My first question on this subreddit, I hope it falls within the guidelines.
My grandparents and mother were born in an area of Syria known as Golan Heights. They were forced to leave during the 6 day war and immigrated to Canada. The territory remains occupied to this day by Israel. As far as I know, my family had lived on that land for as long as anyone could remember.
My grandparents are part of the Orthodox Christian minority of Syria. They are relatively fair skinned, compared to most Arabs, with dark curly hair. My grandfather has blue eyes. They both have French-sounding names - Georgette and Emile. However, their last names are definitely of levantine origin. They both speak levantine Arabic.
Here is my question, dear historian, and the answer will require some speculation. What are some possibilities for my family history, based on their geographic location, description, names and religion? What historical events might have impacted my ancestors, what empires were they part of, which wars could they have fought? Does proximity to modern Israel possibly give me some Jewish heritage? It's a very open ended Question and again will require some speculation. If this question isn't appropriate for this subreddit, please let me know. I can provide more details if needed.
Thank you :)
Your fair skin really means nothing in the Levant. Syrians and Lebanese usually have fair skin. I think the church could be an incredibly important factor if you know what it really is, Maronite, Greek orthodox, Coptic. Proximity to Israel shouldn't really mean anything as far as 'Jewish' heritage is concerned Up until the late 1890's their were about 25x amount the number of Muslims, as their were Jews in the area of Palestine.
What's the name of the church they went to? The French name and the mainly Lebanese church makes me think they're Maronite but in that case they would not be Orthodox.
When you say "Orthodox," you mean Greek Orthodox, right? I've also seen Copts refer to their sect as "Egyptian Orthodox," and then there's the highly unlikely Ethiopian Orthodox.
Ah this is quite the question! I never feel qualified enough to answer these questions usually (too intimidated). However since my family also comes from the area (mix of Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian) the explanation for a lot of the "French" names and some lighter coloring (blue eyes, blonde or lighter hair) is from the heavy French influence from the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after WWI. France "got" essentially what is Syria and Lebanon.
In fact as a Lebanese friend explained, French is still the "posh" language to speak in Lebanon and Syria. Many are given French/Anglo names (Kristin, Adeline, David, Alain, etc.) and French/Anglicized Arabic names (Abraham, Nash, Mary, etc.)
Things like the Ottoman Empire, and the French mandate are the most likely things to have been experienced by your family. Anything else is hard to say with certainty from the information you've given. It is unlikely for you to have Jewish heritage anymore than the next person with family from the Levant. Though your genetics could be more similar to Jewish people that can trace their heritage straight back to the Levant. If I can find them I'll try to link to the study of genetics in the Levant area in comparison to the rest of the Middle East.
I hope that helps!
You might be interested in those DNA ancestry services too.