Author Topic: Ivanka Trump  (Read 662 times)

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Offline paralambano

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Re: Ivanka Trump
« Reply #90 on: November 27, 2017, 12:20:44 pm »
Kerry -

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That restaurant, by the way, is rated two stars by Michelin with its three star system of rankings.

Tempting. I suppose I could remove my cardboard Burger King crown if I dine there. I do so dislike it when an establishment's been contemn-ed after I've ordered out by its side-window.


 :)
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Offline Kerry

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Re: Ivanka Trump
« Reply #91 on: November 28, 2017, 06:39:45 am »
Well, let's hope Ivanka doesn't have any unfortunate encounters with snakes when she visits India. 

The beggars are being rounded up and they're painted the trees to spruce things up for her when she visits Hyderabad and the highly rated Falanuma Palace. 

Ivanka is confirmed to attend a dinner with Modi at Falaknuma on Tuesday and an 'official breakfast' during her 36-hour stay.

Times of India reported that Taj Hotels imported flowers from Thailand, Indonesia and Bengaluru, India, for the dinner at the property that it remodeled and opened for business in 2010. It also flew in a master chef for each dish on the menu and prepared gold and silver plates and cutlery for the occasion, Times of India reported.


She may even get a rose petal shower.  Then there's the gloomier side.  The beggars can  be hidden, but those snakes!

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/241117/snake-fears-haunt-taj-falaknuma-palace.html

HYDERABAD: Security personnel are worried about the presence of snakes at Golconda Fort and the Taj Falaknuma Hotel, both of which are located amidst dense thickets. The hilly terrains around the heritage areas are home to a variety of snakes and reptiles, which are often spotted by locals. Ismail, who lives near the Bibi Ka Chasma, says, “We have alerted snake-catchers regarding the presence of snakes on several occasions. They catch the snakes and shift them.”

Officials of the special protection group who visited the Taj Falaknuma enquired about the presence of snakes in the vicinity of the hotel, which is located on a 36-acre piece of land surrounded by dense vegetation. Not wanting to take any chances, the police plan to post a constable from a local police station to catch any reptiles in the area. “The hotel authorities have informed us that they have two trained snake-catchers on their rolls. They will handle any situations that may  arise. There are some snake pits too,” says P. Yadagiri, the Inspector of Falaknuma. He says that according to the hotel authorities there have not been any instances of reptiles sneaking into the hotel, so far. The animals generally remain in the wilderness.


I suppose when it was a palace, having snakes about might have provided extra security. 

Offline Kerry

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Re: Ivanka Trump
« Reply #92 on: November 29, 2017, 10:13:40 pm »
Not that I trust tmz that much; but they had an interesting story about Ivanka.

When her father became President and she stepped aside from running her companies, my impression was they were making money.  She could go to Washington to work, making money from them while someone else ran them.  Maybe I was wrong. 

http://www.tmz.com/2017/11/29/ivanka-trump-jewelry-company-sued-payment/

Ivanka Trump's jewelry company is being sued for skipping out on its bills.  Raselli Franco, an Italian jeweler who manufactures and sells fine jewelry to retailers, claims he sold Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry $56,833 in bling. Ivanka's company agreed to pay in 4 installments, but he says they have not paid $21,222.  Franco says he gave Ivanka's company an extension to pay the bill but got zilch.  Ivanka's company began paying a year ago but missed several payment deadlines.  We reached out to Ivanka's rep ... so far no word back.

There is an update above the story:

3:39 PM PT -- A spokesperson for the Ivanka Trump brand tells TMZ, "Madison Avenue Diamonds is owned by a separate party and was a typical licensing deal. This matter involving an independent third party has absolutely nothing to do with the Ivanka Trump brand. In fact, the defendant in question owes the brand a significant amount of money."

If a spokesperson said that, it's a complete lie.

Mar 21, 2016, 16:37 ET  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/madison-avenue-diamonds-llc-dba-ivanka-trump-fine-jewelry-ordered-to-pay-3059590-plus-interest-to-kgk-jewelry-llc-in-breach-of-contract-dispute-300239069.html

The Supreme Court of the State of New York entered Judgment against Madison Avenue Diamonds LLC (d/b/a Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry) and Shaindy Lax, a principal of Madison, in the amount of $3,059,590, plus interest on that amount at 9% per annum until the Judgment is satisfied in full.

