Soccer superstar David Beckham revealed on Tuesday that he considers himself to be a Jew.
The British footballer shared the tidbit in a discussion at the London Jewish Cultural Center, also known as JW3. When asked by host and broadcaster Kirsty Young, “Do you see yourself as Jewish in any way?” Beckham, 41, replied, “My grandfather was Jewish, that was on my mother’s side, so yes, I do…”
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Beckham then told the 200-strong audience, “I was never brought up Jewish, but like I said, my grandfather was, and every time we went to synagogue, I was part of that.”
Beckham was known to be close to his maternal grandfather, Joseph West, who died in 2009 at the age of 83. West accompanied his grandson to receive an OBE honor from the Queen in 2003 and the former Manchester United and Real Madrid player once called West his “footballing inspiration, ” according to the UK’s Jewish Chronicle.
“My grandad would follow me everywhere to watch me play, ” Beckham said…
Read the full story at algemeiner, by Shiryn Ghermezian
