(August 11, 2023)
During his tenure in the Trump administration, Kushner was tasked with managing Middle East policy, resulting in him building a relationship with Saudi Arabia‘s Crown Prince and leading efforts to create the Abraham Accords, which established Israel‘s diplomatic relations initially with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, and later with Morocco and Sudan.
(August 11, 2023)
“I’ve been vocal that I think that what Kushner did crossed the line of ethics,” Comer said on CNN when asked to respond to Christie’s claim. “What Christie said — it happened after he left office. Still no excuse, Jake, but it happened after he left office.
Kushner hopes to mend the divide between Qatar and other Gulf nations, according to the Journal, which noted that his visit follows U.S.-brokered pacts between Israel and Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates. White House aide Avi Berkowitz, who was heavily involved in brokering the earlier deals, will accompany Kushner, the newspaper reported, adding that the negotiations will primarily involve Saudi-Qatari relations.
White House adviser Jared Kushner will travel to Qatar and Saudi Arabia this week, seeking to broker more diplomatic pacts in the Middle East in the Trump administration’s final days, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Gantz is also expected to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and other Pentagon officials in Washington on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said Monday.
Gantz is also set to discuss international policy vis-à-vis Iran and strategy for stopping its expansion and entrenchment in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also attended part of the meeting with the visiting Kushner.
„The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary were clear about their commitment to a negotiated two-state solution,” the spokesman said.
The first official flight from Israel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) landed Monday in Abu Dhabi, carrying an Israeli-American delegation to advance the landmark peace agreement between the two Middle Eastern states.
Leading the historic occasion, special White House advisor Jared Kushner addressed reporters at the airport promptly after landing, as Arab media televised the event under the title “Message of Peace.”
Kushner, O’Brien, US Special Representative for International Negotiations Avi Berkowitz and US Iran envoy Brian Hook, together with an Israeli delegation led by National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, are set to take the first-ever direct flight from Israel to the UAE on Monday, on an El Al plane bearing the word “peace” in Arabic, Hebrew and English in honor of the historic moment.
(13.08.2020)
According to Israeli media, the US president will be joined by senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, the architect of the US Middle East peace plan; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; National Security Adviser Richard O’Brien; lead negotiator Avi Berkowitz; and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who will reportedly fly back to Washington on Sunday following tête-à-têtes with Netanyahu and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz.
According to Channel 13, participants at the meetings on Monday and Tuesday will include Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser Richard O’Brien, Avi Berkowitz, Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Negotiations and Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, in addition to the US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who will fly in from Jerusalem.
In a decision that could have momentous implications for the Middle East, the Israeli Supreme Court has rejected petitions from several Israeli advocacy groups that challenged the legality of the agreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival, former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, to form a National Unity government.
(today)
The task force is also expected to include acting chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Tom Philipson and White House advisers Larry Kudlow, Peter Navarro, Chris Liddell, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
(02.04.2020)
Bennett then asked what Kushner‘s „role“ and „qualifications“ are for the alleged role — which was the subject of a Washington Post story last month.
Kushner calmly rebuffed his question and implicitly expressed doubt about the veracity of his sources.
„If some people are talking to you, that means they‘re probably not informed as to what is going on,“ the former New Jersey real estate developer and investor said.
A group of Senate Democrats want a federal watchdog to investigate the decision to change an online description of the country‘s Strategic National Stockpile following a press briefing with White House adviser Jared Kushner.
The website of the Strategic National Stockpile was edited on Friday to soften language about how the stockpile is supposed to be used by states — a day after media outlets reported that the original version contradicted a claim by senior White House official Jared Kushner.
Kushner, the president‘s son-in-law who doesn‘t often make public appearances, says he has been serving on the coronavirus task force at the direction of Vice President Mike Pence.
When asked about data showing states‘ need for equipment, Kushner said, „The notion of the federal stockpile is that it‘s supposed to be our stockpile. It‘s not supposed to be states‘ stockpiles that they then use.“
Es besteht eine echte Gefahr für außenpolitische Berater und Analysten – und insbesondere für diejenigen, denen sie dienen -, wenn sie sich in einer Blase, einem Echoraum, befinden und alle ihre Schlussfolgerungen auf fehlerhaften Eingaben beruhen. Es ist natürlich noch schlimmer, wenn sie glauben, sie könnten ihre eigene Realität schaffen und Ergebnisse erfinden, die Hand und Fuß haben.
Unter diesen Umständen laufen die Dinge selten wie geplant.
President Trump has argued that prohibiting funds for military action against Iran actually makes war more likely, as he would be restricted from the kinds of military-strikes-short-of-war like his attack on Syria after the alleged chemical attack in Douma in 2018 (claims which have recently fallen apart). The logic is faulty and reflects again the danger of believing one’s own propaganda.
