Chabad Shluchim Meet With President Trump in Oval Office

A large delegation of Chabad shluchim and organization leaders were granted an audience with President Donald Trump Monday.

Shluchim also met with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Martin Marks, White House Director of Jewish Engagement, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf and Commerce Secretary Hon. Howard Lutnick.

The delegation was led by Rabbi Abraham Shemtov, Chairman, Agudas Chassidei Chabad.

As part of the event, shluchim presented Trump with a replica of the plaque honoring the President’s father, Fred Trump, given in recognition of his assistance in building the Beachhaven Jewish Center, as well as a silver tzedaka box, representing the President’s manu charitable activities.

“The plaque lauds Fred Trump in 1956 by Rabbi Israel Wagner, who himself was a holocaust survivor and the Rov of the shul,” Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Shliach of Washington DC told Belaaz. “It was very emotional for president Trump to see how his father was honored also for being good to Yidden, back then when nobody was.”

Rabbi Shemtov shared a full account of the event:

“Despite a very heavy news day, a delegation from Chabad-Lubavitch was honored to have a scheduled meeting with the President. We were grateful for the rescheduled opportunity to mark Education and Sharing Day, which the President proclaimed in honor of the [Lubavitcher] Rebbe’s birthday, and to extend our best wishes to him for the coming year in observance of the Jewish High Holidays.

“We presented him with several gifts, including a silver tzedaka box to symbolize the importance of sharing and giving, as well as a special plaque. The plaque is a replica of one that hangs in the Beach Haven Jewish Center, a synagogue built on land generously donated by President Trump’s father, Fred C. Trump.

“His father was exceptionally generous to Holocaust survivors and, later, to Jewish émigrés from the Soviet Union. When many were unemployed, he allowed them to live in his properties rent-free until they could get on their feet. The community in Beach Haven davened in a garage for two years until he told them, “No more.” He not only gave them the land but also helped them build a synagogue and personally wrote the check that retired its mortgage. He was a guest of honor at their annual dinner and was a consistent donor for many years.

“To illustrate this history, we also presented the President with a booklet showing records of his father’s donations over the years.

“Our message in presenting these items was to highlight that the love and support for the Jewish community and for Israel is a family tradition. There is a legacy of supporting the Jewish people, both after the Holocaust,our worst calamity, nd now, after October 7th, the worst tragedy to befall us since.

“The President, in turn, expressed once again his strong support for the Jewish people and for Israel, echoing his recent statement: “I am on the side of Israel, and I always have been my entire life.” We showed him how this support extends back through his father, who was first honored with the original plaque in 1956, and in 1968, underscoring a multi-generational commitment that we remember and cherish.

“The President was visibly moved. He spoke about his visit to the Ohel [the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s kever] and lauded the work of, and his relationship with, the Jewish community, and specifically the Chabad-Lubavitch community.

“The meeting took place privately, and the official photo was released shortly after we met. It was an amazing experience. The President was in a very uplifted mood. He wished us all a Happy New Year, and we extended the same wishes to him. At the conclusion of our 20-minute meeting, we all posed for a photo, and he graciously presented each member of the delegation with a presidential challenge coin.”