Under the contract at issue, Madison was required to make a series of payments to KGK totaling $3 million for jewelry delivered by KGK to Madison and subsequently sold under the Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry brand.  While Madison made the first specified payment, it refused to make all subsequent payments to KGK as required.  Madison argued that it was relieved of its obligation to make the additional payments as KGK allegedly had been one day late in returning certain computer design (CAD) files as specified under the agreement.

Earlier, in rejecting Madison's defenses to payment in their entirety, Judge Charles E. Ramos ruled that "Madison was never released from its further payment obligations to KGK" under the contract.  (NYS Court, NY County, Decision and Order, Index No. 159045/2012, filed 8/21/2015).  "KGK had complied fully with all of its delivery obligations to Madison, and Madison not only received the benefit under the agreement but "has also failed to show any damages".  Accordingly, Madison was compelled to make all of the agreed payments to KGK for the jewelry provided.

Moreover, the Court rejected Madison's belated attempt to amend its claims and defenses to payment by arguing that the jewelry provided by KGK was "of substandard quality".  KGK repeatedly has asserted that these allegations had no basis in this lawsuit.  In granting KGK's motion for summary judgment before trial, the Court agreed and denied Madison any leave to amend its allegations.

In response to the ruling, Sanjay Kothari, Vice Chair of the KGK Group, had stated:

"As KGK has maintained throughout the course of this unfortunate lawsuit, Madison never had any basis for withholding the contractual payments to which it had agreed.  As it has done throughout its 110-year history, KGK complied with all obligations to its customer here.  We are pleased that the Court saw the matter exactly as we had, and that now we can return our attention to supplying the industry with beautiful gemstones and jewelry."         


A previous story about it is from 2015.

September 2015 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/madison-avenue-diamonds-llc-dba-ivanka-trump-fine-jewelry-ordered-to-pay-2375000-plus-interest-to-kgk-jewelry-llc-in-breach-of-contract-dispute-300150652.html

The Supreme Court of the State of New York County has ordered Madison Avenue Diamonds LLC (d/b/a Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry), an exclusive wholesaler for Ivanka Trump's branded line of jewelry, and Shaindy Lax, a principal of Madison, to pay KGK Jewelry LLC $2.375 million, plus interest, in a breach of contract dispute commenced by the parties in December 2012.

Under the contract at issue, Madison was required to make a series of payments to KGK totaling $3 million for jewelry delivered by KGK to Madison and subsequently sold under the Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry brand.   Madison made the first agreed payment but refused to make all subsequent payments to KGK as required.  Madison argued that it was relieved of its obligation to make the additional payments as KGK allegedly had been one day late in returning certain computer design (CAD) files as specified under the agreement.


I think it's pretty bad when you have to keep going to court to get someone to pay his bills; and the spokesman who said Madison Avenue Diamonds is a completely different entity should be ashamed since that's the name of the corporation which does business under the name Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry.

Okay, so Ivanka isn't involved in the daily conducting of business of her firms now; but she was back in 2015 and 2016.  What was her excuse then?    Apparently whoever is running the business now is using the same business practices that Ivanka did.   Or don't they have the money to pay their bills?  They might not have the cash.  The Daily Mail says they also missed paying their taxes earlier. 

September 29, 2017 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5130359/Ivankas-jewelry-line-sued-20K-missed-payments.html

This isn't the first time Ivanka's company has been slammed for skipping out on their bills.

In February, DailyMail.com revealed that Ivanka's company was hit with a New York State lien on January 26, accusing the company of failing to pay over $5,000 in taxes, according to legal documents.


Perhaps Ivanka prefers buying   more houses to paying past bills. 

September 26, 2017 http://www.newsweek.com/jared-kushner-ivanka-trump-new-house-dc-722645

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are reportedly looking to buy their first house in Washington, D.C., even amid reports that White House staffers want them to scram.

