Vintage illustration of Christopher Columbus on the deck of the Santa Maria in 1492. Photo by GraphicaArtis/Getty Images

By PJ Grisar
October 14, 2024

The discovery that Christopher Columbus, long rumored to have Jewish heritage, had traits of Sephardic DNA is, to me, about as monumental as learning that the Earth was round around 1492. In other words, it’s a late conclusion that should actually change little about the way we understand the world today – even if some would like it otherwise.

Columbus did not start by proving the shape of the Earth Stan Freberg persisted; people of his time knew that the world was spherical. There is evidence that Columbus sailed in the service of a devout Catholic worldview for a Catholic kingdom that expelled its Jews that same year in an action he appears to have supported in his writings.

Yet there is a new Spanish documentary, which one revealed ThatAfter a 22-year investigation into Columbus and his son’s remains, researchers found “characteristics consistent with Jewish ancestry.” This made international news in time for Columbus’s holiday of the same name, now also known as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The development, which causes a fair amount tsuris for Jews, given Columbus’s controversial reputation, an alternative theory about the explorer’s true motivations may revive.

Legendary Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal’s 1973 book Sails of hope put forward the idea that Columbus was a Spanish Marrano who sought to find the lost tribes of Israel or to secure safety for his co-religionists.

“It has been, I think, literally seeping into our oral traditions for hundreds of years,” says Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, who often heard Wiesenthal speak of the Alhambra Decree of 1492 in his speeches around the world. When Cooper heard about the DNA evidence at the end of Yom Kippur, the response was that it “made perfect sense.”

“That doesn’t mean he wasn’t looking for a way to India,” Cooper said, but he said it means Columbus most likely had relatives who fell victim to the Inquisition, and the trade route may have been a trade route. pretext.

The trip was likely a “reflection of the desperation of someone who wanted to try to find a safe haven for hidden Jews and Jews were forced to flee,” Cooper said, noting that he understands how many indigenous groups may not want to celebrate Columbus Day.

Should we? Was Columbus actually a Jewish hero? Experts say no. Or at least we can’t say that with certainty.

Laurence Understood, author of Columbus: The Four Voyagessaid: “I do not see in the writings of Columbus – and he wrote many – this specific articulation of his mission.”

“Certainly, he was driven by a powerful faith and that he was on a mission,” Bergreen continued, “but other than that, I would tell you personally, the needle hasn’t moved for me.”

Columbus’s awareness of his own possible Jewish roots has not been demonstrated, according to Bergreen, although we do know that he sailed with Jews and Conversos, probably fleeing the persecution of Columbus’ patrons, the Spanish monarchy.

As for the DNA analysis, the raw data of which has yet to be revealed, Bergreen notes that the efforts were likely complicated by the fact that Columbus’ remains were buried in three different places. (Scientists have also cast doubt on the Spanish team’s conclusions.)

This is not an opportunity for that selling nachas. While historically many Italian Americans have liked to brag about Columbus’ contributions, that impulse has become complicated in recent decades as the country views Columbus’s seafaring as the beginning of a centuries-long genocide of Native Americans.

Jews should at least feel conflicted, but can take some comfort in knowing that there is more to identity than just a haplotype.

“Genetics does not make someone Jewish,” says Ronnie Perelis, professor of Sephardic Studies at Yeshiva University, told the Jewish News Syndicate.

Perelis said Columbus’s writings reveal a man influenced by Jewish theology — and some even suggested he knew some Ladino – but paint a picture of someone who was essentially a Christian and believed that his journeys were ordained by God.

“It was somewhat messianic,” Bergreen said of Columbus’ mission, which also included hearing the voice of God. Was it the Hebrew God? We cannot say that with certainty.

After centuries of speculation, perhaps what has changed most is that this discovery is no longer welcome, with comedian Alex Edelman sarcastically musing:this will be very good for the Jews and the people will be very cold about it.”