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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Arab Names Son For Rabin

Associated Press

A Jordanian whose admiration for slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin led him to name his newborn son after him has won a battle to make it official.

“I won!” said Rajai Abdul-Kader, a 40-year-old farmer who says he has been harassed by relatives and neighbors and lost his job after giving the name to his son, born Jan. 28.

But Abdul-Kader, an ardent supporter of peace with Israel, appears unruffled.

“I will name my next baby boy after Shimon Peres,” Rabin’s successor, he told The Associated Press by telephone.

The state registrar agreed Saturday to list the child as Yitzhak Rabin, after the Interior Ministry ruled the name was legal, Abdul-Kader said.