In a rare interview, Kusher said his wife has been asking about purchasing a home in the nation’s capital, apparently countering reports that the couple might move back to New York after drawing too much scrutiny in D.C.

“We’re here to stay. At the current moment, we’re charging forward,” Kushner told The Washington Post in a profile published Saturday.

“My wife asked me the other day if we should be looking at new houses, so that’s a good sign,” he added.


Is she still getting income from her companies while they're not paying their bills?   Where is the money to buy yet another house coming from? 

Offline Kerry

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Re: Ivanka Trump
« Reply #93 on: December 19, 2017, 12:51:33 am »
Ivanka Trump said if the tax bill being considered now gets passed, the corporate tax rate will be the lowest since 1931.  Yes, she said that!  Would I lie to you? 

http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/12/18/ivanka-trump-tax-reform-small-business-taxes-will-be-lowest-1931?ICID=ref_fark

"Since day one, the president said he wanted to deliver middle income tax relief - targeted middle income tax relief - and he also wanted to cut corporate rates to enable our businesses to be competitive and to thrive in a global economy," Trump said. "And this bill does exactly those things."

The president's oldest daughter, who now serves as a special adviser, said small businesses will see taxes go down to their lowest point since 1931.


That may be true; but  I find her reference unfortunate.  Why would she say such a thing?  Here's a graph of the corporate tax rate from Wikipedia. 



Does she know what happened in America when the corporate tax rate was so low?   She went to Wharton; she should know.    I'm not saying the low tax rate caused the Great Depression; but clearly it did not make the economy boom then so why should anyone believe it will now?   

Offline Kerry

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Re: Ivanka Trump
« Reply #94 on: December 23, 2017, 10:11:33 am »
I wonder what really happened here.   The Commercial Bank of Dubai suspects that Ivanka's business may have been used to launder money. 

https://www.gq.com/story/ivanka-trump-jewelry-business

Thanks to an overlooked filing made in federal court this past summer, we can now add a jewelry business to the list of Trump family enterprises that allegedly served as vehicles to fraudulently hide the assets of ultra-rich foreigners with checkered backgrounds. In late June, the Commercial Bank of Dubai sought—and later received—permission to subpoena Ivanka Trump’s now-defunct fine jewelry line, claiming its diamonds were used in a massive scheme to hide roughly $100 million that was owed to the bank, according to filings at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Offline Kerry

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Re: Ivanka Trump
« Reply #95 on: July 20, 2018, 10:10:34 am »
Can someone tell me why Ivanka calls Donald Trump her father?   What kind of rabbis does she know?

Anyone who converts to Judaism is considered as a new born child.  He has no earthly relatives.

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4635-conversion-to-judaism

The proselyte is regarded as a new-born child; hence his former family connections are considered as ended, and he might legally marry his own mother or sister; but lest he come to the conclusion that his new status is less holy than his former, such unions are prohibited (see Shulḥan 'Aruk, Yoreh De'ah, 269; "Yad," Issure Biah, xiv. 13). This conception of the proselyte's new birth (Yeb. 62a; Yer. Yeb. 4a) and of his new status with reference to his old family is the subject of many a halakie discussion (Yeb. xi. 2; Yer. Yeb. l.c.; et al.) and has led to certain regulations concerning marriages contracted either before or after conversion ("Yad," l.c. xiv. 13 et seq.; with reference to the first-fruit offering see Yer. Bik. 64a; Tosef., Bik. i. 2).

No,  Donald, even if you converted and became a Jew,  you couldn't marry her.



Actually, it's an important idea since Abraham's father was a maker of idols; and when Abraham converted to the worship of the One True God,  Terah was no longer his father in spiritual terms.   Thus we should not say he failed to show respect for his father. 

So back to Ivanka.  Don't you think it a little weird she goes by the name Ivanka Trump?  I do.  Not only does she continue to call him father, she still uses his name. 

Donald joked about her last name this week.

Praising his daughter after she spoke at a cabinet meeting to discuss the launch of the National Council for the American Worker this week, Donald announced, ‘Wow. So if that were “Ivanka Smith,” the press would say that was totally brilliant. As Ivanka Trump they’ll say, “Oh, she was OK.”’

