South Carolina Republican Assembly

Objection:   The people who claim to be Jews now are not really Jews.  They are actually descendants of the Khazars.  This is based on a few sources.  The primary one is probably the 1976 book by Arthur Koestler entitled The Thirteenth Tribe.  This popularized the idea that Ashkenazi Jews are descended from the Khazars, a Central Asian people who ruled a large kingdom on the Black Sea and apparently converted to Judaism in the 8th century.  A later 2012 study by Eran Elhaik, a geneticist picked up this idea and allegedly provided genetic proof that Ashkenazi Jews are not Jews but descendants of the Khazars. 

Note:  This claim has also been used to show that Ashkenazi Jews (i.e., Jews who trace their ancestry to Northern and Eastern Europe) have no historical or genetic relationship to Biblical Israel or the land of Israel.   

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Answer: The Khazars did exist, but there really is very little information about them.  Judah HaLevi, a 12th century rabbi had written “The Kazari” which documented a dialogue between a Khazar king and the rabbi who convinces him of the truth of Judaism.  Some other historians have also written about this conversion as well, so it does appear that at least the ruling elite of Khazaria converted to Judaism.  But there is no archaeological or historical evidence that Jewish presence in Khazaria was widespread so it does not appear that the main body of the population was ever impacted by this conversion.  

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But there is also linguistic evidence that the Ashkenazi Jews are not descended from the Khazars.   Since the 17th century, Yiddish was the vernacular language of all Jews of Eastern Europe.  It is primarily made up of German elements, although in the past few centuries a strong influence from Slavic languages can be seen.  The few words of Turkic origin came into Yiddish via the intermediary of East Slavic languages. But if the Ashkenazi Jews were really Khazars, we would not expect the basis of the language to be German, but Turkic (the language of the Khazars).

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As for the Elhaik study, there are many significant issues with it.

1. While there was DNA from eight Ashkenazi males in Elhaik’s study, there was no Khazar DNA at all. This makes it a bit difficult to come to significant conclusions about the Khazarian ancestry of Ashkenazi Jews. Elhaik had to use the idea of Armenians or Georgians for the basis of his study and there is no scholarship that supports making this assumption. From Are We All Khazars Now? By Shaul Stampfer

2. Elhaik claims there was Jewish migration from Khazaria to Poland - Not only is there no evidence for the claim of significant migration to Poland from Khazaria, but such a claim flies in the face of basic facts that we know about Eastern European Jewry. The settlement patterns of the Jews in Eastern Europe suggest that large-scale settlement began in western Poland and not the parts closest to Khazaria. Moreover, there is no evidence of influence of Byzantine Jewish liturgy and customs on Eastern European Jewry and none of Central Asian languages on Yiddish.

 

There have also been subsequent studies that further undermine the Elhaik study

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1. The Harvard study – Erfurt – Ashkenazi Jewish graves – 33 people – middle eastern and European descent - Ancient DNA Provides New Insights into Ashkenazi Jewish History | Harvard Medical School

2. The Behar study – shows that Ashkenazi Jews come primarily from middle eastern and European ancestors.  a 2013 study led by Doron Behar thoroughly investigated the Khazar hypothesis and found no genetic markers linking Ashkenazi Jews to the Caucasus region. Instead, researchers reaffirmed deep ancestral roots in the Middle East, paired with European admixture from the diaspora experience, not conversion.

 

So, linguistically, historically, archaeologically and genetically, there is no evidence supporting the Khazar myth or a Khazarian origin for Ashkenazi Jews.  The evidence does support a middle eastern and European descent.

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Sources:

1. Are We All Khazars Now? By Shaul Stampfer, Spring 2014, https://jewishreviewofbooks.com/articles/802/are-we-all-khazars-now/#

2. Khazar Myth Disproved By History, Linguistics And Genes

3. Arthur Koestler, The Thirteenth Tribe

4. Ancient DNA Provides New Insights into Ashkenazi Jewish History | Harvard Medical School

5. https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?params=/context/humbiol_preprints/article/1040/&path_info=03_Behar_et_al.pdf#:~:text=Thus%2C%20analysis%20of%20Ashkenazi%20Jews%20together%20with,or%20from%20north%20of%20the%20Caucasus%20region.