Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand has been saying very nice things about Israel. Does this mean there might be something a little Jewish about him?
Against: Ferdinand was born in Peckham, not the most Jewish area of London, into a mixed West-Indian- British family which, to our knowledge, was neither Sephardi nor Ashkenazi. Ferdinand is both English and a Premiership footballer - which more or less precludes him from being Jewish.
For: Ferdinand has an ongoing love affair with Israel, so much so that he is learning to speak Hebrew, according to The People. Ferdinand has holidayed regularly in the Jewish state - most recently this summer. He was introduced to the country by his Israeli agent, Pini Zahavi, and has been unable to stay away for long. Ferdinand has also been known to turn up at "Jew dos". He has spoken at events thrown by Maccabi GB and Magen David Adom. A source quoted by The People said: "He goes to Israel a lot and feels he should know the language, especially as he has thought of retiring there." Well, the easiest way to make aliyah is to convert. We rest our case.
Verdict A great defender who just needs his tackle sorted out.
Sowe say he is 25% Jewish.
How Jewish is?: The series in which we investigate the Semitic qualities (or otherwise) of someone in the news.