After laughter from the room, he repeated, ’That was really great. Unbelievable.’


No, Mr. President, if she wasn't your "daughter," nobody would have heard of her. 

The latest gig is being involved with getting  jobs for more Americans -- a "Hire American" project, you might call it.

http://www.kbtx.com/content/news/488703571.html

Could you be the perfect fit for one of more than 6.5 million unfilled jobs here in the U.S.? The White House has a new plan aimed at helping Americans land a job.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order -- establishing the National Council for the American Worker Thursday afternoon. He said companies are struggling to find employees, especially in high-tech manufacturing, and even when positions are well-paid. The council's goal is to expand training for students and workers across the country.


I have to laugh.  Her company manufactures the stuff she sells in China.  Is that part of this "hire American" thing?  The MAGA hats Donald sells are made in China; and we all know he imports workers for Mar-a-Lago. 

Brilliant?  Hardly.  I wouldn't call hypocrisy  brilliant. 

Oh, by the way, the MAGA hats are going up in price because of the new tariffs.  Back in July, the clothing industry had escaped these tariffs.  The additional tariffs will raise prices on clothing.  Ivanka's empire already appears to be struggling with sales, selling merchandise at reduced prices.  Now the cost of making handbags and getting them into the US is probably  going to go up?

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/13/ivanka-trump-could-get-hit-by-the-presidents-tariffs.html

The $200 billion in China tariffs proposed by President Trump could hit many companies close to home — including the one owned by his daughter.

Many of the handbags made by Ivanka Trump’s clothing and accessories company are made in China and will likely face the new 10 percent tariffs if taxed like other leather bags subject to the new trade penalties, according to the list of targeted products released by the U.S. Trade Representative earlier this week. Leather handbags, like the Ivanka Trump Tribeca Box Satchel bag in dove that retails for $250, for instance, are made in China and are subject to the tax, according to the list.

Ivanka Trump’s company doesn’t disclose or discuss where it’s products are made. But its handbags, shoes and much of its apparel all carry the “Made in China label.”

The company’s practice of sourcing its goods from China stands in stark contrast to President Trump’s calls for “Made in America” and his criticism of companies like Harley Davidson, which have said they plan to produce some products overseas.

Asked for comment on whether the company supported or opposed the tariffs, or what impact the tariffs could have, a spokesperson for Ivanka Trump who asked not to be identified by name said: “The Ivanka Trump brand is held to the same standards as other companies in their category.”


Offline paralambano

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Re: Ivanka Trump
« Reply #96 on: July 20, 2018, 10:32:56 am »
Kerry -

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So back to Ivanka.  Don't you think it a little weird she goes by the name Ivanka Trump?  I do.  Not only does she continue to call him father, she still uses his name.

You know, I never really thought of this. I read that there are some business women who choose to keep their maiden name. I suppose she saw some kind of value in having the Trump name attached to her dealings but I'm only guessing here.

In all years of the Times announcements analyzed, women married in Jewish ceremonies were less likely to take their husband’s name than those married in Roman Catholic ceremonies. The largest gap was in 1995, when 66 percent of Catholic women took their husband’s names and 33 percent of Jewish women reported doing so.:

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/upshot/maiden-names-on-the-rise-again.html


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Offline Kerry

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Re: Ivanka Trump
« Reply #97 on: July 20, 2018, 03:52:14 pm »
Kerry -

You know, I never really thought of this. I read that there are some business women who choose to keep their maiden name. I suppose she saw some kind of value in having the Trump name attached to her dealings but I'm only guessing here.
I always figured that; so it was something of a stunner to hear Donald say it was a liability for her.

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In all years of the Times announcements analyzed, women married in Jewish ceremonies were less likely to take their husband’s name than those married in Roman Catholic ceremonies. The largest gap was in 1995, when 66 percent of Catholic women took their husband’s names and 33 percent of Jewish women reported doing so.:

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/upshot/maiden-names-on-the-rise-again.html
Interesting and odd.  What aggravates the Ivanka situation for me is that a convert is not supposed to view her birth parents as her parents anymore.  She still calls him father and uses his name. Either she had a rabbi explain this to her and she ignored it; or her rabbis are poorly educated  -- or perhaps they knew it but thought it to their advantage to keep silent on it.

