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Last Thursday, President Donald Trump attended the National Prayer Breakfast which is traditionally held every year in Washington on the first Thursday in February. The event, attended by the President and political and economic elite of the USA, is designed as a forum for the political, social, and business elite to assemble and build relationships. In the course of the event, cameras captured the President conversing warmly with Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Kehilath Jerushun in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and more famous as Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner’s rabbi. During their brief conversation, Trump was seen congratulating the rabbi and telling him, you’re doing a “Good job.”
Lookstein’s name rose to the headlines a half year ago after the appeal submitted by ITIM to the Supreme Rabbinical Court of Law in Israel to recognize conversions that Lookstein had conducted was rejected. This followed his rise to fame as the rabbi who supervised the conversion of Ivanka Trump. More recently, the Rabbinate announced that it has formed a committee to establish new criterion for recognizing rabbis in the Diaspora in order to pave the path to approve Rabbi Lookstein’s conversions. Their announcement came subsequent to a Jewish Week article published after Trump’s election which publicized his staff’s personal appeal to the Israeli government to recognize his daughter’s Judaism.
Rabbi Seth Farber, Chairman of ITIM: “The meeting between Rabbi Lookstein and President Trump, and the warmth demonstrated by the President during an event attended by over 3,000 of America’s most influential personalities, attests to the error in judgment of Israel’s rabbinate when it flippantly dismissed Rabbi Lookstein’s conversions. Rabbi Lookstein is one of the leading Modern Orthodox rabbis in the United States and is held in high esteem by all of his colleagues both ultra-Orthodox and non-Orthodox. In anticipation of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to meet the President, we sincerely hope that the rabbinate will state clearly its support for conversions performed by Rabbi Lookstein and other rabbis from North America and around the world, and follow through on their promise to issue criteria which will enable other converts to have their Judaism recognized.”
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem / Photo Credit: LIVE ON AIR NEWS Channel)
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7 Responses
Can Farber explain why the warmth demonstrated by the President ….. attests to the error in judgment of Israel’s rabbinate? The President was graciously displaying warmth to a man his daughter and son in law like and respect. The Israeli Chief Rabbinate dealt with halachic issues. One cannot expect the President to have delved into, still less understood, these issues before greeting his guest. Still Farber’s suggestion that everything is cleared up before the Prime Minister meets the President is obviously of great import. If the Rabbinate don’t take Seth’s sage advice the goy and the am haaretz will just have to put matters of State aside to deal with this issue.
I don’t understand the following statement from Rabbi Seth Farber, Chairman of ITIM: “The meeting between Rabbi Lookstein and President Trump, and the warmth demonstrated by the President during an event attended by over 3,000 of America’s most influential personalities, attests to the error in judgment of Israel’s rabbinate when it flippantly dismissed Rabbi Lookstein’s conversions”
Accepting or rejecting a Rabbi’s conversion should be based on whether or not that Rabbi follows the halacha in the conversion process and the convert-to-be accepts the Torah and takes upon himself/herself to keep all Mitzvot, not on whether or not the president of a country meets with the Rabbi and demonstrate warmth towards him.
a bunch of bunk thats all this is. ivanka trump jewish status remains a huge question at best for many reasons.
Always negative comments be happy for once people!
Everyone should jusy watch what they say. Vhamayveen yaveen.
can the writer name 2,3 ultra-orthodox rabbis that hold him in HIGH esteem? Remember he’s for toaivah ,women rah-bonim etc etc
Kako & Anon21 – right on!