Among many moves aimed at reversing his predecessor’s policies, President Trump recently decided not to make public the White House visitors logs. Had they been open, the lists would reveal the profound change 100 days of a Trump administration had brought about to the Jewish community’s power structure.
“The atmosphere has changed, at least for us. There’s a sense of familiarity and greater receptivity and that makes a better atmosphere,” said Abba Cohen, vice president for federal affairs at Agudath Israel of America, a group representing the ultra-Orthodox stream.
Liberal-leaning Jewish activists, once the backbone of communal advocacy, had been pushed aside in favor of a new elite made up of activists who are more conservative in their politics and more Orthodox in their religious practice. The new leaders representing American Jewish interests in the White House are keen to shape policy on education and religious expression and to ensure a pro-Israel stance more in line with the Netanyahu government.
Agudah may speak for a relatively small portion of the Jewish community, but it succeeded in landing the first White House meeting among all Jewish groups.
On March 8, leaders of the organization visited the White House and sat down with Trump’s policy advisers, including counterterrorism advisor Sebastian Gorka and Boris Epshteyn, who has since left his position in Trump’s communication team. They were also the first to meet with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, an appointment favored by the group, which wants to expand the use of public funds for parochial education.
Agudah has also found shared interests with the Trump administration on an interpretation of religious freedom which would allow more leeway for faith groups to avoid anti-discrimination rules on hiring, school curriculum and healthcare. But Cohen, one of the longest-serving Washington representatives of major Jewish groups, said that it’s about more than policy.
In the Trump White House, which critics have deemed insensitive to Jewish issues, Orthodox activists have found allies. “The more I learn about the administration, I learn that there are more Jews there who are active in Jewish life,” he said, pointing to Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, international negotiations envoy Jason Greenblatt, and David Friedman, the new ambassador to Israel, all of whom are Orthodox. “They have an intimate knowledge of the Jewish community and of Israel and that makes the difference.”
But there’s also the personal aspect. With the center of gravity moving from Washington, D.C. and New York’s Upper West Side to New Jersey and Long Island’s modern Orthodox enclaves, a new power structure is emerging, one that was forged in the pews of Teaneck synagogues and at New York religious school fundraisers.