New York Rep-elect George Santos under fire for 'Jew-ish' heritage claim

US Representative-elect George Santos, a New York Republican, is now under fire over his claims of a Jewish heritage. Just this week, he acknowledged that he lied about his education and employment history on his resume while running for Congress.

The Republican Jewish Coalition said that Santos misled people about his ties to the faith, which is why he is not welcome at the group's future events.

"He deceived us and misrepresented his heritage," said Matt Brooks, the coalition's chief executive. "In public comments and to us personally, he previously claimed to be Jewish."

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Apparently, Santos's campaign site says that his mother was Jewish and his grandparents survived the holocaust as Ukrainian Jewish refugees from Belgium by changing their surname during World War II.

Also Read |New York Rep-elect George Santos admits to lying on his resume

Santos told the New York Post, "“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.’"

About his resume, Santos said that he hasn’t committed any crimes and intends to serve out his two-year term in Congress. House Republican leaders have not said anything about the controversy yet.

I am not a criminal. Not here, not abroad, in any jurisdiction in the world have I ever committed any crimes,” Santos told WABC radio host John Catsimatidis.

"My sins here are embellishing my resume. I'm sorry," Santos told the Post on Monday.

Talking about his past employment, Santos said that he has never worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs directly. He also admitted to never having graduated from any college or university.

"I didn't graduate from any institution of higher learning," the newspaper quoted him as saying. He further said that he had "never worked directly" for the two companies, calling those assertions a "poor choice of words."

Santos denied New York Times reporting that he had been charged with fraud in Brazil after being caught writing checks with a stolen checkbook. "I am not a criminal here - not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world," Santos told the Post.

In November, Santos defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman to win election to Congress from New York's 3rd congressional district.

On Tuesday, Zimmerman called on Santos to resign and face him in a special election.

"Face the voters with your real past & answer questions about your criminal history," the Democrat wrote on Twitter. "Let the voters decide."

(With inputs from agencies)

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