"I discovered geneticists - Jewish geneticists - whose knowledge of history ended at what was necessary for their high-school matriculation exams. Which is how I would describe my knowledge of biology.
In high school they had learned that there is one Jewish nation, and, on the basis of this historical narrative, they reconstruct their scholarly findings."
"Their search for the origin of a common gene in order to characterize a people or a nation is very dangerous," says Sand. With several reservations, he cites the example of the Germans, "who also searched for a common component of blood ties." The historical irony, he emphasizes, is expressed in the fact that
"whereas, in the past, anyone who defined the Jews as a race was vilified as an anti-Semite, today anyone who is unprepared to define them as a race is labeled an anti-Semite.
"I used to think," Sand adds, "that only in such disciplines as history and literature can facts be given various interpretations, but I then discovered that the same thing is done in genetics. It is very easy to showcase certain findings while marginalizing others and to present your study as scholarly research. In general, specialization in genetics can create an incredibly high level of ignorance in history."
*Advertisement