Bogus Bogus

I have a lot of legitimate gripes about Michael Chertoff, but rather than talk about them, let me note one really bugus claim that has a lot of currency on the internet: that he holds dual US and Israeli citizenship.

The slender thread upon which this claim rests is the fact that his mother, an immigrant, may have held Israeli citizenship - she lived in Israel for a while, and was El Al Airline's first stewardess. Children of Israeli citizens are entitled to Israeli citizenship, even if born abroad.

Chertoff was born in the United States, at least if you consider New Jersey the United States, and has never apparently asserted Israeli citizenship.

Thus the claim is bogus, and moreover has an anti-semitic tinge. We have plenty of real complaints to raise about Chertoff - lets stick to them.

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