In addition to his many relatives in exotic locations from Hawaii to Kenya, and the discovery that he had an aunt living in Boston, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is now being claimed by not one but as many as 8,000 Bedouin tribesmen in northern Israel, the British "The Times" reported.

"We knew about it years ago but we were afraid to talk about it because we didn't want to influence the election," Abdul Rahman Sheikh Abdullah, a 53-year-old local council member, told The Times, affirming that he had has papers and pictures to back up his claim, but has promised his mother not to divulge them until he has presented them to Obama, something he hopes will happen once his "relative" is in the White House.

According to Sheikh Abdullah, the tribe has written a letter to the President-elect explaining the family connection.

Although Obama's team have not responded to the letter so far, people are flocking from across the region to pay their respects to the "Bedouin Obama", whose social standing has gone through the roof, The Times reported.

Sheikh Abdullah's festivities include handing out sweets and huge dishes of baklava and plans to hold a large party next week at which he will slaughter a dozen goats to feed the village.