WASHINGTON — George Santos, the congressman-elect whose resume collapsed under scrutiny this month, said Dec. 26, that he identifies as “Jew-ish” even though his grandparents were Catholics born in Brazil, not Jews who fled the Nazis in Europe as he had claimed.
Cong.-elect George Santos speaking at the RJC annual meeting, Nov. 19, 2022. (Wade Vandervort/AFP/Getty)
The Long Island Republican also questioned why “people are rushing to disinherit me from being Jewish” given his support for Jews and Israel at a time of rising anti-Semitism.
“Even though I’ve always said I’m Catholic, I grew up Catholic, I’ve always loved and had a deep respect for my Jewish heritage and I will continue to,” Santos told a reporter from City & State, a publication covering New York politics.
The comments came during Santos’ first media appearances since The New York Times published a story last week raising questions about virtually every aspect of the Republican’s resume.
To the New York Post, he said, “I never claimed to be Jewish. I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish.’”
Santos accepted invitations from the Republican Jewish Coalition honoring him as one of two incoming Jewish Republican representatives in Congress.
In a 2021 Jewish News Syndicate interview, Santos talked about how his grandfather fled the Holocaust, which the Forward first reported last week was not supported by genealogical records in two countries.
To City & State, Santos said he had been repeating longstanding family lore.
“I’ve made that joke because growing up I grew up fully aware that my grandparents are Jewish, came from a Jewish family, and they were refugees to Brazil,” he said.
“That was always the story I grew up with. And I’ve always known it very well. And I’ve told it the way it was told to me.”
Santos told the news organization that he was surprised that Jews were distancing themselves from him amid mounting evidence that his profile as a Jewish Republican was fueled by inaccurate information.
“It just strikes me as so odd that people are rushing to disinherit me from being Jewish or even allowing to care for Israel and Judaism in a time and era where anti-Semitism is at an all-time rise,” Santos said.
“And here somebody who actually cares about Jews, cares about Israel and somebody willing to fight for them, and we have people pushing me away.”
In his media appearances, Santos admitted to fabricating his resume, including his education and work history, and he apologized for doing so.
He also said he would not be deterred from representing New York’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of Long Island and Queens and includes a sizable Orthodox Jewish population.
To City & State, he said that he had gotten a text from someone who told him, “I don’t care what you say you’re still an MOT,” using the acronym meaning “member of the tribe” that is a shorthand for Jewish. He added, “It feels good.”