The latest study you cite finds that 12.7% of the Ashkenazim are paternal descendants of either East Europeans or Khazars. Most descend from Middle Eastern populations. It’s a stretch to say that this makes European Jews Khazars.

Borat (Kazakh journalist) appears to be wearing pubic hair on his head, by the look of it, or is he not? Should this be becoming a brand new worldwide sexy trend?

About Khazars/Kazakhs:

Dr. Ariella Oppenheim, professor of genetics at Hebrew University in israel, and five research colleagues reported in the American Journal of Human Genetics (November 2001) that jews are closely related in DNA to Iraqis, Kurds, Turks, and Armenians. Meanwhile, Sephardic, (Middle East jews) differ from European jews (Ashkenazi), many of whom were found to be of Khazar (Turkic Kazakh) stock.

I think you’re missing the point though. No one’s saying that Ashkenazim couldn’t have Khazar ancestry. What people are saying, including the authors of the above report, is that there is no evidence for the claim that they are the Khazars or that Khazar ancestry makes up a large part of their ancestry.

The Ashkenazi Levites who carry R1a1 are most reasonably explained as having descended from the Khazar Turks, who lived in the northern Caucasus and Black Sea region and converted to Judaism in the 9th Century. Exactly how their descendants obtained hereditary Levite status is unclear and controversial, but it happened. Unlike the situation with the Cohanim, there is no modal haplotype or haplogroup that encompasses Levites as a whole.

While some researchers claim DNA testing doesn’t strongly support a major Khazar contribution, others believe that modern Jews are essentially non-Semitic with genetic input from a large number of international sources, including Khazars…so the jury’s still out.

Because of the conflict with traditional Jewish racial claims this field of research can be controversial and sensitive.

Sacha Cohen (Bruno) would be aware of the Khazar connection and the controversy.