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Genetics Helping Restore Priestly Lineage Of Levites For Third Temple Service

The wind cuts down from the Mount of Olives as three Jewish men named Cohen hunch their shoulders against the cold and start up the wooden ramp to the Temple Mount, breath clouding in the Jerusalem air.

In a scene that could stand in for countless real family journeys, their grandparents’ stories trace lines through Poland, Tunisia and Iran, but here the paths merge: walking the worn stone their Israelite forefathers once crossed in white linen, lips shaping the same psalms those priests sang when the Temple still stood and the smoke of offerings climbed into the winter sky.

If this trio had wanted more than a symbolic ascent–if they had wanted to learn how to bless, to sing and to serve as their ancestors once did–they could now find a place to do it.

An emerging effort to revive the Aaronite priests and Levitical assistants of ancient Israel has grown into a nearly 100-strong professional community of Kohanim and Levites in just a month, led by a young Israeli doctor and Temple Mount activist.

Nathan Huberman, 32, a Canadian-born physician, Israel Defense Forces veteran and longtime Temple Mount guide who lives outside Jerusalem, recently talked to JNS about his work turning ancient hereditary roles into a concrete program of training, identity and public engagement.

“These communities are professional communities, founded on four principles,” Huberman said. “Identity, an identity that comes with responsibility, knowing the actions you are meant to perform, and setting professional standards for those actions.”

Huberman is building two separate but related professional communities rooted in priestly and Levitical identity, each with its own focus and infrastructure.​

The Kohen community operates under Mamlechet Kohanim, which runs a basic training course using life-sized replicas of Temple vessels–including an altar and menorah–and brings in specialists to teach practical workshops. The aim is to grow both the number of participants and their level of professional preparedness for traditional priestly functions.​

The Levite community is organized through the Beyadenu organization and is centered on the Temple Mount, where members ascend to areas permitted under Jewish law and sing, echoing the role of Levites in the ancient Temple ensemble. Huberman is working to formalize this track as well, consulting musicologists and performers from Levitical families to design a dedicated course in Levite liturgical song that is still in development​

Because both groups are identity-based ethnic communities, Huberman says there is significant work to be done in structuring them along traditional lines. He notes that biblical, rabbinic and archaeological sources describe how the Temple workforce was divided, and that some families today claim descent from the Second Temple-era mishmarot, or service divisions.

In theory, he adds, modern genetic research could be used to help sort contemporary priests and Levites into their ancestral family lines, further refining how the two communities are organized.​

“I’m here just connecting dots,” said Huberman. “There are people out there doing great work, and these communities invite people to take part in those dots that are already there and connect to them.”

The Levi project rests on what Huberman calls a quiet revolution in Jewish access and religious expression on the Temple Mount over the past decade. Where once Jews risked being expelled or even arrested for closing their eyes too long or appearing to pray, he says it is now possible to sing and even dance openly under the eyes of Israeli police without interference.​

As a board member of Beyadenu, Huberman works to ease access and improve the experience for non-Muslims, arguing that a broader cross-section of Israeli society now ascends the Mount, including religious Zionists, haredim and others.

He points to a growing, if often discreet, roster of rabbis who halachically permit ascent under strict guidelines, citing figures such as the late chief rabbis Mordechai Eliyahu and Shlomo Goren and promising to publish a detailed list of supportive authorities.

“Most of the people going up are not very homogenous,” he said. “It’s shared among many different demographics, which is very interesting.”

The communities’ development coincides with cutting-edge research into the Y chromosome of Kohens that, in Huberman’s view, could transform how priestly families organize themselves for renewed Temple service. A recent high-resolution sequencing study, currently available as a preprint, found that roughly 80 percent of tested Kohens cluster into nine major paternal lineages, with about 20% remaining unassigned–an echo, he notes, of Second Temple-era records describing a group called Hakot that was sidelined from service due to unclear lineage.

