Study says that Columbus was probably Spanish and Jewish

Question

The article "Columbus Probably Spanish and Jewish, Study Says" by BBC news discusses new research suggesting that Christopher Columbus may have been of Spanish origin with Jewish ancestry. The study reexamines historical evidence, indicating that Columbus might have been a converted Jew fleeing persecution in Spain, rather than the commonly held belief that he was from Genoa, Italy. It is said in the article “Around 300,000 practicing Jews lived in Spain, before they along with Muslims were ordered to either convert to Catholicism or leave the country in 1492, the year Columbus landed in the Americas. This theory could explain certain aspects of his personal history and the timing of his voyages.

Answer 1

NPR reports on the upcoming documentary, and the claim of Christopher Columbus's origins with this quote:

Broadcast by Spanish national public network RTVE on Oct. 12, the day of Spain’s national holiday marking the arrival of Columbus’ expedition to the Americas, Colón ADN, su verdadero origen, or “Columbus’ DNA, his true origin,” follows forensic medical expert José Antonio Lorente as he studies multiple hypotheses regarding the origin of the famed explorer and contrasts the information with scientific and historical evidence.

The documentary concludes that the most plausible theory is one maintained by a Catalan architect who has dedicated many years trying to demonstrate that Cristóbal Colón — Columbus’ name in Spanish — was a Jewish man from the region of Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of eastern Spain.

Some in the scientific community, however, have expressed skepticism about the methods and scientific rigor that Lorente employs, and highlight the fact that Lorente’s findings have not been presented for peer review yet.

https://www.npr.org/2024/10/16/g-s1-28462/christopher-columbus-spanish-jew-documentary

The article goes on to say that many in the scientific community, find Lorente's methods unreliable. It is not certain that the body that is claimed to be Christopher Columbus was actually his. Lorente has used DNA from Columbus's son and distant cousin to corrobate that it is his body.

NPR cites the Spanish newspaper El País claiming that proving this via DNA is nearly impossible. The documentarian is not answering questions about his work at this time. Lorente himself admits the DNA he could get, was highly degraded.

Expertos internacionales arremeten contra el supuesto ADN de Colón: “Comentar esto es como opinar sobre alienígenas”