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Ahmadinejad Is ... Jewish?

His family changed names after his birth

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 3, 2009 10:57 AM CDT

(Newser) – Holocaust denier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may be hiding Jewish roots. A close look at his identity card—which he held up to the media during Iran's presidential campaign—reveals that his family changed its name from Sabourjian shortly after his birth, the Telegraph reports. That's a Jewish name meaning cloth weaver—it's on the government's list of names reserved for Iranian Jews—and a note on the identity card suggests the family switched when it converted to Islam.

Ahmadinejad has acknowledged that his family changed names, but he has never revealed the original. One scholar notes that the "jian" ending means that family members were practicing Jews. "This aspect of Mr. Ahmadinejad's background explains a lot about him," says a member of the Center for Arab and Iranian Studies. "By making anti-Israeli statements he is trying to shed any suspicions about his Jewish connections."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shows his identification to the media as he registers as a candidate in May.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shows his identification to the media as he registers as a candidate in May.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 26 comments
Hip
Oct 5, 2009 6:48 AM CDT
I guess you don't have insurance for your family? Hope you're not that foolish. And if you do, I hope you're not foolish enough to believe that your insurance company cares about you and will come through when you need them. As soon as you tell them your kid needs a $100,000 operation they will find a reason why your contract isn't valid. Then you'll be on your own and lose a big chunk of your life savings. Or you can operate on your kid yourself...cause relying on someone else in this world would be a fate worse than communism, right?
vissequ
Oct 5, 2009 3:45 AM CDT
haha this is just too classic. what a fuck wad
donnz
Oct 4, 2009 12:40 PM CDT
'They, said the same about hitler. Being Jewish ( I believe ) has nothing to do with parentage, given names, or facial features. Jewishness is Faith in a theological belief. Samm Davis Jr. took Judasim for his own.

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