While stressing that halachic Kohen status cannot rest on DNA alone, Huberman sees enormous potential in using genetics to reconstruct detailed family trees and revive the 24 “mishmarot,” or family shifts, into which King David and the prophet Samuel divided the priestly workforce. He hopes to work with researchers to map well-documented Kohen dynasties–from families in Israel and Tunisia to Middle Eastern clans that preserve scrolls tracing their ancestry back to biblical figures such as Ezra and Eli the High Priest–onto these genetic lines for practical division of future Temple labor.

“You can use the genetic code to recreate family trees,” Huberman emphasized. “You can prove that a Kohen from Algeria and a Kohen from Eastern Europe actually descend from the same person, and that has huge implications for how the Temple service could be organized.”

Huberman situates his initiative within a larger theological and national conversation in Israel about what Jewish sovereignty is ultimately for beyond physical protection from antisemitism. Drawing inspiration from Bar-Ilan University’s professor Hillel Weiss, whose writings on practical steps toward Temple restoration deeply influenced him, he argues that the Temple and its priestly institutions are meant to expand Judaism’s contribution to the world, socially and spiritually.​

To that end, the communities collaborate with groups such as the Temple Institute, whose altars and ritual equipment could, in Huberman’s telling, be deployed rapidly if circumstances allowed, making a pool of trained Kohens and Levites a strategic religious asset.

He emphasizes readiness and professionalism over messianic rhetoric, inviting skeptics and supporters alike to visit courses in person and watch Levites sing on the Temple Mount, in the hope that transparency will build trust and normalize what he sees as a grassroots return to Temple-centered Jewish identity.

“The Israeli population in general, Jewish people in general, are grappling with the question,” said Huberman. “We get it, we have a country that’s supposed to protect us from antisemitism, but beyond just protection and creating a country, what are we supposed to do with this country?”

Although still in their earliest stages, the communities already mimic aspects of Chabad-style outreach, with Huberman fielding daily calls from Kohens in Israel and abroad who want to join, including those who are not observant. He portrays the project as a way to “fix historical fractures,” including his own complicated Levitical family story in the shadow of the Holocaust, by rebuilding broken chains of memory and practice.​

Next steps include expanding course offerings, formalizing workshops with academic and ritual partners, and building an international network of identity-based priestly and Levitical communities.

Huberman encourages any self-identified Kohen or Levi interested in reconnecting with this heritage to reach out directly through his existing contact details, promising that the door is open to all who wish to turn an inherited status into lived responsibility.

“I want it to be the most inviting that it can be to every Kohen,” Huberman said. “It’s sort of like an outreach movement, like a Chabad for priestly families, bringing this part of Judaism back to Jews all over.”

The War Everyone Is Preparing For – And No One Wants To Start

The aircraft carriers are already in motion.

Missile defenses are quietly repositioned. Intelligence flights sweep the region night after night. Money is moving in Tehran. Commanders are relocating. Safe houses are activated. This is what the final days before a war look like — except the war hasn’t come.

Yet.

For weeks, the United States has positioned itself as if a strike on Iran could happen at any moment. And then, just as suddenly, President Trump’s tone softened. The threats grew less specific. The red lines blurred. The world noticed.

This isn’t hesitation. It’s something more calculated — and more unsettling.

Because behind closed doors, nearly everyone is saying the same thing: don’t pull the trigger.

The Strange Coalition Against War

Saudi Arabia doesn’t want Iran struck. Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly warned against it. Gulf states hosting U.S. bases have pleaded for restraint. Even countries that have spent decades fearing Iranian power are suddenly arguing that weakening Tehran could make everything worse.

That should make us take pause.

Iran is not Iraq. It is not Libya. It is a regime built to survive strikes, absorb pain, and retaliate asymmetrically. Its power doesn’t rest in one bunker or one leader, but in a sprawling network designed for one moment only: the moment Iran believes it is facing extinction.

That is the moment everyone fears.

Because once Iran believes it has nothing left to lose, every restraint disappears. Missiles toward Israel. Proxies unleashed across the region. U.S. bases targeted. Oil lanes disrupted. Markets collapse. A regional war could become global in hours.

Saudi Arabia understands this. Israel understands this. And Washington understands it too — even if it doesn’t say so publicly.

