What can our DNA tell us about Jewish the Jewish people? Sam Zev reveals how our genetic code carries our collective narratives and bonds us even tighter together. He explains how, remarkably, the Kohen modal haplotype was preserved over 106 generations resulting in the highest paternal certainty rate ever recorded among any population. Zev asserts that it is the faithfulness of the Kohens’ wives, however, that enabled this continuity to be possible. This otherwise hidden story of faithfulness, Zev emphasizes, is the real information encoded in our DNA.
Sam Zev is CEO of Funtactix, and Israel-based game studio. He has spent his career managing teams and companies at the cutting edge of the video games industry. He began his career creating Star Wars games at LucasFilm, and subsequently moved on to Microsoft, where he managed a team pushing the visual limits of video games across the industry. Under Zev’s direction, Funtactix has earned Israel a reputation in Hollywood where the company is now the premiere publisher of mobile games based on box office films. The studio was named one of the ten most promising Israeli technology companies by Forbes, and was successfully acquired by a major European game publisher in 2016. Outside of his professional career, Zev has been a strong advocate of revolutionary new approaches to Jewish Education and has also championed new business models for social-good ventures.
