NMJHS News:Family Tree DNA’s Bennett Greenspan comes to New Mexico Sunday, Feb. 28, to talk about genetic genealogy.
The course takes place at the Jewish Community Center (JCC), on Wyoming Boulevard in Albuquerque.
Greenspan leads a two-part session titled, “DNA, Genetics and Genealogy: What It Means, and Finding New Mexico Family Connections.” The morning session, 10 to 11:30 a.m., introduces paternal and maternal testing, with Greenspan sharing his findings on New Mexico Crypto-Jewish DNA and his own New Mexico family links.
The afternoon session, 1:30 to 2:45 p.m., has Greenspan addressing “The DNA of the Jewish People,” and a debate between Semitic roots versus the 8thCentury Khazars, many of whom converted to Judaism.
Crypto-Jews came to the Southwest from Spain, where many pretended to convert to Christianity, to avoid death from the Crusaders and later, the Inquisition. At the beginning of the 200-year Crusades, in 1096, 5,000 Jews were killed in the Rhineland Massacres; Jewish communities in four major cities were destroyed.
The cost is $30 per person for both sessions; $20 for one session. Space is limited; pre-registration is recommended. Register online here. Contact Murray Tucker, 505.982.3451, or Isabelle Medina Sandoval, 505.474.5221, for more information.