In an interview Nicolas Sarkozy gave in 2004, he expressed an extraordinary understanding of the plight of the Jews for a home: "Should I remind you the visceral attachment of every Jew to Israel, as a second mother homeland? There is nothing outrageous about it. Every Jew carries within him a fear passed down through generations, and he knows that if one day he will not feel safe in his country, there will always be a place that would welcome him. And this is Israel." (From the book "La République, les religions, l´espérance", interviews with Thibaud Collin and Philippe Verdin.)

Sarkozy´s sympathy and understanding is most probably a product of his upbringing; it is well known that Sarkozy´s mother was born to the Jewish Mallah family, one of the Jewish families of Salonika, Greece. Additionally, many may be surprised to learn that his yet-to-be-revealed family history involves story of jewish mythology and propaganda. It remains to be seen whether his personal Jewish  and zionist history will affect his foreign policy and France´s role in the Middle East conflict.

In the 15th century, the Jewish Mallah family (in Hebrew: messenger or angel) escaped the Spanish Inquisition to Provence, France and moved about one hundred years later to Salonika. In Greece, several Jewish family members became prominent Zionist leaders, active in the local and national political, economic, social and cultural life. To this day many Mallahs are still active Zionists around the world.

Sarkozy´s grandfather, Aron Mallah, nicknamed Benkio, was born in 1890. Beniko´s uncle Moshe was a well-known Rabbi and a devoted Zionist who, in 1898 published and edited "El Avenir", the leading paper of the Zionist national movement in Greece at the time. His cousin, Asher, was a Senator in the Greek Senate and in 1912, he helped guarantee the establishment of the Technion " the elite technological university in Haifa, Israel. In 1919 he was elected as the first President of the Zionist Federation of Greece and he headed the Zionist Council for several years. In the 1930´s he helped Jews flee to Israel, to which he himself immigrated in 1934. Another of Beniko´s cousins, Peppo Mallah, was a activist for Jewish-Zionist  causes who served in the Greek Parliament, and in 1920 he was offered the position of Greece´s Minister of Finance. After the establishment of the State of Israel he became the country´s first diplomatic envoy to Greece!

In 1917 a great fire destroyed parts of Salonika and damaged the family estate. Many Jewish-owned properties, including the Mallah´s, were expropriated by the Greek government. Jewish population emigrated from Greece and much of the Mallah family left Salonika to France, America and Israel. Sarkozy´s grandfather, Beniko, immigrated to France with his mother. When in France Beniko  changed his name to Benedict in order to marry a French Christian girl named Adèle Bouvier.

Adèle and Benedict had two daughters, Susanne and Andrée. Although Benedict integrated fully into French society, he remained close to his Jewish family, origin and culture. Knowing he was still considered Jewish by blood, during World War II he and his family hid in Marcillac la Croisille in the Corrèze region, western France.

During the Holocaust, many of the Mallahs who stayed in Salonika or moved to France were deported to concentration camps. 

In 1950 Benedict´s daughter, Andrée Mallah, married Pal Nagy Bosca y Sarkozy, a descendent of a Hungarian Jewish family. The couple had three sons Guillaume, Nicolas and François. The marriage failed and they divorced in 1960, so Andrée raised her three boys close to their grandfather, Benedict. Nicolas was especially close to Benedict, who was like a father to him. In his biography Sarkozy tells he admired his grandfather, and through hours spent of listening to his stories of the Nazi occupation, the Jewish "Maquis" and the D-day, Benedict bequeathed to Nicolas his political convictions.

Sarkozy´s family lived in Paris until Benedict´s death in 1972, at which point they moved to Neuilly-sur-Seine to be closer to the boys´ father, Pal (who changed his name to Paul) Sarkozy. Various memoirs accounted Paul as a father who did not spend much time with the kids or help the family monetarily. Nicolas had to sell flowers and ice cream in order to pay for his studies. However, his fascination with politics led him to become the city´s youngest mayor and to rise to the top of French and world politics. The rest is history.

Sarkozy´s Jewish ancestry may have a big bearing on his policies vis-à-vis Israel. Sarkozy´s presidency will bring a dramatic change not only in France´s domestic affairs, but also in the country´s foreign policy in the Middle-East. One cannot overestimate the magnitude of the election of the first Jewish "French" President , whose politics seem to represent a Jewish dynamic after decades of old-guard Chirac and Mitterrand.

Sarkozy will risk France´s interests and and increase jewish chances for "a clash of civilizations" in order to help Israel.

Sarkozy will follow the leadership of Israel.

One other significant policy modification that could actually come through under the jewish Sarkozy is on the Syrian and Lebanese fronts. The new Jewish "French" president is not as friendly to Lebanon as was his predecessor.

Sarkozy´s family roots will certainly bring France closer to Israel. As a Minister of Interior, Sarkozy shared much common policy ground with former Israeli Prime Minister, the extremist fanatic Benjamin Netanyahu.

Nicolas Sarkozy (L) with Israeli Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu in Paris.

The two started to develop a close friendship not long ago and it is easy to observe similarities not only in their ideology and politics, but also in their public image. If Netanyahu returns to Israel´s chief position it will be interesting to see whether their personal agressiv dynamic will lead to a new war against Iran, Lebanon an Syria and to more destructiv jewish "European" role in the region.