In 1997, a study was published in the Journal Nature demonstrating that a startling percentage of Jewish males who shared an oral tradition of being Cohanim (Jewish priests), also shared the same Y chromosome signature. The males that matched this "Cohen Modal Haplotype" are found within Haplogroup J on the Tree of Homo Sapiens. Haplogroup J is commonly referred to as 'Semitic' or 'Mediterranean' because of its concentration in those areas. We do not have very many Phillips men in the DNA project who belong to Haplogroup J, but we just got our first match to the Cohen Modal Haplotype! His kit number is 156290 and he traces his Phillips line back to New York City.