A strike wouldn’t end Iran’s influence. It would detonate it.

The Silent Front: Sleeper Cells and Terror at Home

There is another reason the word “retaliation” sends chills through intelligence circles — and it has nothing to do with missiles.

Iran’s reach does not stop at borders.

For decades, U.S. and allied intelligence agencies have warned that Iran and its proxies maintain sleeper networks across Europe, Latin America, and potentially the United States. These are not standing armies. They are dormant assets — individuals, logistics channels, financial conduits — activated only when Tehran believes it is under existential threat.

A U.S. strike could flip that switch.

Unlike conventional warfare, terror operations don’t require air superiority or supply chains. They require patience, anonymity, and timing. Targets are soft. Attribution is murky. Fear spreads faster than facts.

From cyber sabotage and infrastructure disruption to coordinated attacks on symbolic or civilian targets, Iran has long viewed asymmetric warfare as its most effective response to superior military power. In such a scenario, the American homeland — long insulated from Middle Eastern conflict — would no longer feel distant from the war.

This possibility weighs heavily on U.S. decision-makers. Once unleashed, such networks are difficult to track, harder to dismantle, and politically devastating if even one attack succeeds. The risk is not hypothetical. It is baked into Iran’s doctrine.

War with Iran would not stay overseas.

Why Americans Are Pulling Back

At home, the public mood is clear: most Americans oppose intervention. Not because they sympathize with the Iranian regime — they don’t — but because they recognize a familiar trap.

A strike would be dramatic. It would dominate headlines. It would feel decisive.

And then what?

Without regime change, the U.S. would own the consequences without owning the outcome. Retaliation would be guaranteed. Victory would be undefined. The risk would be permanent.

Americans have lived through this before. They know what happens when military action outruns political reality. They’ve learned that the most dangerous wars are the ones that begin with confidence and end with no exit.

This time, the public is ahead of the politicians.

The Intelligence Game Behind the Curtain

Here is the part rarely discussed.

The threat of war itself may have already delivered something more valuable than missiles ever could: visibility.

With an attack appearing imminent, Iran has begun acting accordingly. Assets have moved. Leaders have shifted locations. Financial networks have been activated. Contingency plans have come alive.

And intelligence agencies have been watching.

In preparing for the worst, Iran may have exposed its survival blueprint — how it expects to ride out a strike, where it hides, how it intends to respond. In chess terms, Tehran revealed its endgame strategy before the first move was made.

That alone may explain the sudden restraint.

When you know your enemy’s escape plan, patience becomes power.

But What About the Iranian People?

And this is where the moral tension tightens.

Are we abandoning them?

For years, Iranians have protested their rulers, risking imprisonment and death. They have watched their economy crumble under corruption and sanctions. They have looked outward, wondering if the West would ever help break the grip of a regime that does not represent them.

Now, as the threat of U.S. action fades, that question hangs heavy: Was this their moment — and did we walk away?

It’s a painful question, and there is no easy answer.

A U.S. strike might weaken the regime — or it might strengthen it by rallying nationalism and crushing dissent under the banner of survival. History suggests authoritarian regimes often emerge more brutal, not less, after external attacks.

Yet restraint carries its own cost. When America pulls back, hope can collapse with it.

The tragedy is this: there may be no military path that truly liberates the Iranian people without destroying the country they live in.

The Pause Before History Turns

This moment is not resolution. It is suspension.

The war is prepared. The intelligence is gathered. The consequences are understood. And for now, the most powerful weapon in America’s arsenal may be the one it hasn’t used.

But pauses don’t last forever.

Iran knows it is being watched. The region knows how close it came. And the Iranian people are left waiting — again — wondering whether silence means patience… or abandonment.

In geopolitics, the most dangerous sentence is never spoken aloud:

“We’ll decide later.”

Because later always comes — and when it does, it rarely looks like the plan anyone imagined.

Open Doors 2026 Report Reveals Christian Persecution At Historic Highs

The latest World Watch List from Open Doors is not merely an annual report–it is a global alarm bell. According to the nonprofit’s newly released findings, 388 million Christians worldwide now live under high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. That is more than one in seven believers across the globe, and the highest number ever recorded. Behind that staggering figure are stories of churches burned, families displaced, believers surveilled, imprisoned, beaten, or killed–often simply for gathering to pray.

