The man behind Trump’s peace plan
JASON GREENBLATT, former Special Representative on Israel for President Trump, says that when he left his White House role last September, a former peace process advisor told him, “It’s like the Eagles’ song, Hotel California: you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave! I now realise exactly what he means”.
Mr. Greenblatt, who co-authored the “Peace to Prosperity” plan with Jared Kushner, President Trump‘s son-inlaw, and David Friedman, US Ambassador to Israel, says that his “heart and soul were touched by the people of the region, Israelis, Palestinians and Arabs, both in leadership and ordinary people”.
This February he joined the board of Our Crowd, a crowdfunding platform aimed at investing in projects in the Middle East, but he remains in regular contact with diplomats, politicians and contacts built up during his years in Washington, “so I spend a lot of time still talking about the conflict with all my contacts and still trying to help where I can”.
Mr. Greenblatt, who lives with his wife Naomi and their six children in Teaneck, New Jersey, says his orthodox Judaism has helped in building bridges with potential peace partners. “I’m often asked if three Orthodox Jews were the right choice for this and I would argue it’s quite the opposite.
Religion is so important in this region that my being a religious person is only enhanced and I was only shown tremendous respect.
“They found me a private place to pray and put on my tefillin, catering for my kosher dietary requirements — as, by the way, did the Palestinian Authority, who went out of their way to make sure that I was properly fed. I understand when they have to go pray as well. There’s an unspoken understanding about how important religion and family are, for that matter, what it means to us and why it’s important to solve this conflict, so I feel blessed that I had the opportunity. “I think my being religious was not a negative but a positive, but that doesn’t mean that those who aren’t religious couldn’t also play a significant role or perhaps even solve it”.
Mr. Greenblatt outlines his vision to me in the plan: “It’s an opportunity for the next generation of everybody in the region. Israelis, Palestinians and all of the countries that surround them”.
He reflects on being a first-generation American given this special responsibility. His father and mother arrived in the US in 1941 and 1956 respectively. They were penniless Jewish immigrants, victims of both
My Hungarian grandparents would never, ever have believed it’
Nazism and Communism. He marvels at the chances his country has given.
He says: “To be given this tremendous opportunity to try to help improve the lives of millions and millions of people, I think that if my grandparents in Hungary saw that path, they never, ever would have believed it, so I consider myself extraordinarily fortunate
to have grown up in the USA.
On the Coronavirus pandemic and civil disturbances brought about by the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, Mr. Greenblatt adds, “We, like so many countries, are going through some challenging times at the moment and I think my outlook at what is going on is heavily shaped by
the experience that I know the prior generation of mine in Europe faced, and how fortunate I was to grow up here in this blessed country”.
Jason Greenblatt was speaking to Jonny Gould for his “Jonny Gould’s Jewish State” podcast, which is available to download.