274 N j e n h u i s, Distribution of ABO and Rh (D) Blood Groups in the Netherlands
contain a Mediterranean component. In this respect it may be important to point
out the low frequencies of Rh negatives which are found in some parts of Zeeland.
When dividing the total material in to 3 groups, it appears that there exist
obvious differences ín the ABO bloodgroups between the original Frisian, Frankish
and Saxon parts of the Netherlands.
These differences are highly significant for the country as well as for the towns.
If we compare the country and the towns within the 3 groups, significant differen-
ces are observed in the Frisians and to a less degree also in the Saxons.
There is no difference between the Frankish country and the Frankish towns.
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This shows that the Frisian and Saxon towns have been influenced by the Frankish
component of the population, while the Frankish towns were not influenced by the
Frisian and Saxon components. It remains doubtful whether this Frankish in-
fluence has played a part in the foundation of the towns or if this is of more recent
date.
One could imagine that already in the early Middle Ages after the subjection
of the Frisians and Saxons by the Franks, a ruling class, a commercial group and
soldiers settled in the subjected regions. This group may have founded the first
town communities. On the other hand, in the course of centuries until the present
time migrations may have occured from the often poor southern districts to the
towns in the north, which may explain this Frankish influence.
There seems to be no obvious correlation between the distribution of the Rh
factor and Frisian, Frankish or Saxon origin. The differences between these territories
and also between town and country are irregular and less significant or not signifi-
cant at all. The average percentage of Rh-negatives in the Netherlands is 16.75 %.
72
Blood Groups in Sephardic Jews
J. Guaxν rcη, Ε. MARGOLIS AND D. HERbΟNI
Jerusalem, Isτael
Sephardic Jews are the descendants of the Jews who were expelled from Spain
in 1492 and from Portugal in 1497. There are some indications that Jews settled in
Spain in the early centuries of the Christian era.
During their long sojourn in the Iberian peninsula migrations to and from
North Africa took place.
The present study is concerned with Sephardic Jews from the Balkan countries
(Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece and Jugoslavia), who came to Israel between the years
1949-1957. The ABO, MN and Rh-Hr groups of 200 persons were examined.
Gurevitch, Margolis and Hermoni, Blood Groups in Sephardic Jews 275
As may be seen from table I, the frequency of the O phenotype is rather low in
the Sephardic community, in comparison with figures obtained by us for Moroccan
Jews (37.7 %), and Tunisian Jews (39.5 %). It is suggested that the high group O
frequency indicates a Berber influx. It seems, however, that the African component
has penetrated the Sephardic Jews only to a limited extent, in spite of the frequent
contact over centuries.
An interesting feature is the high frequency of the phenotype A, namely 45 %,
which is the highest figure so far found in the Jewish communities studied by us.
The high A group level found in the Sephardic Jews may be regarded as a later
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acquisition, confirming the well-known historical fact that their route to the Otto-
man Empire led through Europe, rather than through North Africa. It may be
noted that a frequency of about 42 % of group A was also found in some populations
of the Balkan peninsula, e.g. Turks, Serbians and Bulgarians (Mourant, 1954).
Table I
ABO Blood Groups in Sephardic Jews
No. Phenotypes % Genes %
tested O Α B ΑΒ ΑΒ p q
Obs. 29.50 45.00 16.50 9.00
200 54.41 32.06 13.53
Exp. 29.60 45.00 16.75 8.65
Table II
MN Blood Groups ín Sephardic Jews
No. Phenotypes % Genes %
tested MM MN NN M N
Obs. 15.00 70.00 15.00
200 50.00 50.00
Exp. 25.00 50.00 25.00
The phenotype B was found in Sephardic Jews at a frequency of 16.0 % which
is lower than that encountered in the population of North Africa, Berbers and
Arabs. This, too, might be taken as an indication of less than average North African
admixture.
In table II the M and N frequencies in Sephardic Jews are presented. As may be
seen, M and N genes are evenly distributed; the phenotypes, however, show the
interesting phenomenon of heterosis with the unusually high percentage of 70 %
for the MN phenotype. In this respect the Sephardim stand out from the other Je-
wish communities so far studied. Whether this heterosis is a reflection of the hetero-
geneity of the Sephardic Jews developed in their cultural, economic and social life,
remains open to speculation.
276 Gurevitch, Margolis and Hermon, Blood Groups in Sephardic Jews
It is interesting to note that among the European peoples high figures for MN
phenotypes up to 75 % were found by several authors (Horse and Sarandeses, 1951),
(Horse and Marcos) in some parts of Spain.
In table III the distribution of blood groups in the Rh-Hr system are presented.
The highest figure was obtained for the CDe, 46.8 %, the so-called "Mediter-
ranean chromosome", which was found to be high in most Jewish communities
studied by us. The same observation was stressed by Mourant (1954), and suggests
the common Mediterranean origin of the Jewish people.
The chromosome cde follows with a high frequency of 26.5 %. This chromosome
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is found more often in the heterozygous state, while the homozygous ccddee pheno-
type is infrequent (7 %), as found in some Oriental Jewish communities, e.g.
Table III
Rh-Hr Blood Groups in Sephardic Jews
Phenotypes %
Νο. tested CCDE CCDee CCddE CcDE CcDee ccDE ccDee ccddE ccddee Ccdee
Obs. 1.00 27.00 — 10.50 35.00 9.00 7.00 0.50 7.00 3.00
200 Exp. 1.04 26.77 — 10.18 36.12 7.56 7.01 0.53 6.97 2.75
Chromosomes %
Νο. tested CDE CDe Cde cDE cdE cDe cde
200 1.00 46.80 5.20 8.60 1.00 11.00 26.40
Baghdadi, Kurdistan and Persian Jews. The high level of cde may be due to the
acquisition of a Basque component or of a Berber component from North Africa.
The frequency of chromosome cDe, characteristically high in all populations
of Africa, was found in the Sephardic Jews to amount to 11 %. This is somewhat
higher than that encountered in Moroccan and Tunisian Jews. How has this
chromosome penetrated the Sephardic stock? According to Mourant, this component
was presumably acquired mainly in Egypt and elsewhere in North Africa, but some
may have come through Spain, where raised cDe frequencies are found in several
regions. The latter seems most probable, as no other indications were found to
suggest the penetration of considerable North African elements in Sephardic Jews.
