It’s In the Blood: The Trump Family's Multiple Generations of Fealty to Jewish Power

The time has come to recognize that populism is a vehicle for Zionism.

A persistent excuse among Donald Trump supporters for his unwavering loyalty to Israeli priorities is the claim that he’s been unduly influenced by misguided counselors during his political tenure.

But this comforting illusion overlooks a well-documented trail of deep involvement and backing from the Jewish community stretching back over 40 years, originating in ties that predated his political ambitions. This record—from his father’s charitable endeavors to Donald’s own consistent participation in Jewish groups—paints a far less palatable reality for those Trump loyalists who persist in the fantasy that he’s a true “America First” patriot undermined only by disloyal elements within his inner circle.

Before Donald, There Was Fred

The foundation of this relationship begins with the biggest influence in Donald Trump’s life, his father Frederick Christ Trump. As a Brooklyn real estate developer, Fred welcomed plenty of Jewish tenants to his properties. Through these relationships, Fred became a generous donor to Jewish and Israeli causes. He made generous donations to the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, supported Israel bonds, and served as treasurer of an Israeli benefit concert. His involvement was so extensive that some believed he belonged to the Jewish faith.

The elder Trump’s most enduring contribution came in 1956, when he donated land to the Talmud Torah of the Beach Haven Jewish Center in Flatbush, New York. The Center still operates today, offering programs for youth and elderly while maintaining an active synagogue. A plaque in the Beach Haven building reads “Fred C. Trump, Humanitarian: A Sagacious Man Person Deserving of Every Plaudit and Tribute given by Our Community.”

In the early 1950s, Fred Trump initiated what would become a 48 to 49 year friendship with Rabbi Israel Wagner, who served as rabbi of Beach Haven. Wagner’s congregation had been meeting in an underground parking garage in one of Fred Trump’s Beach Haven development buildings. When the congregation outgrew this space, Rabbi Wagner approached Fred Trump for assistance. The two men hit it off immediately despite the timing being less than six years after the end of World War II. Both of Fred Trump’s parents were German immigrants, yet the rabbi and the Lutheran developer formed an unlikely bond.

Trump donated land at 723 Avenue Z in Brooklyn for construction of the Beach Haven Jewish Center synagogue, which remains active today. A deed of sale from October 1955 shows the land officially transferring from Fred Trump to the Jewish center for $10. Trump also financed much of the construction costs, attending the 1956 cornerstone laying ceremony personally. Fred Trump located his offices in Beach Haven and regularly visited the synagogue to converse with Wagner, whom he affectionately called “my rabbi.” Trump attended the synagogue’s annual fundraising dinners each year, bringing his entire family including the young Donald.

Their friendship lasted until Fred Trump’s death in 1999, with Rabbi Wagner and his wife attending Fred Trump’s wake. At the funeral, Donald Trump approached Rabbi Wagner’s widow and told her, “Rebbetzin, you should know that your husband was not only a good friend of my father, but he was also my father’s rabbi.” The young Donald Trump was present at the synagogue throughout his youth and witnessed his father’s relationship with the Jewish community. According to Rabbi Wagner’s son, Shmuel, he has vivid recollections of Fred Trump’s son, “a wild, blond haired youth of 14 and 15” who would accompany his father to the synagogue on Sunday mornings for prayers.

Fred Trump’s commitment extended beyond charitable giving into personal friendship. During the 1980s, he became friends with Benjamin Netanyahu, then serving as Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations in Manhattan. This relationship between the Trump family and Netanyahu would continue for decades, eventually playing a significant role in U.S. Israeli relations during Donald Trump’s presidency.

Donald Trump’s Long Paper Trail of Loyalty to Jewish Causes

Donald Trump followed his father’s pattern of supporting Jewish causes, beginning early in his career. In 1976, he received the Humanitarian Award from Jewish National Health, a Denver hospital conducting research and treatment in respiratory and related disorders. Seven years later, in March 1983, Trump was awarded the prestigious Tree of Life award by the Jewish National Fund (JNF), the highest humanitarian award honoring individuals “in appreciation of their outstanding community involvement, dedication to the cause of American Israeli friendship, and devotion to peace and the security of human life.”

