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U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., yesterday acknowledged his Jewish ancestry, a day after angrily ducking a question about possible Jewish forebears in a debate with his Democratic challenger.
Allen said in a written statement that his mother, Etty, confirmed he is part Jewish after he read an Aug. 25 article by the Jewish Daily Forward exploring his roots. The article followed the controversy over Allen's alleged racial remark to an Indian-American volunteer for Democrat Jim Webb.
He said in an interview that he was aware of his heritage when asked about it during the nationally televised debate Monday with Webb sponsored by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce. Allen did not directly answer a panelist's question on his lineage but sternly criticized her for asking about religion.
Allen and campaign manager Dick Wadhams indicated that Allen's maternal grandfather, Felix Lumbroso, an Italian businessman jailed by the Nazis in North Africa, was Jewish. Allen said in the interview he does not know his maternal grandmother's religion.
Because Judaism is traced through the mother, children born to Jewish women are considered Jews. Allen said his mother, who could not be reached for comment, was raised as a Christian -- as was he.
"I embrace and take great pride in every aspect of my diverse heritage, including my Lumbroso family line's Jewish heritage, which I learned about from a recent magazine article and my mother confirmed," the Allen statement said.
A GOP presidential prospect, Allen is the latest national political figure to discover a Jewish past. Others include two former Democratic presidential candidates, U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and retired Gen. Wesley Clark, and former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright.
In the interview, Allen was asked why he did not acknowledge in the debate a Jewish tie that had been a source of speculation since his term as governor from 1994 to 1998.
Allen said he was "absolutely not" running from his heritage but that he was offended by a question he believed linked his mother and religion with the word -- macaca -- he directed at Webb supporter S.R. Sidarth. Allen has apologized to Sidarth and said he didn't know the word's meaning.
Allen said he faced "the question, the assertion, the offensive remarks that your mother taught you this slur, and that somehow it's because she has -- either she or her father was -- was Jewish."
Allen's disclosure followed news accounts focusing on the question and Allen's forceful response to it as well as a wave of postings on the Internet by partisan bloggers. Allen stood by his claim that the question by Peggy Fox of WUSA-TV was inappropriate.
"I don't like my mother getting dragged into it," said Allen.
He said his grandfather's incarceration by the Germans had a profound effect on his mother; that because it was a painful memory, it was almost never discussed.
"Some may find it odd that I have not probed deeply into the details of my family history, but it's a fact," Allen said in his statement.
Speaking with The Times-Dispatch, Allen said the disclosure is "just an interesting nuance to my background." He added, "I still had a ham sandwich for lunch. And my mother made great pork chops."
Political analysts were divided on the impact of the Allen disclosure.
"To the extent that a person can break out of a mold that inhibits their ability to reach out to others, to broaden, shall we say, their coalition, that is usually good in politics," said Charles W. Dunn, dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University.
Mark F. Rozell of George Mason University said the announcement was Allen's "macaca diversion."
Rozell said, "He's been wanting to change the dialogue in this campaign. At one point, he's been defending himself against charges of being a bully. Now he can play the victim and say he's the one that's being bullied and being treated with prejudice."
The Webb campaign, criticized during the primary for circulating handbills that supporters of opponent Harris Miller said seemed anti-Semitic, had little to say.
"We've always tried to make this campaign about the issues," said spokeswoman Kristian Denny Todd.
A leader of Richmond's Jewish community, Ric Arenstein, was disturbed by the timing of Allen's announcement.
"This story has been rumored and raised with him repeatedly," said Arenstein, a former president of the Jewish Federation of Richmond who has ties to both political parties. "I guess it troubles me that he cares so little about his lineage that he waited until it was irrefutable."
Asked on Monday about published stories that his grandfather on his mother's side was Jewish, Allen said:
"You know what, our first freedom in our country was freedom of religion, where people's rights are not enhanced or diminished on account of their . . . religious beliefs. . . . As we try to stand up free and just societies, that's the first pillar of a free and just society. And to be getting into what, what religion my mother is, I don't think is relevant. . . . And so I'd like to ask you, why is that relevant? . . . My mother is French Italian with a little Spanish blood in her. And I've been raised, and she was, as far as I know, raised as a Christian. . . . But let's ask questions about issues that really matter to people here, in Virginia, . . . the land of opportunity for all. And I'll say one other thing. Preserving our foundational values, and one of those values is, freedom of religion, and not making aspersions about . . . because of their religious beliefs."
. . .
Yesterday's Allen release said:
"I was raised as a Christian and my mother was raised as a Christian. And I embrace and take great pride in every aspect of my diverse heritage, including my Lumbroso family line's Jewish heritage, which I learned about from a recent magazine article and my mother confirmed. On several occasions through the years, I have mentioned publicly that my mother's father was incarcerated by the Nazis. I have never known whether he was persecuted by the Nazis because of his nationality, his religious faith, his role as a community leader, or his part in the anti-Nazi resistance. What I do know is that my grandfather's imprisonment by the Nazis had a profound impact on my mother. It was a subject she found painful to discuss and so we almost never discussed it. Some may find it odd that I have not probed deeply into the details of my family history, but it's a fact."
This story can be found at: http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190712399
