Claudia Sheinbaum made history on Sunday when she was elected as Mexico’s first female president by an overwhelming margin of votes.
But Sheinbaum is not just the first female president for Mexico, she’s also the first to come from a Jewish background.
She isn’t personally religious, but considers herself culturally Jewish and noted her parents raised her without religion.
Both her parents were born in Mexico, with her maternal grandparents immigrating from Bulgaria before the Holocaust and her paternal grandparents having fled from Lithuania in the 1920s, according to NBC News.
While the leftwing ex-mayor of Mexico City did not spotlight the issue of Israel-Palestine during her campaign, some users on social media pointed to a photo from an unidentified date of her donning a keffiyeh as evidence of her support for Palestine.
In the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Steinbaum condemned the violence and called for the recognition of both states.
But Sheinbaum’s apparent views on Palestine are prompting pushback over her Jewish heritage from some in the pro-Israel crowd—pushback that led to an amusing error.
“I have never seen a less Jewish Jew than this,” wrote one self-described Zionist on X in response to Steinbaum’s victory post saying “Gracias a Jesús, mi esposo, por acompañarme.”
And in a since-deleted post, Todd Richman—the co-chair of the Democratic Majority for Israel—commented that it’s “important to note that she is not involved in the Jewish community and thanked Jesus for her victory.”
But Sheinbaum did not thank Jesus—she thanked Jesús, who is her husband.
At least one person caught themself starting to make the same mistake.
“Was mildly surprised to see President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum thanking Jesus in her acceptance speech, as she is of a secular Jewish background, only to realize that she was referring to her husband, Jesús Tarriba,” the X user wrote.
But as some Jewish users question Steinabum’s religious background—antisemites online are doing the exact opposite.
“First female & first jew–ever. Very improbable indeed,” one user wrote, along with a manipulated image of Steinbaum depicting an antisemitic caricature and statistics about the limited number of Jews in Mexico. “I wonder what ‘reforms’ she’ll implement during her administration?”
“Literally like the only jew in Mexico just became president,” replied another account. “You can’t make this stuff up.”
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