MainAll NewsJewish WorldAhmadinejad Has Jewish Roots?
Ahmadinejad Has Jewish Roots?
The son of a leading Iranian authority accuses the Iranian President of changing his Jewish name.
Hillel Fendel, 28/01/09 10:54
Several Iranian media sources are quoting Mahdi Khazali – the son of a leading supporter of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – as having written in a blog that the president has Jewish roots. So reports the Hebrew-language Omedia website and Radio Free Europe.
Khazali, son of Ayatollah Abu Al-Kassam Khazali, says that Ahmadinejad changed his Jewish name on his ID card in order to hide his roots. Khazali the son says that the president hides his Jewish roots by attacking Israel and the Jews, and by expressing strong Muslim religious beliefs.
A record of the name change still appears on the president's ID card, however, says Khazali. His old name was Saburjian, and he hails from the Aradan region of Iran. The accusations appear in an article Khazali wrote entitled, "The Jews in Iran." He says the time has come to "reveal the truth" about the Jews' role in Iran.
Ahmadinejad's relatives once told the British paper "The Guardian" that the family had changed its name for "a mixture of religious and economic reasons."
Ahmadinejad will be running for re-election five months from now.