There is truth in what Ruth said, "thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."  The book of Ruth doesn't mention "baptism" so far as I know; but it's the standard Jewish practice for converts.  You go down a Gentile and come up a Jew.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikveh

Converts to Orthodox Judaism, regardless of gender, are also required to immerse in a mikveh.

While Exodus doesn't state it, I see the daughter of Pharaoh being baptized and I see her as coming up thoroughly qualified to become Moses' mother. It's said she had already converted to monotheism; and she chose the Nile, not out of reverence for it but out of defiance since so many Egyptians viewed it as a god. 

I would have thought the rabbi who oversaw Ivanka's conversion would have explained the connection between the immersion in the water and being reborn a new person and how she should consider all Israel as her parents. 

Offline paralambano

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Re: Ivanka Trump
« Reply #98 on: July 21, 2018, 09:37:59 am »
Kerry -

Quote
I always figured that; so it was something of a stunner to hear Donald say it was a liability for her.

He probably knows many are against him and it rubs off on her.

Quote
Interesting and odd.  What aggravates the Ivanka situation for me is that a convert is not supposed to view her birth parents as her parents anymore.  She still calls him father and uses his name. Either she had a rabbi explain this to her and she ignored it; or her rabbis are poorly educated  -- or perhaps they knew it but thought it to their advantage to keep silent on it.

There is truth in what Ruth said, "thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."  The book of Ruth doesn't mention "baptism" so far as I know; but it's the standard Jewish practice for converts.  You go down a Gentile and come up a Jew.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikveh

Converts to Orthodox Judaism, regardless of gender, are also required to immerse in a mikveh.

While Exodus doesn't state it, I see the daughter of Pharaoh being baptized and I see her as coming up thoroughly qualified to become Moses' mother. It's said she had already converted to monotheism; and she chose the Nile, not out of reverence for it but out of defiance since so many Egyptians viewed it as a god.

I would have thought the rabbi who oversaw Ivanka's conversion would have explained the connection between the immersion in the water and being reborn a new person and how she should consider all Israel as her parents. 

I can't speak for her Reb but I'll try to speak for another who said "Call no man on earth your father since only one is your Father in heaven". I understand that there are are sorts of claims put forth by Christian orthodoxy about "fathers of the Church", Paul and Steven using this term and Paul calling followers "children" etc. put forward by what Jesus actually meant by it but I see it both in Judaism and Christianity on a continuum -   - that is, one can see that the flesh has "parents" which is emblematic of our divine Parent and treat it as a learning device at one end of the spectrum and at the other the realization that our only-ever Parent is God. Which fits my paradigm. What we've dreamed is that we have "other" parents in matter when all the while as spiritual beings we've misinterpreted our spiritual brothers and sisters in part as flesh-parents. We move along, hopefully.

Ivanka and her Reb (as we all) are somewhere along this continuum I believe.


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Offline Kerry

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Re: Ivanka Trump
« Reply #99 on: July 22, 2018, 10:51:52 am »
Kerry -

He probably knows many are against him and it rubs off on her.

I can't speak for her Reb but I'll try to speak for another who said "Call no man on earth your father since only one is your Father in heaven". I understand that there are are sorts of claims put forth by Christian orthodoxy about "fathers of the Church", Paul and Steven using this term and Paul calling followers "children" etc. put forward by what Jesus actually meant by it but I see it both in Judaism and Christianity on a continuum -   - that is, one can see that the flesh has "parents" which is emblematic of our divine Parent and treat it as a learning device at one end of the spectrum and at the other the realization that our only-ever Parent is God. Which fits my paradigm. What we've dreamed is that we have "other" parents in matter when all the while as spiritual beings we've misinterpreted our spiritual brothers and sisters in part as flesh-parents. We move along, hopefully.
The story about Zaccheus is one of my favorites.  I think it illustrates that point.  I think Jesus saw the inner saint -- the real person -- a son of God -- when he looked at Zaccheus.  When he treated him with dignity,  he was calling that forth by means of the Living Word.  And sure enough, the Word did not return void.   Zaccheus dropped the pretense of being something else. 

