Miami: Jewish and non-Jewish DNA, May 6

It's a bit early for this announcement, but go ahead and mark your calendars now. I want to give you plenty of time to get to Miami!

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Miami will host Dr. Abe Lavender on May 6, at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation building. Visit the JGSGM site for details.

Dr. Lavender will discuss Jewish genetics and the extent to which DNA can be used for Jewish genealogical research.

Among the questions he'll discuss: How closely related are Ashkenazim, Sephardim and other Jewish groups? Who are the closest non-Jewish relatives of Jews? Is it Eastern Europeans, Western Europeans, or Middle Easterners, such as Palestinians? What is the famous Cohen gene, and is it a valid measure of Jewish heritage?

A professor of sociology and Sephardic studies at Florida International University, Lavender has authored six books and more than 50 articles.

He is president of both the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies- which has a fascinating range of articles - and the Miami Beach Historical Association - which offers a history of Miami Beach and a PDF of the first Miami Beach Telephone Directory in 1920.