Arts & Culture

Was Bob Marley’s Father Jewish? Marley’s paternal grandmother possibly a Jewish Syrian Jamaican woman named Ellen Broomfield Read More By Stephanie Butnick / February 7, 2013

Over at the Scroll, Adam Chandler reports that there may be more to the Jewish obsession with Bob Marley than suburban kids blasting his songs while driving in their BMWs:

So when we learned that Marley’s father, Norval, from whom Marley was estranged, was the son of Ellen Broomfield, a white Jewish Syrian Jamaican (beat that!), it made some sense. Norval Marley was born in Jamaica in 1885 (although the record is disputed) and, by the time he paired up with Marley’s mother Cedella, he was said to have been 60 years old. Norval Marley’s relationship with Cedella didn’t last long and he died of a heart attack when Marley was 12.

What do you think?

Bob Marley’s Jewish Father [Tablet Magazine]