Otto Warmbier – who was sentenced to fifteen years hard labour by a North Korean court for ripping down and attempting to steal a propaganda poster and then died from a severe brain injury mysteriously contracted from his former captors – (1) was ostensibly a Christian, but after revelations about his close contact with the jewish community; it was openly speculated that he may in fact be jewish.
According to the Jewish Chronicle, Warmbier’s involvement with the jewish community as well as Zionism took the following forms:
‘Rabbi Jake Rubin, the University of Virginia’s Hillel director, told JTA in an email that Mr Warmbier got involved with the campus’s Jewish community after a Birthright trip to Israel in 2014.
The rabbi described Warmbier as “a beloved member of our Hillel community.
“He was a regular at Bagels on Lawn, celebrated Shabbat and holidays at Hillel, and even led a Seder for other students that focused on issues of environmentalism and sustainability,” the rabbi wrote.
“In the simplest interactions Otto always found something of interest and would make you smile. At every stop on Birthright he would try some kind of new food, strike up a conversation with someone new, or find some unique thing to bargain for. He loved life and it was infectious.
“He was always interested in learning more about the world and the people around him. He put everyone at ease with his humour and genuine interest for others,” the rabbi wrote.’ (2)
Previously – based upon the media coverage of Warmbier – despite his support of Birthright Israel, Hillel and the fact that he celebrated purely jewish religious festivals such as Shabbat. There was no evidence that Warmbier or his parents Fred and Cindy were anything other than pro-Israel ‘Christians’ – who were in reality classic judaising heretics in Christian theology – and had no known jewish heritage.
No jewish or mainstream media outlet attributed any jewish ancestry to the Warmbier family (3) until the Times of Israel published an exclusive, which documented that the Warmbier family had been deliberately concealing their jewish heritage the whole time. (4)
So yes: Otto Warmbier was a jew.
References
(1) http://jewishnews.com/2017/06/16/doctors-ex-north-korea-detainee-otto-warmbier-has-severe-brain-injury/
(2) https://www.thejc.com/news/world/comatose-student-released-by-north-korea-was-beloved-member-of-hillel-1.440190
(3) See for example: http://hamodia.com/2017/06/18/north-korea-back-otto-warmbiers-strange-sad-trip/; http://www.timesofisrael.com/student-in-coma-released-by-n-korea-was-active-in-his-campus-jewish-community/
(4) http://www.timesofisrael.com/otto-warmbiers-family-kept-his-jewishness-under-wraps-while-north-korea-held-him-hostage/