As Jews retreat from membership to reform synagogues, historically made up of political liberals who were at the forefront of the fight for Civil Rights and other progressive issues, Chabad-Lubavitch, the Orthodox Hasidic group with which Mr. Kushner is affiliated, has become a rapidly-growing Jewish movement. The growth of Chabad correlates with fierce divisions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a small but growing contingent of American Jews who prioritize Israel above any other political or social issue.
As to the divide over Trump:
According to a 2018 survey by the American Jewish Committee, 41 percent of Jews said they strongly disagree with Mr. Trump’s handling of U.S.-Israeli relations and 71 percent had an overall unfavorable opinion of Mr. Trump. (In response to questions for this story, a White House press aide referred reporters to an Ami magazine poll of 263 Orthodox Jews in the tristate area published in August. Eighty-two percent said they would vote for President Trump in 2020.)(My emphasis).
Who else is big in the Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement? Felix Sater, one of the characters in the Trump-Russia-Trump SoHo debacle.
[A]s Trump looked for business and investors in the former Soviet Union during the first years of this century, he struck up an enduring relationship with a firm called Bayrock-Sapir.
Bayrock was co-led by Felix Sater, a convicted mob associate.
Sater and another Bayrock employee, Daniel Ridloff, who like Sater later went on to work directly for the Trump Organization, belong to the Port Washington Chabad house. Sater told POLITICO Magazine that in addition to serving on the board of the Port Washington Chabad house, he sits on the boards of numerous Chabad entities in the U.S. and abroad, though none in Russia....In 2014, the Port Washington Chabad house named Sater its “man of the year.”
...Working out of Trump Tower, Sater partnered with the celebrity developer on numerous Trump-branded developments and scouted deals for him in the former Soviet Union. In 2006, Sater escorted Trump’s children Ivanka and Don Jr. around Moscow to scour the city for potential projects, and he worked especially closely with Ivanka on the development of Trump SoHo
Back to the Times article: I learned a new phrase from the article: "Chillul Hashem". In Hebrew, it means "when a Jew behaves immorally while in the presence of others." Someone who went to high school with Jared (and didn't like him then or now) says "Jared is participating in acts of Chillul Hashem”.
A Brandeis Professor, Dr. Sarna, says:
“There is a great deal of anxiety around the coming of the Orthodox...Jared in every way — his Orthodoxy, his Chabad ties, his views on Israel — symbolizes those changes.”
Donald Trump is a cultural disgrace. Also, putting his son-in-law and daughter in high level advisory positions (paid or not)for which neither has the slightest qualifications is like the Saudi King making his two inexperienced children the kingdom's Crown Prince and U.S. Ambassador.
There is one saving grace. By now, the entire world knows that whatever comes out of the mouth of Donald Trump (or Saudi leadership) is "bubbe-meis"(Yiddish for a grandmother's fairy tale). It's getting easier to ignore them -- at least for short spurts, to maintain our sanity.
