U.S. Representative-elect George Santos (R-NY), who recently claimed to be the third Jewish Republican in the House of Representatives, has admitted that he faked his Jewish identity and made other false assertions about himself.
Santos's resume was scrutinized by the New York Times after the 2022 midterm election, during which Santos, a second-time candidate, beat Democrat Robert Zimmerman in the newly drawn 3rd District.
The Times claimed that Santos had falsely claimed to have graduated from college and worked on Wall Street. Santos replied by saying that the Times investigation was an attempt to “smear” him to help the Democratic Party.
Then other journalists began looking into his background. The Forward, a left-wing Jewish news website, speculated that Santos might have falsified some of the information about his Jewish background and even a story about his family's escape from the Nazis.
On Monday, Santos admitted to the New York Post that the Times had been largely correct when it came to its probe. Santos also admitted that he was not in fact Jewish, although he stated he was “Jew-ish”:
“Santos, elected to Congress on Nov. 8 to represent the Long Island- and Queens-based 3rd District, was also accused of lying about his family history, saying on his campaign website that his mother was Jewish and his grandparents escaped the Nazis during World War II.
“Santos now says that he’s ‘clearly Catholic,’ but claimed his grandmother told stories about being Jewish and later converting to Catholicism.
“‘I never claimed to be Jewish,’ Santos said. ‘I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish.’”
Last month, Santos was celebrated at the Republican Jewish Coalition annual leadership gathering held in Las Vegas, Nevada, during which Santos claimed to be among the three Jewish Republicans who will be part of the new GOP majority in the House of Representatives.
