Are Taliban Jewish descendents?
Indian researcher visiting Israel's Institute of Technology tries to prove through genetic profiles whether members of terror organization are descendents of lost Jewish tribe
Shanez Ali, a young Indian researcher, who is currently visiting Israel, is trying to answer that question.
Ali arrived in the Holy Land as a guest of Karl Skorecki, deputy head of the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa who also serves as manager of the Rappaport Institute for Research in the Medical Sciences within the Israel Institute of Technology .
Ali, an expert on genetic profiles of Mumbai populations, will attempt to tackle the question whether the main tribe comprising the Taliban includes descendents of the lost tribe of Ephraim.
Professor Skorecki, who is renowned for his groundbreaking work in the field of Jewish genetics, will be overseeing Ali's research.
Her study is expected to last anywhere between three months and a year and will be funded by a scholarship on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Taliban is mainly comprised of members of the Pashtun people, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group. Locally, the Pashtuns are thought to be descendents of an Afridi tribe originating from Uttar Pradesh in India.
Ali brought with her DNA samples of the Afridi tribesmen in order to examine their genetic connection to the lost Jewish tribes.
Theories of such a connection are based on ancient manuscripts and popular traditions within the Pashtun people, however no scientific study has yet succeeded in proving the relation.
Nevertheless, Muslim and Jewish scientists have claimed over the years that the theory is in fact correct.
