Jared Ivanka And The Tarnished Image Of Orthodox Judaism
It is most unfortunate that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, the presidents son-in-law and daughter and closest West Wing advisors, have emerged as the public faces of Orthodox Judaism. More troubling still is that the Orthodox rabbinate abetted the widespread impression that the couple represents Jewish values and morals. In doing so, they ignored the Talmudic command to be mindful of , or public perception, an area where I have considerable expertise. I managed a successful Manhattan-based crisis communications firm for two decades.
I say with great authority Orthodox Judaism is in the midst of a very serious public relations crisis that puts all Jews at risk.
The Orthodox rabbinate enthusiastically praised Jared and Ivanka for supposedly receiving a rabbis dispensation to travel on the Shabbat to attend the inauguration ball and then again to travel to Saudi Arabia with President Trump. In fact, the couple has never publicly claimed they got the approvals. The disclosures were made by political operatives who didnt want to be identified. Rabbis, of course, cant issue dispensations, only interpretations of Talmudic law.
Despite not knowing the identity or background of the rabbi who allegedly approved the travel, the Orthodox rabbinate was quick to Jared and Ivankas professed piety without considering all the facts and implications.
Loyalty to Torah?
Is Ivanka Trump Jewish In Israel She Has A Trump Card
PETAH TIKVA, Israel Is Ivanka Trump really Jewish?
Last summer, Israel’s religious authorities issued a ruling that raised doubts about her conversion to Judaism. But after her father was elected president, they have changed their tune, raising eyebrows among activists who have long lobbied the rabbinical establishment to be more tolerant toward converts.
President Donald Trump’s daughter converted to Judaism under a prominent Orthodox rabbi in Manhattan before her 2009 marriage to Jared Kushner, an observant Jew.
In its ruling last July, an Israeli government religious court rejected the legitimacy of another conversion by the same rabbi. Although it didn’t directly affect Ivanka Trump, it raised questions as to whether Israel’s powerful religious establishment would recognize her as being Jewish.
But in early December, just weeks after Trump’s election victory, Israel’s chief rabbis said they would work to change the rules for recognizing conversions performed abroad and they singled out Ivanka Trump.
“According to the new proposed plan … her conversion will be certified without the need for additional checks,” the announcement said.
Israeli activists say the sudden policy change appears to be an attempt to curry favor with the new U.S. president. Ivanka Trump’s husband has been appointed a senior adviser to Trump and is expected to focus on Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.
“It was intense. I learned it and I lived it,” Zeitler said.
There Are Few Kosher Restaurants Near The Couples Home In Washington Dc
As The Spruce notes, some kashrut purists argue that Jews who keep a totally kosher home yet eat in non-kosher restaurants dont really keep kosher. But Trump and Kushner may not have much of a choice. As The Washingtonian explains, the couple has extremely limited options for kosher restaurants in D.C.
The publication adds that based on their dining habits, its safe to say that the couple isnt strictly observant. Interestingly enough, people who are very strict kosher usually dont eat in restaurants that arent certified kosher. But some eat kosher-style at restaurants, which often means that they dont eat meat when they dine out. Based on her comments to Vogue, Trump and Kushner seem to take the route of avoiding meat at restaurants.
Next: Trump holds an interesting position in her fathers administration and in the political world.
Also Check: Vdare Lion
Social And Political Causes
In 2007, Ivanka Trump donated $1,000 to the presidential campaign of then-Senator Hillary Clinton. In 2012, she endorsed Mitt Romney for president. In 2013, Trump and her husband hosted a fundraiser for Democrat Cory Booker, and the couple bundled more than $40,000 for Booker’s U.S. Senate campaign.
During her father’s presidency, Trump transformed from a liberal to an “unapologetically” pro-life, “proud Trump Republican.” At the 2016 Republican National Convention, she said of her political views: “Like many of my fellow millennials, I do not consider myself categorically Republican or Democrat.” In 2018, Trump changed her New York voter registration from Democratic to Republican.
Ivanka Trump And Jared Kushner Face Pressure To Speak Out On Antisemitism
The Jewish couple have kept quiet since presidents defence of antisemitic protesters. Asks a rabbi: Who knows if this is what will set people over the edge?
Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, are facing a potentially awkward reception from Washingtons Jewish community after Donald Trumps astonishing defence of antisemitic protesters.
The US presidents daughter and son-in-law have been conspicuously silent since his reiterated claim on Tuesday that both sides were responsible for last Saturdays violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one civil rights activist dead. White supremacists waved insignias from Nazi Germany, abused Kushner and yelled: Jews will not replace us.
