Argentine President adopts her first Jewish godson to save him from life as a werewolf

By Alison Lesley --
02 Jan 2015 --

Argentine President adopts first Jewish godson to save him from a life as a ‘werewolf.’

In a customary tradition that began unofficially in 1907, and formally established by Juan Domingo Peron in 1973, the current Argentine President adopted Iair Tawil, the seventh son of the Tawil family, as her godson. In doing so, she protected him from transforming into ‘el lobison,’ or a werewolf. According to the folklore, werewolves feed on excrement, unbaptized babies and corpses. They are said to be particularly strong, and capable of spreading their disease through bite.

President of Argentina adopts Jewish godson to 'stop him turning into a werewolf' http://t.co/SUKLphnuiL pic.twitter.com/jwHBOQkDSQ
— The Independent (@Independent) December 28, 2014

According to the legend, the seventh son of a family is “doomed” to become a werewolf after his 13th birthday, stalking the night each full moon, destined to hunt and kill other humans. This legend stems from a similar Guarani folklore story that melded with the superstitions of European settlers. It told of the 7 cursed children of Tau, an evil spirit, and Kerana, the beautiful woman he kidnapped. His seventh son, Luison, appears as a dog and feeds on the dead. It was so convincing that many murdered their seventh born out of fear, causing the start of the practice in which Argentine leaders took these children under their wing, granting them state protection, scholarships and a gold medal.

“Marvelous Family”

In 1993, Shlomo and Nhama Tawil, wrote to the president of Argentina and asked that their son be the first Jewish boy adopted. Now, in 2014, they have gotten their wish. In the 20’s, Argentina passed a law that offered state protection, scholarships and other rewards to the seventh children. Kirchner tweeted about her visit with the family, saying “Iair is completely sweet… His family is marvelous… I didn’t know this, but his visit coincided with the celebration of Hanukkah. His father said it was no coincidence. He was right. They brought me the gift of a menorah.”