A worldwide meeting of members of the priestly tribes of Levi and Kohen opens Sunday in Jerusalem, and the Kohanim will participate in a massive priestly blessing ceremony Monday at the Western Wall (Kotel), the same day the High Priest Aharon died.
DNA testing has helped many Levites and Kohanim trace their ancestry, enabling them to hold their first "family reunion" since the days of the Holy Temple. Researchers and professors will deliver seminars and lectures.
Molecular geneticists have recently discovered the Kohen Modal Haplotype, which is a Y-chromosome DNA lineage signature shared by a majority of both Ashkenazi and Sefardi Kohanim, according to the Center for Kohanim in Jerusalem.