Back when I was a teenager I rememebr reading about a theory that Christopher Columbus was a Jew. The theory was that he was a Marrano and he used the guise of being an explorer and exploring the New World and searching for what he supposedly thought was India as a way of getting to safety out of Portugal where as a Jew he was in danger.
This was always intriguing but it never seemed to be more than a theory and it always seemed somewhat like a bit of a crackpot theory. Over the years though my curiosity was always piqued when hearing Columbus news or reading things that referenced Columbus and in the back of my mind I always tried to fit things in with the theory that he was Jewish.
This Reuters article is the jackpot, even though I know it is still premature and disputed.
According to the article, a group of researchers led by a forensics expert tested tiny DNA samples taken from his grave in the Seville Cathedral and announced their findings that Christopher Columbus and his son Hernando both have DNA traits of Jewish origin.
ok! Exciting news! and yes, still under dispute, but we'll take historical heroes as Jews in the meantime. And in today's world this wont go down so well - a Jewish European colonizer and everything that followed with the Native Americans and all that.. but still, for me, this is exciting..
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