Israeli Arabs have been at low risk for colorectal cancer (CRC) and had mainly proximal cancer, but increasing CRC is now noted. We examined this trend and CRC site and compared them to the total Jewish population and to the low-risk Jews of Asian-African origin. Israel Cancer Registry CRC data, 1982-2002, for Arabs and Jews was computed by gender, age and site: rectal cancer included recto-sig...

The Holy Land has absorbed millions of immigrants in recent centuries: Jews from East and West, Druze, Circassians, Muslim and Christian Arabs. The land is unique and diverse in geographical location and ethnic groups, and also in its cultural characteristics, including traditional medicine and use of materia medica. However, these traditions have waned over the years. The young state of Israel...

Factor Xi deficiency has previously been observed mainly in Jews. For 34 of 36 probands with factor XI deficiency in Israel, reliable information on ethnic background was obtained. Of 34 probands 33 were of definite Ashkenazi Jewish origin; 1 was of probable Ashkenazi origin. From a survey of factor Xi levels among 428 unrelated healthy Ashkenazi Jews, 35 had partial factor XI deficiency (facto...

BACKGROUND beta-thalassemia is the most common inherited single gene disorder worldwide, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most common human enzyme deficiency. The goal of this study was to compare the frequency of beta-thalassemia trait and G6PD among the Moslem and Jewish populations in Shiraz, southern Iran. METHODS We examined 201 Moslems and 187 Jewish subjec...

The sterol 27-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.13.15) catalyzes steps in the oxidation of sterol intermediates that form bile acids. Mutations in this gene give rise to the autosomal recessive disease cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX). CTX is characterized by tendon xanthomas, cataracts, a multitude of neurological manifestations, and premature atherosclerosis. A relatively high prevalence of the diseas...

The 185delAG mutation in BRCA1 is detected in Ashkenazi Jews both in familial breast and ovarian cancer and in the general population. All tested Ashkenazi mutation carriers share the same allelic pattern at the BRCA1 locus. Our previous study showed that this 'Ashkenazi' mutation also occurs in Iraqi Jews with a similar allelic pattern. We extended our analysis to other non-Ashkenazi subsets: ...

In a recent interdisciplinary study, Das et al. have attempted to trace the homeland of Ashkenazi Jews and of their historical language, Yiddish (Das et al. 2016 Localizing Ashkenazic Jews to Primeval Villages in the Ancient Iranian Lands of Ashkenaz. Genome Biol Evol. 8:1132-1149). Das et al. applied the geographic population structure (GPS) method to autosomal genotyping data and inferred geo...

Since the Middle Ages the Jews have been engaged primarily in urban, skilled occupations, such as crafts, trade, Þnance, and medicine. This distinctive occupational selection occurred between the seventh and the ninth centuries in the Muslim Empire and then it spread to other locations. We argue that this transition was the outcome of the widespread literacy among Jews prompted by an educationa...