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Testing Companies - Genealogy Guide: DNA & Jewish Genealogy - LibGuides at Center for Jewish History

Captured 2025-11-22

90

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Testing Companies - Genealogy Guide: DNA & Jewish Genealogy - LibGuides at Center for Jewish History

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This web page is a comprehensive guide to DNA testing companies specifically tailored for Jewish genealogy research, hosted by the Center for Jewish History's library guide system. The page serves as a practical resource for individuals interested in using genetic testing to explore their Jewish ancestry, providing detailed comparisons of the four major direct-to-consumer DNA testing companies and their specific capabilities for Jewish genealogical research. The guide presents in-depth analysis of Ancestry.com, 23andMe, MyHeritage, and FamilyTreeDNA, ranking them by database size and explaining their unique features relevant to Jewish genealogy. Ancestry leads with over 22 million tests and identifies ten regional subgroups of Ashkenazi Jews plus Sephardic Jews as one group, while offering integration with 11 billion genealogical documents. 23andMe, with 12 million tests, focuses primarily on medical research but identifies seven Ashkenazi Jewish subgroups, though notably lacks categories for Sephardic or Mizrahi Jews. MyHeritage stands out for its comprehensive Jewish ethnic categorization, identifying five distinct groups including Ethiopian Jewish, Sephardic Jewish-North African, Mizrahi Jewish-Iranian/Iraqi, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Yemenite Jewish populations. The guide emphasizes a cost-effective strategy of purchasing tests from two companies and uploading results to the others to maximize genetic matches across all databases. This resource specifically addresses the unique challenges of Jewish genetic genealogy, particularly the prevalence of false matches among Ashkenazi Jewish testers due to endogamous marriage patterns within historically isolated communities. The guide acknowledges that different companies employ various filtering methods to address these small-segment matches that can complicate Jewish genealogical research. The page is clearly designed for both novice and experienced genealogists within the Jewish community, offering practical advice on navigating the complexities of genetic testing while providing specific resources like support forums and customer service contacts. The guide represents part of a larger educational initiative by the Center for Jewish History, connecting to broader themes of Holocaust remembrance and Jewish cultural preservation. Notable features include links to free DNA kits for Holocaust survivors and their children, integration with the center's genealogical institute services, and detailed technical support resources for each testing platform. The page emphasizes the importance of combining genetic testing with traditional documentary genealogy research, reflecting the academic rigor expected from a major Jewish cultural institution's educational resources.

Citation (APA Style)

Testing Companies - Genealogy Guide: DNA & Jewish Genealogy - LibGuides at Center for Jewish History. (2025, 11 22). libguides.cjh.org. https://libguides.cjh.org/dna/testingcompanies

Technical Metadata

Domain libguides.cjh.org
File Size 240 KB
Archived 2025-11-22T14:41:39.042017
Document ID #90
Languages 5 available