Open Doors CEO Ryan Brown described the trend as both expanding and intensifying. Persecution is not only spreading to new regions, but growing more severe where it already exists. Sub-Saharan Africa remains a particular flashpoint, accounting for the majority of faith-related killings worldwide. Yet the report also highlights how persecution is evolving beyond visible violence into more subtle–but equally destructive–forms of repression through technology, law, and social pressure.

At the top of the World Watch List are ten countries where following Christ is considered especially dangerous. Each represents a distinct face of persecution–and a sobering reminder of what faith can cost in today’s world.

1. North Korea

For the 23rd consecutive year, North Korea ranks as the most dangerous place on earth to be a Christian. Faith in Christ is viewed as treason against the state and its supreme leader. Believers worship in absolute secrecy; discovery can mean imprisonment in brutal labor camps or execution. The regime has increasingly turned to surveillance technology and artificial intelligence to identify “suspicious” behavior–such as private prayer or refusal to venerate government idols–making even silent faith perilous.

2. Somalia

Somalia remains one of the deadliest environments for Christians, particularly converts from Islam. Al-Shabaab militants enforce a rigid form of Islamic law, and even suspicion of Christian belief can lead to immediate execution. One former Muslim cleric who converted to Christianity described living in constant fear, knowing that public discovery could mean beheading in broad daylight. There is virtually no church presence left–only isolated believers clinging to Christ in secrecy.

3. Libya

In Libya, lawlessness fuels persecution. Migrant Christians–particularly from sub-Saharan Africa–are frequent targets for kidnapping, forced labor, and execution by extremist groups. Libyan Christians face pressure from family, community, and militias, while the collapse of central authority has created fertile ground for Islamic extremists to operate with impunity.

4. Eritrea

Often called the “North Korea of Africa,” Eritrea strictly controls religious life. Only a handful of state-approved denominations are permitted, and unregistered churches are raided regularly. Hundreds of Christians remain imprisoned without charge, some held in shipping containers under extreme heat. Many are jailed simply for hosting prayer meetings in their homes.

5. Yemen

Years of civil war have devastated Yemen’s tiny Christian population. Converts face threats from family members as well as Islamist groups like al-Qaeda. Humanitarian collapse has compounded persecution, leaving believers without access to aid if their faith becomes known. For Yemeni Christians, survival itself is often a daily miracle.

6. Nigeria

Nigeria stands at the epicenter of global Christian violence. According to the report, 3,490 of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith last year were Nigerian. Islamist militants, Fulani extremists, and criminal gangs target Christian villages, churches, and pastors–often with little response from authorities. Entire communities have been wiped out, turning worship into an act of courage.

7. Pakistan

In Pakistan, harsh blasphemy laws are frequently weaponized against Christians. False accusations can lead to mob violence, lengthy prison sentences, or death. Christian families often live segregated lives, trapped in poverty and denied opportunity. Yet underground churches continue to grow, fueled by believers willing to endure suffering for the sake of Christ.

8. Iran

The Iranian regime views Christianity–especially house churches–as a threat to Islamic rule. Converts from Islam are routinely arrested, interrogated, and imprisoned on national security charges. Despite this, Iran has one of the fastest-growing underground Christian movements in the world, a quiet revival unfolding beneath relentless pressure.

9. Afghanistan

Since the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan has become nearly impossible for Christians. Converts are hunted relentlessly, often betrayed by neighbors or even family members. Many have fled the country; those who remain live in constant fear. Public Christian worship is nonexistent, yet faith persists in whispers and hidden prayers.

10. India

India’s persecution is driven less by overt state violence and more by rising Hindu nationalism. Anti-conversion laws, church attacks, and social ostracization have surged in several states. Christians are frequently accused of betraying national identity, and pastors are arrested for “forced conversions” simply for sharing their faith.