Quote
Ivanka and her Reb (as we all) are somewhere along this continuum I believe.
Yes,  aren't we all?   I found out more about her rabbi.

Do you remember when the Israeli Rabbinical Court decided that some rabbis weren't really Jewish and consequently their converts couldn't be?   It turns out that Ivanka's rabbi was one of those so labeled. 

June 23, 2016 https://forward.com/news/343462/israeli-rabbinical-court-rejects-rabbi-who-converted-ivanka-trump/

A n Israeli rabbinical court did not accept a conversion by an Orthodox rabbi who also helped Ivanka Trump become Jewish.

In the latest case exemplifying the tension between Israel’s rabbinate and Orthodox groups in the Diaspora, a religious court prevented the marriage of an Israeli man and an American woman, who converted under a well-respected New York rabbi, Haskel Lookstein.

And in an unusual twist, which has brought the case into the limelight, Lookstein is also the rabbi who converted Ivanka Trump and officiated at her wedding to Jewish real-estate scion Jared Kushner, an advisor for presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

The woman in the case had converted under Lookstein in the United States but was prevented from marrying her Israeli fiance as she was deemed not Jewish.

The Orthodox Israeli rabbinate controls religious matters in the country, including marriages and funerals, and has traditionally not accepted conversions done in liberal streams of Judaism. In recent years the religious authority has also targeted conversions by Orthodox rabbis not on its list of approved authorities, which has not completely been made public.

“The irony is that this woman is very meticulous about her religious observance. She is as Jewish as I am, and as Jewish as the rabbis signed on the certificate, except in the eyes of the Petah Tikva rabbinate,” Lookstein told the New York Times, referring to the Israeli city where the rabbinical court had ruled her conversion invalid.

Israel’s education minister, Naftali Bennett, who is a member of the right-wing religious Jewish Home party, slammed the court’s ruling.

“The rabbinical court’s decision is arbitrary and odd, and must be reversed. Rabbi Lookstein is one of the leading, and most appreciated, Orthodox rabbis in the US,” he said in statement obtained by the Forward. “This mistake must be repaired immediately.”


So is she Jewish or not?   In my eyes, she is -- I tend to take people's word for things. If someone says he's a Buddhist, I take his word for it.   Conversion to Judaism can't depend on having the right rabbi.   Ruth couldn't have been considered a "real Jew" since she had no rabbi.  Indeed there was no such thing as rabbis then.   

It is interesting then that when her father is President and she visited Jerusalem, no one in Israel was saying she wasn't a real Jew.   It makes me wonder how seriously people take the findings of this rabbinical court. 

Her rabbi also gotten into hot water himself more than once over politics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haskel_Lookstein

President Obama's National Prayer Service

On January 21, 2009, Rabbi Lookstein was one of three rabbinical participants in the National Prayer Service at the National Cathedral, representing, loosely speaking, the Orthodox Jewish contingent. The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), the primary American modern-Orthodox rabbinic association, initially took exception to his presence, stating that, "participation in a prayer service held in the sanctuary of a church is prohibited", and adding: "Any member of the RCA who attends such a service does so in contravention of this policy and should not be perceived as representing the organization in any capacity."[13] After its initial statement was publicized, however, the RCA subsequently softened its stance. Rabbi Basil Herring, its executive director, issued a new statement, saying simply: "Rabbi Lookstein did not represent the Rabbinical Council of America in attending that service, and therefore, we have no comment on the matter."[14]


Jewish conversions

A woman who was converted to Judaism by Lookstein was refused recognition as a Jew by an Israeli Rabbinical Court in Petah Tikva, Israel, part of an international controversy over just who outside of the official Israeli Rabbinate will have their conversions recognized in Israel.[15][16] The controversy gained a significantly higher profile because Lookstein also converted Ivanka Trump, daughter of Donald Trump, prior to her 2009 marriage to Jared Kushner.[17] It seemed that officials of the Israeli government, which "has traditionally not accepted conversions done in liberal streams of Judaism",[15][16] were indirectly casting aspersion on Ivanka Trump's conversion. The rejection of conversions performed by Lookstein was condemned by the Jewish Agency for Israel, the large international NGO "responsible for the immigration ... and absorption of Jews and their families from the Diaspora into Israel".[15]