Ivanka converted to Judaism the rabbi who oversaw the process has condemned Trumps moral equivalency and equivocation ahead of her 2009 wedding to Jared. The couple are practising modern Orthodox Jews and have been able to separate expressions of their faith from their White House roles as advisers to the president. So far.
Thats the question swirling around the Jewish community since 9 November, said Rabbi Shira Stutman of the Sixth & I Historic synagogue in Washington. Its also the Jewish school they go to, its also the Jewish preschool they go to. The community has taken the tack of letting them be. Who knows if this is what will set people over the edge?
Also Check: John Lambert Students For Trump
Ivanka Trump Questioned By Steve Hilton Over Job Mobility
Someone super famous and important has to come up and, in this case be Jewish, to make a big change?
Elad Kaplan from the ITIM advocacy group suggested that the change was made for diplomatic reasons.
He claimed it would be embarrassing” for Israel to have Ivanka Trump visit the country without them recognising her faith, given she is the daughter and senior adviser to the US President, their closest international ally.
In Judaism, children are only automatically Jewish if their mother is, so Ivanka and Jareds three children would also not be considered Jewish if her conversion was deemed illegitimate.
Ivanka Trump Says She Remains Pretty Observant Of Kosher Rules
In a 2015 interview with Vogue, Ivanka Trump said she and her family keep kosher. But she hasnt discussed the topic often. She added, I always shied away from it being a public conversation because its such a personal thing. Were pretty observant, more than some, less than others. I just feel like its such an intimate thing for us.
Trump also told the interviewer of her choice to convert to Orthodox Judaism: Its been such a great life decision for me. I am very modern, but Im also a very traditional person, and I think thats an interesting juxtaposition in how I was raised as well.
Next: She has to follow some strict rules about meat and animal products.
Also Check: Superpowerchecks.com Review
Ivanka Trump Talks Orthodox Judaism
- By —
Ivanka Trump opens up about her conversion to Orthodox Judaism and the valuable family time it has facilitated.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have been married since 2009. Before their wedding, she converted to Orthodox Judaism. the couple has had two small children, Arabella and Joseph . She opened up to Vogue in a new profile to talk about her religious life and family life.
Ivanka Trump: Its such a personal thing
In regards to converting to Orthodox Judaism, she had always shied away from it being a public conversation, because its such a personal thing. However, she is just now opening up about her religious beliefs. Ivanka said that she and her family are pretty observant, more than some, less than others. They make time to observe the Sabbath, or Shabbos, on Saturdays.
As a modern businesswoman and designer, she is constantly running about. Her husband is the same way, and they are almost always on the go. For their family and their marriage, the conversion made things far better for her. Its been such a great life decision for me, she said. I am very modern but Im also a very traditional person. I really find that with Judaism, it creates an amazing blueprint for family connectivity.
Ivanka Trump opens up for the first time about her conversion to Judaism:
AOL.com
Resources
Last Summer Israels Religious Authorities Issued A Ruling That Raised Doubts About Her Conversion To Judaism
The Associated Press, Petah Tikva
- URL Copied
Is Ivanka Trump really Jewish?
Last summer, Israels religious authorities issued a ruling that raised doubts about her conversion to Judaism. But since her father was elected president, they have changed their tune, raising eyebrows among activists who have long lobbied the rabbinical establishment to be more tolerant toward converts.
President Donald Trumps daughter converted to Judaism under a prominent Orthodox rabbi in Manhattan before her 2009 marriage to Jared Kushner, an observant Jew.
In their ruling last July, an Israeli government religious court rejected the legitimacy of another conversion by the same rabbi. Although it didnt directly affect Ivanka Trump, it raised questions as to whether Israels powerful religious establishment would recognize her as being Jewish.
But in early December, just weeks after Trumps election victory, Israels chief rabbis said they would work to change the rules for recognizing conversions performed abroad – and they singled out Ivanka Trump. According to the new proposed plan … her conversion will be certified without the need for additional checks, the announcement said.
A spokeswoman for Trump did not return a request for confirmation, and Rabbi Levi Shemtov, a rabbi in Washington who is close to Ivanka Trump, declined comment.
As for Zeitler, she acknowledged it was a little fishy that the rabbis were suddenly interested in changing the rules on conversions.
