Kushner failed to disclose his heading of settlement foundation

NEW YORK (JTA) – Jared Kushner did not disclose on government filings his position as a director of a family foundation that funded projects in West Bank settlements.

Kushner’s position as co-director of the Charles and Seryl Kushner Foundation from 2006 to 2015 – when the foundation donated at least $38,000 to the building of a Jewish seminary in the West Bank settlement of Beit El and an additional $20,000 to Jewish and educational institutions in other settlements – was not disclosed on his filings with the Office of Government Ethics, Newsweek reported Sunday.

The revelation comes two days after reports that Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s Jewish son-in-law and a White House senior adviser, attempted to stop a vote on an anti-settlement resolution that passed during the Trump transition period.

The State Department has traditionally labeled the settlements as an impediment or “unhelpful” to a two-state solution, but charitable donations to institutions there are legal under US law.

Kushner has amended his financial records several times since his first filing with the government ethics office in March, and has also made three revisions to his security clearance application.

Newsweek reported that Kushner’s omission was first discovered by a team of researchers at American Bridge, a progressive research and communications organization. The group shared the discovery with Newsweek on Friday afternoon and its researchers suggested that Kushner’s failure to disclose his position may have been an attempt to avoid “potential conflicts with his job negotiating Middle East peace.”

Had Kushner disclosed his position in the foundation in his records, his involvement with the settlement donations – as well as potential conflicts of interest with his government position – may have been considered by the Office of Government Ethics.