RNC invocation

In July 2016, Lookstein accepted the invitation of Ivanka Trump, a member of his congregation, to offer the opening invocation at the 2016 Republican National Convention. After the invitation was made public, many Kehilath Jeshurun congregants as well as Ramaz alumni signed a petition requesting Lookstein to refrain from appearing at the RNC, condemning Trump's "racist, misogynistic rhetoric".[18] Lookstein, responding to the uproar, backtracked, and in an e-mail sent out to the congregants, he explained that he was withdrawing from the RNC "in the interest of bringing our community together". His prepared remarks, which Lookstein also sent out, included the following benediction: [19] [20]

Almighty God: We know that we are living in very dangerous times, when all of these blessings are threatened from without, by forces of terror and unimaginable brutality, and from within, by those who sow the seeds of bigotry, hatred, and violence, putting our lives and our way of life at risk.

In the aftermath, some argued that the pressure put on Lookstein to withdraw was counterproductive, inferring, from the content of his prepared remarks, a subtle rebuke to then-nominee Trump.[21] [22][23]


He also got involved in the Charlottesville controversy. 



August 16, 2017

To the KJ/Ramaz Community,

On the day of the funeral of Heather Heyer, the 32 year old woman who was murdered by a vicious, white supremacist, neo-Nazi, we are all shaken by this human tragedy and all the horrible scenes from last Saturday's riot in Charlottesville and the frightening message and fallout that have consumed us since then.

We condemn the monstrous act of murder that took the life of Heather Heyer.

We are appalled by this resurgence of bigotry and antisemitism, and the renewed vigor of the neo-Nazis, KKK and alt-right.

While we always avoid politics, we are deeply troubled by the moral equivalency and equivocation President Trump has offered in his response to this act of violence.

We pray that our country heeds the voices of tolerance, and stays true to its vision of human rights and civil rights.


I think I prefer Rabbi Lookstein over the rabbinical court and other official institutions in Israel.  I found it extremely troubling that a law got passed in Israel saying only Jews had the right of self-determination.  Are Arabs, Muslims and Christians  non-humans with no rights?    So far, I haven't heard Ivanka or Kushner or their rabbi weigh on on this bigotry that flat out contradicts the tenets of Judaism.   The form of Judaism taking shape now in Israel is pure heresy to me.  Issuing Temple shekels with Trump's face was one indication -- and now this.  They are defying the Torah:

Leviticus 19:34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Numbers 9:14 And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the Lord; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.

Numbers 15:29 Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them.


It's incomprehensible to me.  Don't they remember how things went when Hitler saw the Jews as non-humans, how things went when laws got written that gave Jews fewer or no rights?    Why would they follow a similar course?  Because they're in the majority or the group in power?   

They are also defying what God said in Genesis if they are trying to drive out the descendants of Ishmael by building 100% Jewish settlements on previously Palestinian land.   The decree of God is that Ishmael and Isaac live together.

Genesis 16:11 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.


I think what Israel is doing now if wrong from a Biblical viewpoint; and we don't need religion to inform us, our consciences should inform us it is also bigoted and nasty on purely humanitarian grounds.   I find it troubling  that no one in the US seems to  speaking up, and that Trump's policy seems to be propping up Netanyahu at whatever cost.   I find it very troubling that neither Ivanka nor Kushner speak up against the racist policies of Israel but rather seem to be supporting  them.   

I ran into this  article at al-Jazreera.

July 20, 2018 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/07/hamas-kushner-greenblatt-spokespeople-israeli-occupation-180720193946073.html

Palestinian officials in Ramallah also blamed the American officials for "acting as if they were Israeli spokespeople", which they said has hurt the US standing and credibility in the region, especially among the Palestinians.

"This American administration's blind support for Israeli policies will end up [with] no one in the region taking it seriously," said Wasel Abu Yousef, a Ramallah-based official with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Kushner and Greenblatt have been tasked with reviving the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process. They are expected to present a plan about what Trump has referred to as the "deal of the century".

