Israel Matzav: Ahmadinejad Jewish?

Ahmadinejad Jewish?

I'm sure you'll all be shocked - just shocked - to hear that London's Daily Telegraph is reporting that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was born Jewish and that his family converted to Islam after his birth.

A photograph of the Iranian president holding up his identity card during elections in March 2008 clearly shows his family has Jewish roots.

A close-up of the document reveals he was previously known as Sabourjian – a Jewish name meaning cloth weaver.

The short note scrawled on the card suggests his family changed its name to Ahmadinejad when they converted to embrace Islam after his birth.

The Sabourjians traditionally hail from Aradan, Mr Ahmadinejad's birthplace, and the name derives from "weaver of the Sabour", the name for the Jewish Tallit shawl in Persia. The name is even on the list of reserved names for Iranian Jews compiled by Iran's Ministry of the Interior.

Experts last night suggested Mr Ahmadinejad's track record for hate-filled attacks on Jews could be an overcompensation to hide his past.

The Telegraph also notes that a blogger who called for investigating Ahamdinejad's family roots during last summer's election campaign has been arrested.

None of this will come as a surprise to Jews (and in fact, I vaguely recall hearing rumors about this in the past). Isaiah warned hundreds of years ago that those who would destroy us will come from among us.

Read the whole thing.
Israel Matzav: Ahmadinejad Jewish?