Obama Family’s Jewish Heritage

David Streeter — November 6, 2009 – 12:03 pm | Obama Comments (0) Add a comment

It turns out that the first family tree has some Jewish branches.

• First Lady Michelle Obama’s cousin, Rabbi Capers Funnye, converted to Judaism and became the head rabbi at Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in Chicago. B’nai Zaken is one of the largest Black Jewish congregations in the country. This week, Rabbi Funnye made his first visit to Israel as part of the Jewish Agency’s strategy to better integrate Ethiopian and other African Jews into Israeli society. 
• President Barack Obama’s half-brother’s mother was Jewish. This came to light in an Associated Press news report about half-brother, Mark Ndesandjo’s, semi-autobiographical story about domestic violence.
  

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