Beyond the rankings, Open Doors warns of a troubling global shift from “smash persecution”–violent attacks–to “squeeze persecution,” where governments quietly restrict worship through surveillance, censorship, and legal pressure. China exemplifies this trend, with churches shuttered, Bible apps banned, and online Christian expression tightly controlled.

The World Watch List is not only a record of suffering, but a call to action. It is also a prayer resource–crafted from the voices of persecuted believers themselves. These Christians are not asking for comfort or escape, but for faithfulness, courage, and endurance.

In a world increasingly hostile to biblical Christianity, their witness stands as both a warning and an inspiration. The question now is whether the global Church will listen–and respond.

Trump may assassinate Khamenei this week, says ex-envoy


“Trump’s comments and Khamenei’s mindless baiting of Trump lead me to believe that Trump is going to try to kill the Supreme Leader this week.”

As confusion continues to swirl following last week’s non-strike on Iran, after multiple signs pointed to imminent U.S. military action, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro offered a blunt assessment of what President Donald Trump’s next move could be.

In a post on X, Shapiro argued that Trump’s recent public comments, combined with escalating rhetoric from Iran’s supreme leader, may point toward a dramatic shift in Washington’s posture, including the possibility of a direct attempt to target Iran’s top leader.

Shapiro’s remarks came after Trump lashed out at Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in comments reported by Politico, calling Khamenei “a sick man” and suggesting Iran should no longer be led by its current ruler.

“It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” Trump said.

Shapiro said Trump’s call for new leadership, along with what he described as Khamenei’s “mindless baiting” of Trump on X, led him to believe the president may be considering unprecedented action.

“Trump’s comments to @Politico on needing new leadership in Iran, and Khamenei’s mindless baiting of Trump on X, lead me to believe that Trump is going to try to kill the Supreme Leader this week,” Shapiro wrote.

He pointed to the expected arrival of a U.S. carrier strike group in the Middle East as a key factor that could enable broader operations, including extensive strikes and preparations for Iranian retaliation.

“There will soon be a US carrier strike group in the Middle East, making it easier for the US to carry out extensive strikes in Iran and be prepared to defend against Iranian response strikes,” he wrote.

Shapiro suggested that such a move could be paired with strikes on IRGC and Basij command-and-control nodes, allowing Trump to argue he is keeping faith with Iranian protesters he encouraged and fulfilling his threats to make the regime pay for massacring them.

But he cautioned that even eliminating Khamenei would not necessarily lead to regime change, warning it could instead be followed by an IRGC takeover and a continued aggressive and repressive regime.

Shapiro stressed that real change in Iran would ultimately be driven by the Iranian people and would require sustained focus and largely non-kinetic measures, not “a one-and-done strike.”

Shapiro’s analysis landed amid growing uncertainty over Trump’s Iran strategy, particularly after last week’s anticipated strike did not take place despite widespread expectation that military action was near.

The conflicting signals have fueled speculation about whether Washington is delaying a decision, recalibrating its approach, or intentionally projecting ambiguity to keep Tehran off balance.

Similar themes were echoed by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who is currently visiting Israel and dismissed headlines questioning Trump’s resolve. Graham argued that the key issue is not whether Trump is serious, but whether U.S. operations will expand or narrow in the days ahead.

“The headlines you’re seeing about Trump lacking resolve are not accurate,” Graham said, according to remarks shared in Israel. “The question is whether these operations grow or shrink.”

Graham said he believes the Iranian regime’s “days are numbered,” adding that he is more optimistic now than at any point in recent months.

“Follow my activity over the next day or two and we’ll see,” he said.

He also framed the moment as historic, arguing that those who fail to recognize its scale are missing the magnitude of what may be unfolding.

“If you don’t understand that this is the greatest moment for change since the fall of the Berlin Wall, you’re missing a lot,” Graham said.

For now, however, the outcome remains unclear. Trump’s rhetoric has grown sharper, speculation continues to build, and the steady stream of conflicting reports shows no sign of slowing.

Whether the ambiguity reflects internal debate, shifting diplomatic calculations, or a deliberate effort to keep Tehran off balance, the next move may come with little warning.