We gathered on Tu B'Shvat, the RebirthDay of the Trees and of the sacred Tree of Life, to "trespass" on his land to rebuke his killing of these sacred trees of life. We placed a critical ad in his home-town Jewish newspaper just before Yom Kippur to call him to do tshuvah.
We voted inside and demonstrated outside when his stockholders gathered for the annual corporate meeting.
And finally, reluctantly, he sold the groves of ancient redwoods to the California and American governments to be protected.
If rabbis then could see the destruction of these trees as a violation of Torah, what could we say now about acts that cruelly destroy the lives of hard-working human beings? Could we challenge Mr. Kushner in similar ways? If we did, would we risk encouraging anti-Semitism? Or would we risk it more by keeping silent?
Tonight we face the Festival of Shavuot and read the Book of Ruth. It celebrates two people: a penniless foreigner, an immigrant from a despised and hostile nation, a woman unprotected by a man -- and a wealthy landholder who not only obeyed but affirmed the Torah's command to make sure the poor and the immigrant had dignity and a decent livelihood. Could any teaching be more clear about the malfeasance of Jared Kushner?
Since the NY Times article on Kushner's domestic business cruelties, there have emerged claims he may have negotiated with the Putin government of Russia in clandestine ways. And Politico has published an article suggesting his connections with the Lubavitch Chabad organization are intertwined with Chabad's specially cozy relationship with Putin, in a way to benefit him and his father-in-law both financially and politically. See the Poliico article here.
These allegations may or may not be accurate. They merit close study. But the cruelty of his business dealings in Baltimore and elsewhere is clear, already proved.
Most American Jews have made clear that they do not view Mr. Kushner or his kleptocratic and authoritarian bully of a father-in-law as heroes.
But the established "major" organizations have so far not rebuked such behavior by rich or powerful Jews, nor have the rabbis who might be thought to be the guardians of Torah. What more might we do to stand again at Sinai and to clarify what Judaism ought to be, in actual practice?
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