You May Like: Donald Trump Kkk Parents
While Ivanka Indeed Converted To Judaism Through An Orthodox Rabbi The Israeli Rabbinate Has A Precedence Of Not Accepting Conversions From Him As He Is ‘not Stringent Enough Rabbinate: ‘ivanka’s Conversion Requires Additional Checks’
Last summer, Israel’s religious authorities issued a ruling that raised doubts about her conversion to Judaism. But since her father was elected president, they have changed their tune, raising eyebrows among activists who have long lobbied the rabbinical establishment to be more tolerant toward converts.
- Follow Ynetnews on and
President Donald Trump’s daughter converted to Judaism under a prominent Orthodox rabbi in Manhattan before her 2009 marriage to Jared Kushner, an observant Jew.
In their ruling last July, an Israeli government religious court rejected the legitimacy of another conversion by the same rabbi. Although it didn’t directly affect Ivanka Trump, it raised questions as
to whether Israel’s powerful religious establishment would recognize her as being Jewish.
But in early December, just weeks after Trump’s election victory, Israel’s chief rabbis said they would work to change the rules for recognizing conversions performed abroad — and they singled out Ivanka Trump.
“According to the new proposed plan … her conversion will be certified without the need for additional checks,” the announcement said.
Israeli activists say the sudden policy change appears to be an attempt to curry favor with the new U.S. president. Ivanka Trump’s husband has been appointed a senior adviser to Trump and is expected to focus on Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.
“It was intense. I learned it and I lived it,” Zeitler said.
Ivanka Trump Opens Up About Converting To Judaism
People were surprised in 2009 when Ivanka Trump converted to Judaism for her fiancé, businessman and New York Observer owner Jared Kushner. They tied the knot later that year, but until now, the powerful businesswoman and designer hadn’t divulged much about her choice to convert or her life as a Jewish wife and mother.
And it makes sense why. After all, religion isn’t exactly prime for small talk you don’t just bring it up in an elevator after you comment on the hazy weather or during an interview about The Apprentice. However, in a new profile in Vogue, she opened up about the matter, but not without commenting on just how personal the topic is.
“I always shied away from it being a public conversation, because it’s such a personal thing,” she told the magazine. “We’re pretty observant, more than some, less than others.” “I feel like it’s such an intimate thing for us.”
But it’s not like getting to this place of religious intimacy and bliss was without any road blocks. Back in 2009 when Donald Trump’s daughter was in the process of converting New Yorkprofiled Kushner, and the magazine noted that the Kushner’s Orthodox family did not give Trump an easy time. However, Ivanka told the magazine that she was pursuing converting. I am studying, she said, and its been an amazing and fulfilling experience for me.”
Related: 3 Things You Learn at 3 Years Old as a Trump
Related: Ivanka Trump Wears Ivana’s Bob Mackie Dress Nearly 23 Years Later
Read Also: How Many Times Did Trump Lie During The Debate
But She Hasnt Claimed To Strictly Observe Halachah
Trump and Kushner do keep kosher. But Forward notes that theyve never claimed to strictly observe halachah. That could explain why the couple occasionally breaks with religious tradition to play golf or to travel on the Sabbath.
According to Forward, Among Jews who identify with Orthodoxy and belong to Orthodox synagogues, they are far from alone. The publication explains that a broad spectrum of observance exists among the countrys half-million Orthodox Jews. Unsurprisingly, some observe the laws more stringently than others. But as Forward explains, even by keeping kosher, Jared and Ivanka undoubtedly adhere more to traditional Jewish customs than most American Jews.
Next: We should all keep this in mind about her religion.
Can Jared Kushner Be Loyal To His Father
- Save Story
To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories.
- Save Story
To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories.
Having someone who grew up like us, who is now close to the presidentthats never a bad thing, one associate of Jared Kushner told me recently. This source was not referring to Kushners experience in the real-estate business, where he leads his familys multi-billion-dollardevelopment concern. Nor were they gesturing to Kushners tenure as a media executive. Instead, this person was pointing to a far deeper matter: the 35-year-olds faith. Kushner, the increasingly influential son-in-law of President-Elect Donald Trump, is an observant Orthodox Jew. He grew up attending a Jewish day school in northern New Jersey. His wife, Ivanka, converted before the two were married by a rabbi. They send their young children to a Jewish school in Manhattan. Both observe the Sabbath each week.
VIDEO: America Protests Donald Trump
Still, this person conceded the importance of having someone of their faith and background close to the president. But, great, this person continued, we have someone there. Its a comfort. Hes totally solid and fine.
Jared … would not be the guy where youd be like, Oh, thank Godhes there. He wouldnt be a first- or second- or third-round draftpick.
Don’t Miss: How Many Lies Has Trump Told To Date
