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Last update - 00:00 08/09/2008
Jewish World / Meet Michelle Obama's cousin the rabbi
By Anthony Weiss, The Forward
Tags: obama, israel 

While Barack Obama has struggled to capture the Jewish vote, it turns out that one of his wife's cousins is the country's most prominent black rabbi - a fact that has gone largely unnoticed.

Michelle Obama, wife of the Democratic presidential nominee, and Rabbi Capers Funnye, spiritual leader of a mostly black synagogue on Chicago's South Side, are first cousins once removed. Funnye's mother, Verdelle Robinson Funnye (born Verdelle Robinson) and Michelle Obama's paternal grandfather, Frasier Robinson Jr., were brother and sister.

Funnye (pronounced fuh-NAY) is chief rabbi at the Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in southwest Chicago. He is well-known in Jewish circles for acting as a bridge between mainstream Jewry and the much smaller, and largely separate, world of black Jewish congregations, sometimes known as black Hebrews or Israelites. He has often urged the larger Jewish community to be more accepting of Jews who are not white.
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Funnye's famous relative gives an unexpected twist to the much-analyzed relationship between Barack Obama and Jews in this presidential campaign. On the one hand, Jewish political organizers, voters and donors played an essential role in Obama's rise to power in Chicago, including some of the city's wealthiest and most prominent families. But the Illinois senator has struggled to overcome suspicions in some parts of the Jewish community, including skepticism about his stance on Israel and discredited but persistent rumors that he is secretly a Muslim.

Funnye, who described himself as an independent, said he has not been involved with the Obama campaign but that he has donated money and was cheering it on.

"I know that her grandfather and her father and my mom and all of our relatives that are now deceased would be so very, very proud of both of them," Funnye told the Forward.

Michelle Obama and the Obama campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Funnye told the Forward that he has known Michelle Obama (born Michelle Robinson) all her life. His mother and her father, Frasier Robinson III, enjoyed a close relationship, and Funnye said he saw Michelle several times a year when they were growing up, mostly at family functions and on occasional visits to her house.

"Her father was like the glue of our family," Funnye said. "He always wanted to keep the family very connected and to stay in touch with each other."

Funnye, 56, said he and Michelle, 44, were not especially close growing up, but he remembers her as "energetic and smart and very caring."
The two fell out of touch when they grew older and went their separate ways but then reconnected years later when Michelle Obama was working for the University of Chicago and Funnye was leading a local social service organization called Blue Gargoyle. Funnye also worked with Barack Obama, then a state senator, who came and spoke at events for the organization. When Barack and Michelle Obama married, Funnye and his family attended the wedding.

Although Funnye's congregation describes itself as Ethiopian Hebrew, it is not connected to the Ethiopian Jews, commonly called Beta Israel, who have immigrated to Israel en masse in recent decades. It is also separate from the Black Hebrews in Dimona, Israel, and the Hebrew Israelite black supremacist group whose incendiary street harangues have become familiar spectacles in a number of American cities.

Funnye converted to Judaism and was ordained as a rabbi under the supervision of black Israelite rabbis, then went through another conversion supervised by Orthodox and Conservative rabbis. He serves on the Chicago Board of Rabbis.

Funnye's relationship with the Obama family was reported in the Chicago Jewish News in an article dated August 22. A Wall Street Journal article in April reported that the aspiring first lady had a cousin (whom the paper mistakenly referred to as a second cousin) who is a prominent black rabbi but did not mention Funnye by name.

The rabbi's familial connection with the Democratic presidential nominee is also a matter of common knowledge in Funnye's synagogue.

"He really jumped on everyone's radar after the 2004 convention," Funnye said. "That's when some people said, 'Isn't he related to you or something?' I said, 'Yeah, he's married to my cousin, and she's making him everything that he is.'"

