Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, Study finds

Spanish scientists have recently claimed that Christopher Columbus, the 15th-century explorer credited as the man who discovered America , was actually a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe.

Knewz.com has learned that there has been considerable mystery regarding the origins of the man who launched several expeditions to the Americas funded by the government of Spain in the 15th century.

The recent claims about Columbus’s origin have been put forward at the end of a 22-year-long investigation led by forensic expert Miguel Lorente, according to reports.

The said investigation entailed testing tiny samples of remains buried in the Seville Cathedral in Spain, believed to be the last resting place of the famous explorer.

The investigating team compared the analysis of the remains with the DNA of known relatives and descendants of Columbus, and the findings of the investigation were shared in the documentary entitled Columbus DNA: The True Origin on TVE, the Spanish national broadcaster.

“We have DNA from Christopher Columbus, very partial, but sufficient. We have DNA from Hernando Colón, his son,” forensic expert Lorente said in the documentary.

“And both in the Y chromosome (male) and in the mitochondrial DNA (transmitted by the mother) of Hernando there are traits compatible with Jewish origin,” Lorente added.

Lorentes further said that the team analyzed 25 different regions before concluding that there was a high possibility that Columbus was from Western Europe. While research into the explorer’s nationality was considered complicated, the forensic expert claimed that the outcome of his investigation was “almost absolutely reliable.”

He further stated that his investigation confirms previous theories that the remains in Seville Cathedral belonged to Columbus.

It has been reported that around 300,000 Jews lived in Spain before the Catholic monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand ordered those of Jewish and Islamic faith to convert to Catholicism or leave the nation during the ‘Reyes Catolicos.’

Many of the Jews displaced at the time settled elsewhere around the world, it has been reported . The word “Sephardic” reportedly comes from the Hebrew word “Sefarad,” meaning Spain.

On the other hand, Matt Goldish of Ohio State University stated that the theories about Columbus being a Sephardic Jew “may create a perfect storm of Jew-hatred if the same Jews caused the destruction of native American civilization and of native Palestinian civilization.”

Jonathan Ray, professor of Jewish studies at Georgetown University and the author of the 2023 book Jewish Life in Medieval Spain: A New History , said regarding the recent revelations about the 15th-century explorer’s faith:

“The recent DNA evidence regarding Columbus is very interesting and helps to illuminate his biography and the era in which he lived. I would offer one caveat, though: While it indicates that Columbus had Jewish heritage, it does not indicate that Columbus was a professing, Jew.”

Ray further stated that there is no proof that Columbus lived a Jewish life, “nor even as a crypto-Jew,” adding that historical records point towards him being of Catholic Christian faith.

“Rather, it would seem to indicate that he was a converso, or New Christian as they are often called—that is, a descendant of Iberian Jews who had converted to Christianity under duress during the century leading up to Spain’s expulsion of the Jews in 1492,” the expert said in a statement.

Other experts also stated that the public should take the findings of the latest investigation with a grain of salt.

Ronnie Perelis, associate professor of Sephardic studies at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies of Yeshiva University, said that Columbus’s presumed Jewish identity “is a story that never dies,” and added, “ Genetics doesn’t make someone Jewish.”

Jonathan Sarna, professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University, commented in this regard:

“In the interim, Columbus has been reviled in many circles and Columbus Day in cities like mine has been replaced by Indigenous Persons Day… Dubious science that looks to prove ‘genetically’ that Columbus was Jewish is no more persuasive than earlier theories of this kind. All we know for sure is that Columbus had much to hide.”