Exploring the connections between Jews and Native Americans

The Jerusalem Post is reporting that " "Not a great deal is written or even known today about the connection between Jews and Native American Indians. It is, however, a fascinating subject."

"According to a Ynet report, a population of Native American Indians from the US state of Colorado has been found to have a genetic mutation typical of Ashkenazi Jews. The finding suggests the presence of common roots that date back to the days of Christopher Columbus. Several stories circulate on this subject."

"In 1650, Rabbi Menashe Ben Israel, Chief Rabbi of Amsterdam, recorded in his book Mikveh Yisrael a conversation that he had with a Jewish Dutch explorer of the Americas. The explorer related how he made contact with the Native Americans but after trying to communicate with them in every possible European language, he had no success. Both he and his first mate, being Jews, they began to talk among themselves in Hebrew. To his utter amazement, upon hearing them speak Hebrew, the Native American chief responded by saying Shema Yisrael.”

"In 1775, Englishman James Adair, after living with Native Americans for 40 years, recorded his experiences and published a book about them in London titled The History of the American Indians. Almost his entire work is dedicated to documenting and proving that the Native American tribes of the central and southern territories were definitively of Jewish origins and to his day maintained a sizable amount of their ancient Israelite heritage."