Jews entry into Europe??

Question

What are the origins of the Ashkenazi Jews and where/how

did they enter Europe?

The 2,000 year dispersion of the Jewish diaspora beginning under the Roman Empire, as Jews were spread throughout the Roman world and, driven from land to land, and settled wherever they could live freely enough to practice their religion. Over the course of the diaspora the center of Jewish life moved from Babylonia to the Iberian Peninsula to Poland to the United States and to Israel.

Answer 1

In general, Ashkenazi Jews have their origins in medieval Germany, slowly migrating out of Germany, mostly eastward into east and central Europe and into Russian lands.

It is a stretch to say that those early pioneers in Germany were all entering Europe through Spain.  Most made their way through the different outposts of Jewish life along the Mediterrenean and some headed northward to settle on German territory.  Likewise it is a strech to say, though taboo, that all Ashkenazi Jews have their roots to the Jewish people of the Roman world.

All politics and nationalist biases aside, there is a large possibility that many Jews from outside the near-east do not have full Semitic backgrounds, mainly in the Ashkenazi populations.

Though many will claim the genetic sample testing already shows most if not all Jews are "biblically" related, this would also be a partial read of the genetic data.

For example, the testing people refer to mentions the patrilineal side often highlighted in social-political kingship in clans and tribes. This does not however fully establish genetic lineage. The same data revealed that only about 40% of matrilinial (MtDna) was similar among Jews, considering matrilinial descent established ones Jewishness, one must take into account that clan-tribal societies that adopted Judaism as a religion may not have techincally always been "biblically Jewish".

Those Jewish societies like the Khazars then may be considered to fall into this category. This does not mean that all Jewish Khazars were not semitic, but rather that kingship may have taken more weight on certain occasions rather than mother's blood as far as who was considered Jewish.  This would make logical sense since the number of Ashkenazi Jews currently is a great numerical leap since its German origins.

One must consider that since Judaism is linked through the mother, and that DNA data is at 40%, it is evident that some Jews are partially from outside the "Biblical" zone.  The Ashkenazi Jews are most likely the greater examples of this.

Answer 2

the first diaspora began over 500  years before the Roman invasion. At that time, Babylon took slaves which they later freed. A thousand years later, the Spanish Inquisition did a little 'dispersing' of their own !