Bedouin Tribe Claims Kinship With Obama

Nomadic clan cheers victory of 'Bedouin Obama'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 13, 2008 3:25 AM CST
Bedouin Tribe Claims Kinship With Obama
An Israeli Bedouin Arab walks away from his camels after racing during a local festival in the Negev Desert near the city of Arad in southern Israel last year.   (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

A Bedouin tribe is northern Israel has claimed Barack Obama as one of its own, the Times of London reports. The sheik of the 8,000-member tribe said he realized the connection after his 95-year-old mother pointed out Obama's striking similarity to an African migrant worker who came to the region in the '30s and went home with a Bedouin bride. He claims the worker was related to Obama's Kenyan grandmother.

The sheik, who says he has papers and pictures to back up the claim, has sent a letter to the president-elect, but has yet to receive a response. "We knew he’d win,” said the sheik amid tribal celebrations of Obama's victory. “We have always been a lucky family. We hope he’ll end all wars and intervene here to solve our problems in Israel." (More tribes stories.)

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