After spending her childhood in a Gypsy tribe on the frozen plains of Siberia,
Tania Leontieff discovered that her mother had Jewish roots. She immigrated to
Israel alone and converted, and is about to become a policewoman in Jerusalem.
At only 19, Tania Leontieff of Safed has an interesting life story. As the
daughter of an itinerant Gypsy (Roma) family, most of her life was spent moving
from place to place around eastern Europe. Four years ago, Leontieff discovered
that she had Jewish roots and made the bold decision to move to Israel alone.
She was recently drafted into the Israel Police and become Israel’s first Gypsy
policewoman.
"I was born a Gypsy and I spent my childhood and teenaged years among Gypsies
who roamed around eastern Europe and Siberia," she tells Israel Hayom.
"My dad and his family came from a traditional Gypsy tribe that kept all the
strict rules. He met my mother on one journey — she’s a Gypsy too, but of
Jewish descent. They fell in love but my dad’s family objected because they were
against mixed marriages."
Leontieff’s parents did not submit to the harsh tribal rules. They ran away,
married, and hid out on the frozen plains of Siberia.
