The Jews in all parts of the world are members of a Mediterranean racial group having distinct genetic factors not found among non-Jews, two Israeli scientists reported here this week-end at the first international Congress of Human Genetics.
The Israeli scientists, Dr. Leo Sachs of the Weizmann Institute, and Dr. M. Bat-Miriam of the Israeli Institute for Biological Research, used fingerprint patterns in their investigations. After examining 4,000 prints of immigrants to Israel from Poland, Germany, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, Yemen, Bulgaria and Turkey, the scientists found a unique pattern of loops, whorls and arches which could not be found in samples of fingerprints of non-Jews which they studied.
(Dr. Milislav Demerek, director of the genetics department of Carnegie Institute in Washington and a noted expert on racial science, declared that he never before knew that fingerprints could be used for establishing racial origin. “It is entirely a new approach.” Dr. Demerek said. “I know Dr. Sachs. He is a noted scientist and I have complete confidence in him.”)
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