Steven Sotloff Kept his Jewish Identity Hidden from Islamic State

Journalist Steven Sotloff  killed by the Islamic State militants, was able to keep his Jewish identity hidden from his captors till his death. He also had Israeli citizenship.

Sotloff was able to hide his Jewish identity when he reported from places not friendly to the Jews or Israelis.  Even after being captured by the Islamic State, he could keep his secret from them till his death, reports Miami Herald.

Sotloff also lived a Jewish way of life during his captive days. He prayed facing Jerusalem and also fasted on Jewish holy days saying that he had a stomach pain.

Sotloff's friends said that they are sure that the Islamic State never got to know his identity.

"Of course, none of us have talked to [the Islamic State] about it," said Danielle Berrin, a childhood friend of Sotloff.  Berrin also said that if the militants knew that the person whom they were killing was a Jew, they would have indulged in lot of boasting.

The media organizations that Sotloff worked for also helped in erasing any public record which showed that he was Jewish or had Israeli citizenship.

Temple Beth Am School, where Sotloff's mother taught, deleted her biography from its website as it revealed that she was the child of Holocaust survivors. 

Later, the New York Times came across a  cached copy of the biography and published a story on its website mentioning that Sotloff's grandparents were Holocaust survivors. However, it quickly removed the sentence.

 "We did not want to publish anything that could jeopardize - or be perceived as jeopardizing - his safety," New York Times foreign editor Joe Kahn said, reports Miami Herald.

It was only after Sotloff was killed that his identity has been made public.

An Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Pual Hirschson, posted on Twitter, " "Cleared for publication: Steven Sotloff was #Israel citizen RIP," reportsThe New York Times.

He also said that Sotloff's death was seen as a personal tragedy in Israel.

A top Hebrew news site called Ynet, drew attention to articles about Sotloff. One of its banners described him as an Israeli victim against the black flag of Islamic State.