Could Gaddafi seek refuge in Israel?

In a bizarre and unexpected development, an Israeli magazine reported today that Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi may actually seek refuge in Israel.

A story in Israel Today Magazine stated that last year an Israel television news program interviewed two Israeli women of Libyan origin who claimed they were distantly related to Gaddafi.

One of the women, Guita Brown, claimed to be Gaddafi’s second cousin (i.e., Brown’s grandmother was the sister of Gaddafi’s grandmother); while the other woman, Rachel Saada, is Brown’s granddaughter:

“The story goes that Gaddafi’s grandmother, herself a Jewess, was married to a Jewish man at first,” she said. “But he treated her badly, so she ran away and married a Muslim sheikh. Their child was the mother of Gaddafi.”

The reported noted that while Gaddafi’s grandmother converted to Islam when she married the sheikh, she still remained Jewish, according to Hebrew religious law.

Thus, if the rumors are true, Gaddafi (who has long painted himself as an enemy of Israel) would be entitled to emigrate to Israel as a Jew under the Law of Return.