Despite the fact that they are forever scrutinizing Donald Trump, the mainstream media seem to have largely missed the fact that he advocates policies more supportive of Israel than those of any American president. They missed the fact, too, that if Trump became president, he would enjoy closer connections with American Jews than any of his predecessors. It’s decidedly ironic, then, that Trump is frequently attacked as anti-Semitic. I will discuss possible reasons for that after providing ample evidence of Trump’s philo-Semitism and intense pro-Israel positions.
It is almost axiomatic that a very successful real-estate developer in New York City such as Trump would need to have close ties to the Jewish political and financial elite. Because of his support for Jewish activities, charitable and otherwise, [1] prestigious Jewish groups have honored him in various ways. For example, in 2004 he became the first non-Jewish grand marshal of the Salute to Israel Parade in New York City. [2] Trump also received the Algemeiner Liberty Award in February 2015 at the Algemeiner Journal’s annual “Jewish 100” gala, which celebrates the “top 100 people positively influencing Jewish life.” The New York-based newspaper (which also has an important blog that has been compared to Huffington Post) deals with Jewish and Israel-related news. Former Senator Joseph Lieberman, noted for his support for Israel, described the paper as an “independent truth-telling advocate for the Jewish people and Israel.” [3] The recently deceased Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel chaired the Algemeiner Advisory Board. [4]
In 1983, the Jewish National Fund’s New York City real-estate committee presented Trump with its Tree of Life award, its second-highest award. [5] In 2000, the UJA (United Jewish Appeal) – Federation of New York’s Hospitality Division presented Trump with the Hotel and Real Estate Visionary of the Century Award. Trump donated $25,000 to the group in 2012 and $15,000 in 2014. [6]
Trump also has close family connections with Jews. Two of his three married children — Ivanka and Eric — are married to Jews. The most significant of those is Ivanka, his favorite child, who is now running his real-estate business while he campaigns for president. She is married to an Orthodox Jew, Jared Kushner, and she converted to Orthodox Judaism before the marriage.
Though only 35, Kushner, a Harvard graduate, is a prominent real-estate developer, as is his father, Charles Kushner. Jared Kushner and his family have connections to Israel. Along with his father, Kushner was listed in a 2015 report by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as a benefactor of its real-estate committee, a status that required a donation of at least $36,000. Kushner’s parents are heavily involved in Jewish philanthropy. Their generosity includes a donation of $20 million to a medical-school campus in Jerusalem, now named after them.
On top of that, both Jared Kushner and his father have been major contributors to the Democratic Party. [7] (In 2005, the elder Kushner was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to making illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering. [8]) Read on.
