February 3, 2003
Source: The Boston Globe
On February 3, 2003 The Boston Globe reported that "Kerry... has a personal reason to care about the Jewish state: both his paternal grandparents were Jewish, and had changed their name from Kohn in 1902... By raising the subject with members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee at Congregation B'nai Israel on Monday night, however, Kerry signaled a willingness to use his newfound ancestry in part to connect with Jewish voters... Asked why he had chosen to bring up the topic of his family history in a synagogue, Kerry said in a statement yesterday that 'after learning so much more about my own background and about my family's roots, I want to share it and share what it means to me.'"