For those who enjoy keeping score of such matters (I, surely, am not one of them), there seemed to be a lot of Jewish Americans in President Donald Trump’s administration — especially for someone who at least half the nation believed was the second coming of Hitler. And these high-level appointments were separate from those who worked on the “Deal of the Century.”
Here’s a partial list: Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, chief economic advisor Gary Cohn, Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow, Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin, and a number of West Wing staffers, including senior advisor Stephen Miller, Avi Berkowitz, Reed Cornish, and, of course, Trump’s very own president-whisperer, son-in-law extraordinaire, Jared Kushner, whose vast portfolio spanned from the Middle East to the making of kosher White House cupcakes. And Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, who served as a special advisor to the president, as well.
I suppose Michael Cohen wouldn’t want to be included in this discussion.
Such tribal trivia holds no real interest for me. But now that I brought it up, it’s worth noting that so far, President-elect Joe Biden seems determined not to be outdone in receiving official guidance during his presidency from Jewish Americans.
Apparently, Jews being appointed to high places crosses party lines.
For starters, there’s Biden’s appointment of Ron Klain (full disclosure: a good friend) to be chief of staff. Klain possesses an intimate knowledge of the executive branch dating back to the early days of the Clinton administration. His Washington, D.C. insider’s expertise, gravitas within Democratic circles and broad knowledge on a wide range of public policy matters assure that the day-to-day operations of the White House will be in capable hands.
That’s a good thing because Klain will invariably need a fine touch and a strong arm to hold back the aggressive progressives within the Democratic Party.
And there’s more, although it is still early in the process. Biden may be working on a minyan. Pending Senate confirmation, Antony Blinken will be the next secretary of state, Alejandro Mayorkas will serve as secretary for homeland security, and Janet Yellen is expected to be announced as secretary of the treasury. (Let’s hope that a pandemic-induced recession doesn’t result in Jews being blamed for it. It wouldn’t be the first time that the old canard about Jewish financiers manipulating money receives currency during times of economic distress. If former Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers also come up in conversation, brace yourself.)
Yet, interestingly, during an era when the national mood has never been this polarized, where Republicans and Democrats have elevated mere partisan politics into epic feuds befitting the Hatfields and McCoys, Jews, who comprise roughly 2% of the American population, serve as presidential advisors in such diametrically opposing administrations.
Clearly, Jews swing both ways politically, even though a majority align with the Democratic Party, which has become increasingly inhospitable to them, especially for those with pro-Israel leanings and skepticism about the new “woke” surroundings. Longstanding Jewish involvement in progressive causes has failed to impress these new Democratic Socialists, who demand of Jews a special rite of passage: renounce all emotional ties to Israel.
No sooner had Biden chosen Blinken than Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a card-carrying Squad member, speculated whether such an appointment might preclude her right to criticize Israel. Why would it? Many American Jews openly criticize Israel — some, improbably, are fans of the Squad. Has the congresswoman forgotten that, unlike all of the 22 Arab/Muslim governments in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, she lives in a nation that guarantees freedom of speech?
So, too, do Israelis, by the way.
The only time these progressives seem to care about the First Amendment is when they call for the end of the Jewish state, happily exercising their right to be anti-Semites.
As progressive Democrats test how much leverage they have within the Biden administration in pressing an anti-Israel agenda, Republicans have something to celebrate: more Jewish voters, either because of Trump’s many diplomatic gifts to Israel or due to the natural result of “Defund the Police” sloganeering. President Trump garnered more Jewish votes in 2020 than in 2016 — an estimated 5% jump. (It could be more, given data showing that Trump’s support included “shy voters,” those too timid to answer pollsters honestly.) In Florida, the number of Jewish votes for Trump is projected to have been even higher — especially among senior citizens and those who self-identify as committed to Israel’s welfare. Once again, Florida never fails to surprise. In no other state has a Republican candidate ever received that large a percentage of Jewish votes.
So, what to make of the disproportionate number of American Jews assuming important positions in successive governments that have nothing but contempt for one another? Are we experiencing the Golden Age of the Court Jew, with a ready supply of political talent no matter who is in the Oval Office?
Are we experiencing the Golden Age of the Court Jew, with a ready supply of political talent no matter who is in the Oval Office?
Maybe so, but they are surely not uniform in how they serve the president, or even represent their people. Some are lured by the grandeur of the palace and proximity to the seat of power. After a few tuxedoed state dinners, origins are easily forgotten, and priorities scrambled.
For every dreaming Joseph in Egypt and Queen Esther in Persia, there’s the example set by Henry Kissinger, who tolerated (if not enabled) President Richard Nixon’s anti-Semitism, ignored the plight of Soviet Jewry and allowed Realpolitik to make him ambivalent about Israel. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. managed to attend all those Cabinet meetings while serving President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and yet the subject of the slaughter of European Jewry never made it into the minutes — until it was nearly too late.
President Barack Obama failed to veto U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, which declared all Israeli settlements to be illegal and found all of Jerusalem to be Arab territory, and negotiated the Iran Deal. His administration, too, featured prominent Jews who aided him faithfully. Some will be returning to public life in the Biden administration.
There are Jews — and then there are Jews.
Not that it matters much to me one way or the other.
Thane Rosenbaum is a novelist, essayist, law professor and Distinguished University Professor at Touro College, where he directs the Forum on Life, Culture & Society. He is the legal analyst for CBS News Radio. His most recent book is titled “Saving Free Speech … From Itself.”
