Jake Paul, the social media star and professional boxer, has publicly revealed that he is Jewish and recently celebrated his bar mitzvah.
The revelation came through a tweet from Chabad Rabbi Yossi Farrow, a social media influencer known for wrapping tefillin on celebrities.
Mazel Tov yes I’m Jewish https://t.co/4xl3CyE3hM
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) February 10, 2025
“Yes, it’s true @jakepaul is Jewish! And we just celebrated his bar mitzvah!!!” Farrow wrote on X/Twitter on Monday.
Paul, 27, responded to the post, confirming his Jewish identity: “Mazel tov, yes, I’m Jewish," he posted on X to millions of his followers.
Paul recently discovered that his maternal grandmother was Jewish, making him Jewish according to Jewish law. To honor his heritage, he celebrated a bar mitzvah ceremony facilitated by Farrow. As part of the ritual, Paul donned tefillin for the first time, reportedly during Super Bowl weekend.
Paul's Jewish ancestry was mentioned in a Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) report from November 2024. It detailed a 2016 YouTube video in which Paul's mother, Pamela, told his brother Logan that their family has Jewish roots.
“You have a little bit of Jew in you,” she said, explaining that their great-grandmother, Lillian Mae Meredith (Buxbaum), was Jewish. Genealogical records indicate that the Buxbaum family emigrated from Germany and settled in Massachusetts, with Lillian’s father, Isidore “Harry” Buxbaum, buried in Moses Mendelsohn Cemetery in Boston.
At the time, Logan Paul joked about his mixed ancestry, responding, “So I’m just an ugly mutt, huh?”
Support for Israel
Beyond embracing his Jewish identity, Paul has also been vocal about his support for Israel. During the October 2023 Israel-Hamas massacre, he strongly condemned the attacks on Israeli civilians, labeling the perpetrators as “cowards.” He posted on social media, stating: “Cowards kill civilians.”
His stance drew both praise and criticism, reflecting the highly polarized nature of online discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Previously, in 2021, Paul had expressed a more neutral perspective, tweeting: “Pro Israel, Pro Palestine, Pro Judaism, Pro Islam, Pro Christianity, Pro-Peace, Pro Equality, Pro Boxer..... Be a Pro ...”
Community reactions
Paul’s public acknowledgment of his Jewish heritage and his support for Israel have elicited mixed reactions from fans and the broader community. While many have congratulated him on embracing his roots, others have debated the sincerity of his recent actions, given his history as a controversial public figure.