it for granted and given to others who live faithfully.

we are to live by Christ’s teachings under the New Covenant, not by the Old Testament law:

---

1. Hebrews 8:13 (KJV)

"In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away."

🔹 Meaning: The Old Covenant (the law given to Moses) is now outdated and fading away—replaced by the New Covenant through Christ.

---

2. Romans 6:14 (KJV)

"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."

🔹 Meaning: Christians are not ruled by the Old Testament law—they live under grace, through Christ.

---

3. Galatians 5:4 (KJV)

"Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace."

🔹 Meaning: Trying to be saved by Old Testament law rejects Christ’s work on the cross.

---

4. Matthew 5:17 (KJV)

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."

🔹 Meaning: Jesus fulfilled the law—He completed its purpose, making way for the New Covenant. We now follow Him, not the old code.

---

5. Colossians 2:14 (KJV)

"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;"

🔹 Meaning: The old written law (ordinances) was removed by Christ’s death—nailed to the cross.

---

📜 Summary of verse above:

The Bible clearly teaches that we are to follow Jesus Christ under a new covenant, not live under the laws of the Old Testament. The old law served its purpose, but now we live by faith, grace, and the teachings of Christ.