Hand-Clasping and Arm-Folding among Middle Eastern Jews in Israel

Hand-clasping and arm-folding were tested in 112 Kurdish and 74 Yemenite Jews in Israel. The two groups, who are known to differ genetically, but who are exposed to similar environmental conditions, showed significantly different hand-clasping frequencies, but no difference in arm-folding frequencies.The Kurd and Yemenite frequencies in both traits are similar to those in Samaritans and Israeli schoolchildren, and in arm-folding they are similar to Greek schoolchildren. In their hand-clasping frequencies the Kurds tend to resemble Caucasian populations while the Yemenites resemble Negroid groups, which is consistent with the known African admixture to the Yemenite gene pool. The arm-folding frequencies, however, show no such trend.