Jemima Goldsmith, the former wife of imprisoned former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, has responded to Defence Minister Khwaja Asif’s remarks about Jewish identity, saying his comments were an attempt to undermine her sons.
Asif had said in a post on X that, in mainstream Jewish tradition, Jewish identity is determined through the maternal line.
“If your mother is Jewish, you are Jewish, regardless of your father’s religion,” Asif wrote. He also said that the tradition was based on the historical certainty of maternity compared with paternity before the advent of DNA testing.
Jemima Goldsmith Responds
Responding to Asif, Goldsmith said he was correct about the principle of maternal descent but argued that it also meant she herself was not recognised as Jewish by the Jewish community.
“The Defence Minister is right. It’s why I have never been considered Jewish by the Jewish community,” Goldsmith said in her post on X.
She said her mother was a Protestant member of the Church of England. Goldsmith also said that, under the same principle, her father would not have been considered Jewish because his mother was French Catholic.
Goldsmith then accused Asif of targeting her sons.
“As ever, in attempting to undermine my sons, Pakistan’s Defence Minister has once again embarrassed himself,” she said.
Goldsmith and Khan have two sons, Sulaiman and Kasim.
Kasim Khan Also Reacts
Kasim Khan also responded to Asif’s remarks on X, questioning the logic of the minister’s statement.
According to reports, Kasim said that under the same reasoning, his mother and her parents would not be considered Jewish. He criticised the comments and described the argument as an example of repeated mistakes.
The exchange has brought renewed attention to Goldsmith’s family background and the issue of Jewish identity in the context of political debate surrounding Imran Khan and his family.
What Is Matrilineal Descent In Judaism?
Matrilineal descent refers to the traditional Jewish principle under which Jewish status is inherited through a Jewish mother.
Asif referred to this principle in his post, saying that a person’s Jewish identity is determined through the maternal line regardless of the father’s religion. Different Jewish movements have differing approaches to questions of Jewish identity and descent.
Goldsmith has previously spoken about her Jewish ancestry while also describing her upbringing in the Church of England. Her family background has been a recurring subject in political discussions surrounding her former marriage to Khan.
Goldsmith was married to Khan from 1995 until their divorce in 2004. The couple’s two sons are British citizens.
Khan has remained imprisoned since his arrest in August 2023 in connection with a corruption case. Goldsmith has previously called for greater British government intervention over his imprisonment and raised concerns about her sons’ ability to visit their father.