There is no Johns Hopkins study suggesting that Jews lack Hebrew DNA

Context

A false claim has resurfaced on social media that 97.5 percent of Jewish Israelis do not possess "ancient Hebrew DNA." 

The claim, which first surfaced on Threads in August and then on Facebook in September, reads: "A Johns Hopkins genetic study shows that 97.5% of Jews living in Israel have absolutely no ancient Hebrew DNA, are therefore not Semites, and have no ancestral blood ties to the land of Palestine at all. In contrast, 80% of Palestinians carry ancient Hebrew DNA and are thus the real Semites."

In fact

The claim that 97.5 percent of Jewish people in Israel have no ancient Hebrew DNA and that 80 percent of Palestinians carry ancient Hebrew DNA is not based on any legitimate study. 

The earliest iteration Logically Facts found of the claim stems from a 2015 blog post that asserts Ashkenazi Jews primarily descend from Khazars, a Turkic people from the Caucasus region, and have no ancestral ties to the Middle East. The post promotes conspiracy theories about Jewish elites manipulating world events, banking, and politics as part of a grand Zionist scheme for world domination.

A notable study in this context is the 2013 research by Dr. Eran Elhaik, who then worked at Johns Hopkins University. Published in Genome Biology and Evolution, Volume 5, Elhaik's study explored the genetic origins of Ashkenazi Jews, suggesting a potential connection between Ashkenazi Jews and the Khazars. This same study was also mentioned in the 2015 blog post where the claim first appeared.

Ashkenazi Jews are Jews from Central and Eastern Europe, known for their distinct culture and Yiddish language, while Khazars were Turkic people who adopted Judaism in the 8th or 9th century and ruled an empire in Eastern Europe.

However, this study focused specifically on Ashkenazi Jews and did not include Jewish populations living in Israel. Elhaik himself has clarified that his findings have been misrepresented and do not suggest that Jews lack ancient Hebrew or Semitic ancestry.

Critics, including leading geneticists, argued that Elhaik's statistical analysis was flawed. They maintain that the majority of genetic evidence supports common Middle Eastern origin for Jews. Elhaik's work was also seen as politically charged, with critics claiming it was used to challenge Zionist narratives.

Genetic studies have consistently shown that Jewish populations—Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Mizrahi—share key markers linked to ancient Middle Eastern groups, especially the Israelites. 

For example, a 2020 study found strong genetic ties between various Jewish communities and ancient populations from the Levant, which includes modern Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. This highlights a long history of shared ancestry with other groups in the region, including Palestinians.

When contacted by Logically Facts regarding the misuse of his research in misinformation, Elhaik did not provide a response. 

More recent research supports these findings. A 2022 study confirmed that Jewish populations have maintained strong genetic connections to ancient Levantine groups despite centuries of migration. 

This continuity has persisted through the Jewish Diaspora, a period of dispersion that began with the Assyrian conquest of Israel in 722 BCE and was intensified by the Babylonian exile in 597-586 BCE. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE by the Romans, the Diaspora expanded further, scattering Jewish populations across Europe, North Africa, and Asia. While Jewish communities mixed with European and North African populations during this time, their core Semitic ancestry remains clear.

Verdict

No Johns Hopkins study exists to support the claim that 97.5 percent of Jewish people in Israel lack ancient Hebrew DNA and that 80 percent of Palestinians carry such DNA. This claim originated from a 2015 blog post that promotes conspiracy theories, suggesting a Khazar origin for Ashkenazi Jews and linking Jewish elites to global manipulation. Research by Dr. Eran Elhaik, often cited in these arguments, has been widely criticized for flawed methodology.