Tert.am
12:07 05.10.09

Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s Jewish Origins Revealed

A photograph of the Iranian president holding up his identity card
during elections in March 2008 clearly shows his family has Jewish
roots, reported the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph.

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.

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

Ali Nourizadeh, of the Centre for Arab and Iranian Studies, said:
"This aspect of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s background explains a lot about
him. Every family that converts into a different religion takes a
new identity by condemning their old faith."

Ahmadinejad has regularly levelled bitter criticism at Israel,
questioned its right to exist and denied the Holocaust. A number of
diplomats walked out of a UN meeting last month after the Iranian
president denounced Israel’s ‘genocide, barbarism and racism.’