WebThe Jews were in Sicily since antiquity. They first arrived with their Phoenician kinfolk as merchants. Many were brought to Sicily by Romans as skilled artisans (ironsmiths), teachers, nannies, physicians, etc. and slaves (slaves from all over the Empire …

WebThe Jews lived in many Sicilian cities such as Palermo, Messina and Catania. From the late 7th century, Sicily joined with Calabria to form the Byzantine Theme of Sicily. In the …

WebThere is a legend that the Jews were first brought to Sicily as captive slaves in the 1st century after the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE by the Romans. However, it is generally …

WebTheir highly specialized skills with silver, gold, (the Jews were linked to these arts so much that “orefice,” a word that signifies “goldsmith” used as a family name indicates that …

WebAll over Sicily, one can find artifacts of a once thriving Jewish community. Genetic evidence further reveals that a substantial number of modern Sicilians are of …

WebSicilians do indeed have an interesting genetic past, but their closest related populations are the other regions of Southern Italy. Southern Italy/Sicily/Greek Islands/Western Jews …

WebThe genetic proximity of Ashkenazi Jews and Syrian Jews to Northern Italians, Sardinians and French populations suggest that there is non-Semitic ancestry in Ashkenazi Jews. …

WebHistorians have determined that nearly 50 percent of the population of Sicily and southern Italy has Italian Jewish roots and was once Jewish.

WebTheir intermarriage rate is around 90%. It was at 80% in the 70’s. So most Italian-Americans also have a white parent of some other descent, especially if they were born after 1980. …

WebThere's nothing more illogical than a statement by a Sicilian who cannot trace his family history to before 1800 swear that his patrilineal Catholic ancestors were "Jewish" until …