Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Paris attacks: Twitter reminds US Steve Jobs was son of Syrian migrant after states move to block refugees

The Apple co-founder's father was born in Homs, Syria

Olivia Blair
Tuesday 17 November 2015 16:20 GMT
Comments
Jobs grew up with his adoptive parents in California
Jobs grew up with his adoptive parents in California (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

After a number of US states said they won't be accepting Syrian refugees due to security fears after the Paris attacks, Twitter users have re-shared the fact that the creator of the iPhone was the son of a Syrian migrant.

Steve Jobs, the Apple founder who died in 2011 was the son of a Syrian man who moved to the US to study in the 1950s.

A number of Republican governors from states including Texas, Alabama and Michigan moved to block Syrian refugees over claims some of the terrorists involved in attacks on Friday which killed 129 people entered Europe by disguising themselves as refugees.

The decision comes despite a warning from President Obama on Monday, where he said "slamming the doors in [refugee's] faces would be a betrayal of our values".

Job's family background was widely shared by members of the tech community at the begining of the refugee crisis and it is now circulating again after these recent decisions.

Jobs' father Abdul Fattah Jandali was born in 1931 to a well-off family in Homs, Syria, a city now most famous as the scene of some of the worst fighting in the country’s ongoing civil war.

He and his partner Joanne Carole Schieble had Jobs out of wedlock and were forced to give him up for adoption. They later married, and had Jobs’ biological sister Mona Simpson.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in