Trump’s involvement with Jewish causes extended to supporting infrastructure development in Israel itself. During the late 1970s and 1980s, he donated to help build new infrastructure in the Israeli Negev for Jews evacuated from the Sinai under terms of Israel’s peace treaty with Egypt in 1979. His donations were used to build greenhouses, homes, and roads for evacuees. A plaque bearing Trump’s name in English and Hebrew appears on a wall in Moshav Dekel, in the Eshkol region.

JNF officials said that Trump was part of a consortium of donors involved in various projects in Israel, including financing a playground in the town of Yokneam and another in Sufa, a kibbutz in southern Israel. In 2003, he joined a group of New York donors who gave to JNF to finance construction of a reservoir in the western Negev. Two years later, Trump contributed toward creating new communities for Israelis who were evacuated from the Gaza Strip. According to former JNF chairman Effie Stenzler, the Israeli government requested assistance from Jewish organizations, and Trump responded.

Trump’s fundraising efforts proved equally substantial. In 1985, he was Chairman of JNF’s Annual Real Estate Divisions Dinner Dance, where over $700K was raised, the largest fundraising affair ever for any JNF event at that time. The previous year, on July 4, 1984, he attended the American Friends of Hebrew University Annual Sports Award Fundraising Dinner memorializing the 11 murdered Israeli athletes from the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Trump continued supporting Jewish organizations financially. In June 2000, he received the Hotel and Real Estate Visionary of the Century award from the UJA Federation of New York. He gave the organization a $25,000 donation in 2012 and another $15,000 in 2014.

Trump gave a $10,000 donation to the Museum of Jewish Heritage in 2003 and a gift in 2012 for general operating expenses amounting to $100,000, an amount which puts Trump’s name on the museum’s wall of contributors. He has also been a regular contributor to

Friends of Israel Defense Forces, an organization where his son in law Jared Kushner is a member of the national board. An ADL spokesman said Trump had donated a total of $56,000 to the ADL since the 1970s.

In 2014 alone, Trump donated $3,750 to the Institute for Jewish Humanities, $5,000 to the Jewish Community Relations Council of NY, $2,500 to the Gurwin Jewish Geriatric Center, and $18,000 to the American Friends of the Jaffa Institute, a nonprofit child welfare agency in Israel. In 2003, he donated $10,000 to American Friends of Beit El Institutions, a fund for religious institutions in the Jewish community of Beit El in Samaria, making the donation in honor of his lawyer David Friedman, who served as its President.

Trump’s public support for Israel manifested in various ways beyond financial contributions. In 2004, he was chosen to be the grand marshal of the Salute to Israel Parade, the largest single gathering in support of Israel, with an estimated 1 million spectators, 40 floats, 16 marching bands and dozens of entertainers. Photos from May 23, 2004 show Trump marching as Grand Marshal. In 2014, he pledged to donate more than $100,000 to the Israeli emergency rescue service, United Hatzalah, for the purchase of four ambulances, though a 2016 Washington Post investigation found no record of this pledge being fulfilled in Trump Foundation records.

In 2015, Trump received the Liberty Award from The Algemeiner for his contributions to U.S. Israel relations. Trump accepted the award at The Algemeiner’s ‘Jewish 100’ Gala in NYC and was introduced by his daughter Ivanka. At that event, Trump said “I have a Jewish daughter. This wasn’t in the plan, but I’m very glad it happened.” He also added, “We love Israel. We will fight for Israel 100 percent, 1000 percent. It will be there forever.”

Trump’s daughter Ivanka’s conversion to Judaism in 2009 represented a personal dimension to the family’s Jewish connections. In late 2016, Ivanka visited a Florida synagogue and spoke to the audience about her father’s reaction to her conversion. “There was no question, there was no argument,” she said, adding that her father supported her “from day one.”

Trump’s business interests in Israel, while ultimately unrealized, demonstrated ongoing engagement with the country. In 2006, he announced plans to build Trump Tower Israel in Ramat Gan, a city on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. The tower was supposed to be a 70 story luxury apartment building. Trump and Crescent Heights signed a licensing deal and purchased land for $44 million, but the land was sold in 2007 for $80 million and the project never materialized.

In 2008, Trump sent his daughter Ivanka to Israel to study the local real estate market. She toured construction sites and announced the company was looking into investing in luxury residential towers. In 2013, Trump announced plans to build Israel’s first Trump golf course in Ashkelon, which would have included a resort village, convention hall, country club, and commercial shops. This project also never came to fruition.