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      1.   The rabbi can encourage his congregattion to . . . 16:15  |  Zev Davis 08/09/08
      2.   Jews are Jews, follow Halacha, who cares the color of skin 16:38  |  David 08/09/08
      3.   OBAMA`S WILL SAY AND DO ANYTHING TO GET ISRAELIS VOTES AND THEY 18:06  |  glenna 08/09/08
      4.   If they are Jews, they are accepted as such 18:20  |  judith 08/09/08
      5.   How droll! 18:55  |  Mark Lincoln 08/09/08
      6.   There`s Our Innaugaration Religious Leader 19:33  |  Yosemite 08/09/08
      7.   NObamah is unqualified regardless of his color or religion 19:57  |  Eli 08/09/08
      8.   The Rabbi who came to dinner 20:08  |  Connie 08/09/08
      9.   Marc Lincoln 20:32  |  Czarkazem13 08/09/08
      10.   Wake up Israel! 20:35  |  Concerned 08/09/08
      11.   Eli 20:36  |  Czarkazem13 08/09/08
      12.   actually a 2nd cousin, not 1st once removed 20:36  |  cousiner 08/09/08
      13.   Woman Rabbi lol does she know 50 cent?? 20:41  |  Tom 08/09/08
      14.   American Jews 20:52  |  zengeos 08/09/08
      15.   # 7 The US would have been better off! 20:53  |  Larry 08/09/08
      16.   is Obama muslim or jew? 21:31  |  beloved son 08/09/08
      17.   cousins 21:44  |  Shmuelshachor 08/09/08
      18.   To n#7 21:54  |  Ariel 08/09/08
      19.   "SOME OF MY BEST FIRENDS ARE JEWS" -WILL SELL THEM OUT ANYWAYS 22:07  |  America`s Idol 08/09/08
      20.   This is the real deal! 22:14  |  Susanq 08/09/08
      21.   I heard that Rabbi speak a few times 22:15  |  Jonathan 08/09/08
      22.   HATERS!!!!!!!! 22:46  |  Yishai 08/09/08
      23.   The cultural complexities of Obama`s family 22:48  |  Pssd Off American 08/09/08
      24.   Concerned 23:06  |  Czarkazem13 08/09/08
      25.   He is a Noachide and is not Jewish. 23:10  |  dovid 08/09/08
      26.   The prophet Hussain 23:17  |  zionist forever 08/09/08
      27.   To Susanq - Thanks for the link! 00:56  |  Dan 09/09/08
      28.   Oh Lordy Glenna 01:37  |  Thundercloud65 09/09/08
      29.   VP Palin? Only 2nd time in my life I`m proud to be American! 01:42  |  Michelle Obama 09/09/08
      30.   proof judaisim is a religion not a race 02:10  |  John 09/09/08
      31.   Jewish World / Meet Michelle Obama`s cousin the rabbi 02:30  |  jj 09/09/08
      32.   #30 John - You are so wrong in so many ways 02:43  |  Slibovitz 09/09/08
      33.   Eli of Atlanta 03:22  |  Victor` 09/09/08
      34.   Beware of Sarah Palin! 03:43  |  Proudest Zionist 09/09/08
      35.   what exactly is the point? 06:23  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 09/09/08
      36.   3patriots John McCain and Sarah Palin and Lieberman 10:16  |  e.m Jordan is Palse 09/09/08
      37.   3patriots John McCain and Sarah Palin and Lieberman 10:16  |  e.m Jordan is Palse 09/09/08
      38.   #31 jj - Her cousin hasn`t converted them 15:37  |  * BEN JABO 09/09/08
      39.   Boy, the Demo would go to any length! 16:16  |  Benzaken, yaish 09/09/08
      40.   And so? 16:41  |  Fal 09/09/08
      41.   #39 What do you want a wingnut instead? 21:08  |  zendog 09/09/08
      42.   Black, white, Jewish or not who cares, as long as you`re healthy 22:29  |  Helm of Chelm 09/09/08
      43.   #34 Proudest Zionist - You`re CORRECT 23:06  |  * BEN JABO 09/09/08
      44.   Jews 23:20  |  John Riverwolf 09/09/08
      45.   "Non-white" and White" Jews 08:17  |  gil62 10/09/08
      46.   Israeli Jews do not like blacks 09:26  |  Aaron 10/09/08
      47.   Aaron, its a mixed bag 11:46  |  Zev Davis 10/09/08
      48.   And my cousin is a Hare-Krishna. So what? 12:40  |  Jack 10/09/08
      49.   Michelle Obama`s Jewish relative 13:38  |  Leeza Cohen Coleman 10/09/08
      50.   barack obama 18:09  |  motherelli 10/09/08
      51.   to leeza on #49 20:33  |  Shmuelshachor 10/09/08
      52.   cousins 22:04  |  Marge 10/09/08
      53.   #45 gil62 01:49  |  * BEN JABO 11/09/08
      54.   to "Aaron" on #46 01:52  |  Shmuelshachor 11/09/08
      55.   Re: Dovid #25 ` 02:15  |  Mike 11/09/08
      56.   What does MO`s cuz have to do with MO or BO? 04:50  |  PK 11/09/08
      57.   #19-America`s Idol-MO BO have no Jewish friends 04:55  |  PK 11/09/08
      58.   #8-Connie-Ha Ha Very Funny! 04:57  |  PK 11/09/08
      59.   #29-MO I share your support for VP Palin. Now show BO the door 05:08  |  PK 11/09/08
      60.   Get Real 11:53  |  Tom 11/09/08
      61.   To Connie on #8 20:10  |  Shmuelshachor 11/09/08
      62.   Be careful! 20:50  |  Moshe 11/09/08
      63.   Fascists! 21:45  |  Lia Kadory 11/09/08
      64.   wow... are we really that biased? 22:14  |  aish 11/09/08
      65.   Six degrees of separation 09:36  |  Mladen Andrijasevic 12/09/08
      66.   The blind leading the blind 21:28  |  Mark Pilnick 16/09/08
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