Kushner’s family firm deepens Israeli ties
In May, Jared Kushner accompanied President Donald Trump, his fatherin-law, on the pair’s first diplomatic trip to Israel, part of Kushner’s White House assignment to achieve peace in the Middle East.
Shortly before, his family real estate company received a roughly $30 million investment from Menora Mivtachim, an insurer that is one of Israel’s largest financial institutions, according to a Menora executive.
The deal, which was not made public, pumped significant new equity into 10 apartment complexes in and around Baltimore that are controlled by Kushner’s firm. Although Kushner has sold parts of his business since taking a White House job last year, he still has stakes in most of the family empire — including the apartment buildings.
The Menora transaction is the latest financial arrangement that has surfaced between Kushner’s family business and Israeli partners, including one of the country’s wealthiest families and a large Israeli bank that is the subject of a U.S. criminal investigation.
The business dealings don’t appear to violate federal ethics laws, which require Kushner to recuse himself only from narrow government decisions that would have a “direct and predictable effect” on his financial interests. And no evidence has emerged that Kushner was personally involved in brokering the deal.
But the deal illustrates how the Kushner Cos.’ extensive financial ties to Israel continue to deepen, which could undermine the ability of the United States to be seen as an independent broker in the Middle East. The Trump administration inflamed tensions there when it said last month that it recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will move the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv.
“I think it’s reasonable for people to ask whether his business interests are somehow affecting his judgment,” said Matthew T. Sanderson, a lawyer in Washington who specializes in government ethics and was general counsel to Sen. Rand Paul’s presidential campaign.
Raj Shah, a deputy White House press secretary, said Kushner “takes the ethics rules very seriously and would never compromise himself or the administration.”
Christine Taylor, a spokeswoman for Kushner Cos., said it has partners around the world. It “does no business,” she said, “with foreign sovereigns or governments, and is not precluded from doing business with any foreign company simply because Jared is working in the government.”
Ran Markman, Menora’s head of real estate, said he has never met Kushner and negotiated the deal with Kushner Cos.’ president, Laurent Morali, with political connections playing no role.