Ivanka’s DC temple tumult
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are looking to join an Orthodox temple as they move their family to Washington, DC, before the inauguration.
A rep from the Kushner family inquired about membership at Ohev Sholom, the district’s oldest modern Orthodox synagogue, said a source close to the congregation.
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld — a vocal critic of Donald Trump — would not confirm any communication with the Kushners. But members of the synagogue said Trump’s power progeny is welcome to worship with them.
“We are open to everybody,” said Maryland resident Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a member of the Shepherd Park shul for 12 years. “We have a summer camp, excellent lunches on Shabbat, we are politically diverse, and there are plenty of nice homes in our neighborhood.”
The rabbi might beg to differ. Herzfeld once shouted down Donald Trump at an American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference at the Verizon Center arena in DC.
“Do not listen to this man. He is wicked. He inspires racists and bigots,” Herzfeld had said, briefly interrupting Trump’s March 21 address before security officers removed him.
Herzfeld later wrote on Facebook that he “felt the obligation as a rabbi to declare his wickedness to the world.”
The 130-year-old temple is near the Maryland border and boasts one of the largest Orthodox congregations in the capital region.
That the Kushners inquired about Ohev Sholom suggests they’re house-hunting nearby.
Wherever they worship will have to be within walking distance from their home, since Orthodox Jews cannot ride in motor vehicles on the sabbath.
Meanwhile, Washington’s churches are praying Donald Trump will grace them with his presence when he moves into the White House next month.
Trump, a Presbyterian, attended Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. Presidents Obama and Ronald Reagan worshipped at St. John’s Episcopal Church in DC, although neither was Episcopalian.
A Trump transition rep did not respond to e-mails requesting comment.