Donald Trump cannot be trusted to define antisemitism for Jews. He incites deadly white nationalist violence against our communities. He calls us disloyal. When speaking to American Jews, he refers to Israel as “your country” because he believes we do not really belong here. Conflating criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism is actually antisemitic because it implies that all Jews agree with, and are responsible for, Israel’s actions.
This order will not protect our communities from Trump’s white nationalism or the violent threats we face. It will be used to target and silence human rights advocates and, in particular, Palestinian and Muslim college students.
American Jews will not allow Trump to speak for or silence us.
“Trump’s executive order is not about keeping Jews safe. After a week in which he spewed classic antisemtiic tropes about Jews and money, this is just more anti-Semitism,” wrote Emily Mayer, the political director of the Jewish advocacy group IfNotNow, in a statement. “The order’s move to define Judaism as a ‘nationality’ promotes the classically bigoted idea that American Jews are not American.”
Jared Kushner, the President‘s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, pushed for the move, according to the Times.
The definition of anti-Semitism will be adopted from the State Department, whose definition was originally formulated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the senior administration officials said.
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner met Benny Gantz, the leader of the Blue and White party, for the first time on Monday in Jerusalem.
Why it matters: This was the first meeting between Kushner and Gantz, who has 23 days to form a government. It shows that the Trump administration is adapting to the new political reality in Israel.
Kushner and Greenblatt are visiting Israel as part of a wider Middle East tour in the run-up to a planned U.S.-sponsored meeting in Bahrain meant to lure investment to the Palestinian territories.
“You present them with everything, and you give them a recommendation, and nothing happens,” said Tammy McFadden, a former Deutsche Bank anti-money laundering specialist who reviewed some of the transactions. “It’s the D.B. way. They are prone to discounting everything.”
Ms. McFadden said she was terminated last year after she raised concerns about the bank’s practices.
By most indications, the plan would not involve the creation of a Palestinian state, as the United States has sought for the last quarter-century under presidents of both political parties.
But just as they have done in their sometimes highly leveraged real estate businesses, Mr. Trump and Mr. Kushner hope to use other people’s money to achieve their goals.
Speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition gathering in Las Vegas, Trump said he made the snap decision during a discussion with his top Middle East peace advisers, including the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“I said, ‘Fellows, do me a favor. Give me a little history, quick. Want to go fast. I got a lot of things I’m working on: China, North Korea. Give me a quickie,” Trump said to laughter from the Las Vegas crowd.
(31.1.2019) The participation of the two means there could be some discussions about the Trump administration‘s Middle East peace plan
Insisting on thinking outside the box, Jared Kushner pushed Trump to build his Mideast strategy on M.B.S. and the Saudis. Now the West Wing is left with few good options. And some are joking that Kushner is probably going to take off soon for a well-timed vacation.
Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, was meant to be the linchpin of the plan, providing key diplomatic cover to both Israelis and Palestinians. But with the Saudi prince’s credibility facing serious questions following Khashoggi’s death, US President Donald Trump may soon have to rethink his Mideast strategy.
“It definitely complicates their plans to release their proposal, if indeed they have one,” said Dan Shapiro, who served as former US president Barack Obama’s ambassador to Israel.
(2.8.2018) In recent weeks, the Qatari media has been slamming the Trump administration‘s efforts to advance a regional peace plan that has come to be known as the „Deal of the Century.“ Qatari media reports and articles about this plan have described it as serving Israel‘s interests while eliminating the Palestinian cause. Furthermore, following reports in the non-Arab media that Saudi Arabia has been involved in formulating this plan, and against the backdrop of the growing crisis between Qatar and the „Arab Quartet“ – i.e. the four countries, led by Saudi Arabia, which have been boycotting Qatar for the last year – the Qatari media has been accusing Saudi Arabia and other Arab regimes of collaborating with the Trump administration and betraying the Palestinians.
(6.8.2018) Arab officials have said any peace proposal has to wait until tensions between Israel and Hamas — the Islamist movement that controls Gaza — ease and Palestinian fury over the US’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital dissipates. A US diplomat said this message had been relayed to the plan’s architects, Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, and Jason Greenblatt, the Middle East peace envoy.
An anonymous high-level Israel intel source was quoted in the Israeli media Aug. 7 as saying that the renewed US sanctions imposed this week on Iran “will bring Iran to its knees.’’ The source also argued that chances are good that the country will be forced to return to the negotiating table with the six world powers that cut the nuclear agreement and agree to a modification and to limitations on its continued expansion in the Middle East.
Sources outside the administration who are involved in the discussions over the plan told Haaretz that the Trump peace team believes their plan could be the first one ever to receive a positive answer from both Israel and major Arab countries, regardless of the Palestinian position.