Kushner’s ties to Israel raise bias questions
Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser has deep personal and business connections
JERUSALEM — Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, has deep business and personal ties to Israel that could raise questions about his ability to serve as an honest broker as he oversees the White House’s Mideast peace efforts.
But some say these ties, which include a previously undisclosed real estate deal in New Jersey with a major Israeli insurer, may give Kushner a surprising advantage as he is expected to launch the first peace talks of the Trump era. Having the trust of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the thinking goes, could make Kushner well positioned to extract concessions from the hard-line Israeli leader.
These relationships, along with a personal friendship with Netanyahu and past links to the West Bank settler movement, could emerge as potential stumbling blocks by creating an appearance of bias.
“Financial investments in Israel would seem to only further complicate conflicts of interest issues,” said Larry Noble, senior director of regulatory programs and general counsel at Campaign Legal Center, a group that advocates for strong enforcement of campaign finance laws.
Zalman Shoval, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and co-chairman of an Israeli real estate fund that counts Kushner’s father, Charles, among its backers, said he doesn’t know Jared Kushner personally but thinks his affiliations to Israel will be helpful in peace negotiations.
“There’s trust. When there’s trust on one side, there can also be a more conciliatory attitude on that side,” Shoval said.
Prominent Palestinian politician Jibril Rajoub said Trump made clear to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a recent phone call that he was his “strategic partner” in making a “real and serious” peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
“There is very, very positive progress,” Rajoub said.
Diplomacy role unclear
While Kushner’s role in Mideast diplomacy remains unclear, Trump has said his son-in-law will work to “broker a Middle East peace deal.”
Last week, Jason Greenblatt, a White House envoy who reports to Kushner, paid his first official visit to the region, holding a series of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials on what was billed as a listening tour to sound out the sides.
As the U.S. pushes forward, Kushner’s family’s business and personal ties have raised questions over his ability to mediate.
“Of course the Palestinians are not happy dealing with Jared Kushner … but they have no other options,” said Palestinian political analyst Jehad Harb. “Kushner and the whole new American team assigned to handle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict … have very close ties with settlements (and) it’s unlikely they are going to understand the Palestinian demand of dismantling most of the Jewish settlements, but the Palestinian Authority cannot say no at this stage.”
Indeed, Palestinian officials appear very mindful about alienating the new U.S. administration with going public with grievances about a feared bias. And they seem genuinely relieved in recent weeks to be in contact with various U.S. envoys.
Deal with Israeli firm
The newly disclosed deal with Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd., one of Israel’s biggest financial groups, was for a multifamily residential building in New Jersey with Kushner. Both companies continue to collect tenants’ rent payments.
Harel said it has also partnered with Kushner on a much larger deal: A consortium of lenders that provided some $50 million to the Chetrit Group and JDS Development, two New York real estate firms that are trying to build a 73-story residential tower. The loan was repaid and “yielded a handsome profit,” Harel said in a statement.
A Kushner Companies spokeswoman, Risa Heller, said the loan for the Brooklyn project was paid off, but she declined to say if Kushner has sold his interest in the New Jersey property.
Kushner joined the White House as a senior adviser in January. As a condition to taking the job, he agreed to file a financial disclosure report and divest holdings that could create a conflict of interest.
While Kushner has divested himself of some financial interests, the assets were put in a trust run by relatives, presenting the potential for a conflict of interest, said Noble, the campaign finance advocate.
The Kushner Companies also confirmed having a “longstanding relationship” with two Israeli banks, Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi. Both banks declined to comment.
The Trump administration has inherited a Justice Department investigation into allegations that Bank Hapoalim helped American clients evade taxes, and the bank could reach a settlement this year. Bank Leumi also allegedly helped U.S. customers evade U.S. taxes from 2002-2010, and reached a settlement with the Justice Department in 2014 to pay $400 million.
There is no evidence that Kushner Companies was connected to either investigation, and the Justice Department declined to comment.
Co-director of foundation
Trump’s son-in-law was also co-director of a family foundation that donated tens of thousands of dollars to Jewish settlement groups in the West Bank, according to U.S. tax records. The family also donated at least $298,600 to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, an organization that runs educational and cultural programs for Israeli soldiers, between 2010 and 2012, according to the tax records.
Palestinians and most of the international community consider Jewish settlements to be obstacles to peace because they are built on territory captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war that Palestinians want for a future state. The Palestinians also revile the Israeli military after decades of bloodshed.
Kushner and his family also have longstanding personal ties to Netanyahu. At a White House news conference last month, Netanyahu joked that he has known Kushner since he was a boy.