The high expectations of members of the Redeemed Israel Community of Nazarene Association (RICON) on a possible ancestral link between Igbo and Jews have been dashed.
The international President of Jewish Voice Ministries, Rabbi Jonathan Bernis, announced that the result of saliva samples taken in Nnewi had shown that the Igbo were not Jews.
Members of the group had gathered at Uruagu-Nnewi to collect what would be the confirmation/ Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test result of Ndigbo’s claims that Igbo are descent of Israel got to the venue as early as 9.00am on Saturday for a result that was to reshape the relationship of Igbo and Israel.
Rabbi Bernis who read the report from a laboratory based in Houston, Texas, the United States of America (USA) said that the result of the samples taken from Nigeria randomly on some people in Igboland bear no semblance with the ones in the data base of the laboratory.
The Israeli in company of three of his compatriots said that none of the 124 specimen taken from Nigeria matched the samples in the Houston laboratory which has 17 years’ experience in DNA business.
He however said that the result does not rule out the claim of Igbo to Israeli descent as more research would still be made to authenticate the claims.
The President of RICON, Bishop Ignatius Orizu (JP) while commenting on the DNA result said that the result would not deter the organisation from continuing to research into the claimed descent of the Igbo from Israel.
He pointed out that the tradition, religion and culture of the Igbo long before the arrival of the missionaries have great semblance with that of the Israelis.
Bishop Orizu who said that there are many books in circulation that collaborated the claim of Igbo to Israeli decency however urged the congregation not to lose hope as science is always in the business of discovery and recovery.
He appealed to the Federal Government to recognise the Jews in Nigeria and proclaim Yaweh’s Feast of Passover, trumpets, atonements, tabernacles among others as public holidays as approved for Christians and Moslems during Christmas, New Year and Easter.
Saliva samples were collected from Igbo community for Y25, DNA test on February 6 and 7, 2017 at Nnewi, Anambra State.
I think by now our focus should be where we are and where we are going instead of where we come from.