Yet, Abu Yousef said the current US thinking regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has no chance of succeeding.

He added that Hamas is part of the Palestinian people, and the US must first try to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Jerusalem, as well as the blockade of Gaza which would help bring peace and prosperity to the region.

"No one in the Arab world will accept the American plans which stipulate that the Palestinians must give up Jerusalem and agree to whatever Israel dictates," he said.


If someone wants to say some Palestinians have acted "like animals" in the past, I could agree with that; but that does not mean they are  animals.   They are human beings with the same rights as anyone else; and no one has the right to treat them like animals to be corralled and dictated to.   I say if Israel treated them with more dignity, they'd behave with more dignity.  Obey the advice and commandment of Moses. . . .   

It looks to me as if the Jews living in Israel today are resembling those of Jesus' time.  They saw themselves as special, favored by God as if God plays favorites.   God does not play favorites.   There is no favoritism expressed here:

Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.


Priests for whom?   It seems clear to me that Jews are on the right track when they see Gentiles as their brothers.  If Gentiles are mired in idolatry or other trappings of false religion, they are still children of God.   They need the love and intercession of people who know better.  The Jew should see the difference between Jew and Gentile as the Jew knowing something the Gentile doesn't know yet -- and the mission of the Jew is to instruct his brother, not seeing himself as special or superior because God decreed it. 

It comes back to "love thy neighbor" for me.  If the people who call themselves Jews fail to show love for others, they are not failing to obey the instructions given to them.  They've lost the vision of all men as children of God. 

What can I say then?   I see the destruction of the Second Temple being the result of the Jews in Jesus' day failing to act as loving priests to others.  They saw themselves as special and believed God played favorites.  They brought destruction down on themselves with this false vision. I fear the leaders in Israel today may be on a similar course. 

I think to myself how silent Ivanka is in some situations.  Her husband has supported the building of more Jewish settlements.  How is that not stealing land from the Palestinians?    It looks to me as if the attitude is, "We're Jews, and we're special.  We have the right to take this land.  God gave it to us, so let us drive out those who are not like us." 

I think it is also clear that the Israeli government has been emboldened by President Trump's seemingly unconditional support of whatever they do.   It's making things worse.  One reason the US withdrew from the UN's Human Rights Council was because Palestine was being talked about at every session.   

https://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2018/07/20/nikki-haley-slams-un-human-rights-council-for-being-against-israels-existence/

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley slammed the United Nations Human Rights Council as being a “bully pulpit for human rights violators” and said that its controversial Agenda Item 7 is designed to undermine Israel’s existence in an interview with the Heritage Foundation in Washington on Wednesday.
She defended her country’s withdrawal from the council, saying it was the UN’s “greatest failure.”

“More often, the Human Rights Council has provided cover, not condemnation, for the world’s most inhumane regimes. It has been a bully pulpit for human rights violators,” she told the think tank.
 
During its attempts to reform the council the U.S. tried unsuccessfully get rid of Agenda Item 7, which mandates that alleged Israeli human rights abuses are discussed at each session.


How is the law Israel passed not an egregiously racist law?    The world may condemn it; but now that the US withdrew, they won't have to try to defend it.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/19/israel-passes-law-granting-only-jews-self-determination.html

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on January 22, 2017.
Israel has passed a law declaring that only Jewish people have the right of self-determination in the country.

“This is a defining moment in the annals of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the vote in parliament on Thursday, which was enacted two months after the 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding.

Members of the Arab minority have criticized the law as “racist and verging on apartheid,” according to Reuters.

“Israel's Arabs number some 1.8 million, about 20 percent of the 9 million population,” Reuters reported. These consist mainly of descendants of Palestinians, the news agency detailed. Most are Muslim and live in the north of the country.

The new legislation was toned down from previous drafts, which were more radical. The current bill “also strips Arabic of its designation as an official language alongside Hebrew,” Reuters said.


I think Donald Trump, Jared Kushner and even Ivanka Trump are partly responsible for this law.  They have failed to hold Israel to a higher standard -- a humanitarian standard -- and the Biblical standard too.