Trump’s political support for Israeli leadership became evident in 2013, when he appeared in a video from his Manhattan office endorsing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “My name is Donald Trump and I’m a big fan of Israel,” Trump said in the 36 second video. “Frankly, a strong prime minister is a strong Israel.” Trump later told Shalom TV that Netanyahu called and asked if he would “do an ad or a statement” to support his campaign, saying “I said absolutely.”

The Trump Family and the Hebraic Helping Hand

When the Trump family encountered obstacles on their path to prominence, the Jewish community would occasionally lend them a helping hand. Fred Trump’s preference for Jewish tenants emerged prominently during a 1973 Justice Department housing discrimination lawsuit. According to FBI documents released in 2017, former Trump employees testified that Trump Management instructed rental agents to rent only to “Jews and executives” while discouraging rental to Blacks. This formed part of one of the largest housing discrimination cases filed by the Justice Department in October 1973 against Fred Trump, Donald Trump, and Trump Management Inc. for violating the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

Many Trump properties were located in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, a neighborhood inhabited primarily by first- and second-generation Yiddish speaking Jews from the Pale of Settlement. Beginning in the 1970s, Brighton Beach experienced a massive influx of Soviet Jews, earning it the moniker Little Odessa. In this context, Fred Trump developed properties that catered specifically to Jewish tenants.

The Trumps retained Roy Cohn, the notorious attorney and fixer, to defend them in the housing discrimination lawsuit. Cohn and Trump first met in 1973 at Le Club, an exclusive Manhattan nightclub on East 55th Street. The 27-year-old-Trump, eager to establish himself in Manhattan real estate, found in Cohn both a legal defender and a mentor who would shape his approach to business, media, and confrontation for decades to come.

Cohn served as Donald Trump’s personal attorney from the early 1970s until his death in 1986. Multiple sources confirm Cohn’s role far transcended that of legal counsel. He became Trump’s closest advisor, mentor, and friend. Cohn was an eminent legal fixer among the most connected men in New York, who facilitated Trump’s entry into Manhattan commercial real estate by embedding him in powerful social and political networks.

Born into a privileged Jewish family, Cohn’s father Albert was a New York Supreme Court justice influential in the Bronx Democratic machine. After graduating from Columbia Law School, Cohn became an assistant U.S. attorney and famously served as chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy during the anti-communist hearings of the 1950s, where he made his reputation through aggressive tactics and ruthless pursuit of perceived enemies.

On a shadier note, Donald Trump has had connections with some of the more unsavory factions of American Jewry. As Substack writer Exore1 has previously reported, Donald Trump had close ties with Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and her father Robert Maxwell—an Israeli intelligence asset and media tycoon—since at least the late 1980s. Trump attended an exclusive 1989 party on Robert Maxwell’s yacht.

Journalists Gordon Thomas and Martin Dillon reported Robert Maxwell linked the KGB, Israeli intelligence, and Russia’s Jewish oligarchs in the 1980s, using shell companies for capital flight and money laundering. He collaborated with money launderer Semion Mogilevich, helping him and other Soviet Jewish “refuseniks” obtain Israeli passports and relocate West.

In a 2002 New York magazine profile, Trump said of Epstein: “I’ve known Jeff [Epstein] for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it – Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”

After his Mar-a-Lago purchase, Trump and Epstein attended Palm Beach events like a 1992 pre-pageant dinner and socialized in New York. Epstein’s pilot confirmed multiple flights by Trump on his jet. A source told The Washington Post they were “tight” wingmen. Mark Epstein, Jeffrey Epstein’s, stated, “they were good friends… I know [Trump] is trying to distance himself, but they were.”

When Trump relocates the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem or orders unprecedented attacks on Iran’s nuclear program, these aren’t slips influenced by rogue advisors but hallmarks of Trump’s ingrained fealty to Jewish interests—a service his family has rendered loyally for generation. Recognizing Trump’s judeo-accelerationist agenda shatters the illusion that populism offers a path to true political transformation.

As it stands, populism on both sides of the pond is merely a vector for advancing Zionist interests. Donald Trump is merely the American frontman for this transnational political operation.

---

NEXT: