Moralizing Media Plays Kosher Police Over Ivanka Trump’s Judaism

ashley.rae | June 16, 2017
DONATE
Font Size

The media has taken on the task of policing Ivanka Trump’s piety.

Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, are both Orthodox Jews. Trump converted to Judaism in 2009 and has said her family observes the Sabbath and keeps kosher.

Ever since Ivanka brought up her religion, the media has been trying to prove she doesn’t meet their definition of a religious Jew.

A recent piece in the New York Post claims Ivanka and her husband allegedly play golf on Saturdays instead of staying home and observing the Sabbath.

The New York Post even solicited comments from “experts in Jewish law” to claim she isn’t properly observing the faith:

But experts in Jewish law say that playing golf on Saturdays isn’t kosher — even without exchanging cash or using carts, which the couple shuns.

The Rabbinical Assembly, part of Judaism’s Conservative movement which is less strict than the Orthodox tradition embraced by Jared and Ivanka, ruled against Sabbath golf in 2015 — because golfers can create divots on the fairway.

“Both the digging and the repair of the hole . . . constitute melakhot [forbidden work],” according to the ruling.

The New York post ends its piece by noting, as an aside, “Ivanka and Jared have also been spotted dining at non-kosher restaurants in DC.”

In February, the Washingtonian explicitly asked the question, “How Kosher Are Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner?” to justify inquiring into the couple’s dietary habits.

The Washingtonian asserts that, based on their choice in restaurants, “it’s safe to say that the couple isn’t strictly observant”:

But given that Trump and Kushner are orthodox Jews, their dining choices have some murmuring: Wait, don’t they keep kosher??

Based on their dining destinations, it’s safe to say that the couple isn’t strictly observant.

“If you are very strict kosher, you’re not going to eat in any restaurant that’s not certified kosher,” says Lise Stern, author of How to Keep Kosher. For starters, non-kosher restaurants don’t use separate dishes and cookware for meat and dairy. They’re also likely not serving meat that was butchered in a kosher way. And of course there’s all the pork and shellfish.

The Washingtonian even took the liberty of demanding to know what Ivanka and her husband ate at a specific restaurant for their hit piece:

However, many Jews who keep kosher at home will dine “kosher-style” in restaurants. What that means can vary by individual, but Stern says they’re likely not eating meat at all in restaurants. (Chefs at Tosca and RPM Italian declined to comment on what Kushner and Trump ate.)

Ivanka and her husband have also been criticized for reportedly posting photos on Instagram during the Sabbath and even going to President Trump’s inauguration in a car during the Sabbath

Even the mere concept of Ivanka Trump being Jewish has been extensively questioned by the media.

The media, however, has no problem simply accepting that prolific Democrats, such as former Vice President Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are devout Catholics — regardless of their politics, dietary habits, and general behavior. Their religiosity is not questioning by many in the media; rather, it is accepted as a given.

Thank you for supporting MRCTV! As a tax-deductible, charitable organization, we rely on the support of our readers to keep us running! Keep MRCTV going with your gift here!

donate