Left to right, Elan Carr, Chanan Weissmann, moderator Liz Shrayer and William Daroff discuss Jewish relations with presidential administrations on Nov. 11, 2024, at a panel organized by the Jeish Federations of North American at their annual conference in Washington, D.C.
By Lauren Markoe
November 11, 2024
Going back to Jimmy Carter, every American president has had a liaison to the Jewish community — except Donald Trump.
Republican and Democrats — and other Jewish leaders — are urging president-elect Donald Trump to change that, and appoint one in his second administration.
It’s important, because Jews are a minority community, Chanan Weismman, liaison under both former President Barack Obama and President Biden, said on a panel called “Advising the Oval Office” Monday, organized by the Jewish Federations of North American at its annual conference.
It’s not enough that Trump’s his Jewish son-in-law, Jared Kushner was an important adviser when Trump first won the White House, Weissman said, adding that Kushner is not necessarily going to play a role in second Trump administration.
“But beyond that, he probably was somebody who had a relationship with certain individuals from certain parts of our community,” Weissman said of Kushner. “The role of the liaison is really to be the open door for all members of the Jewish community, regardless of how powerful or how much influence or the strength of the relationship.”
Elan Carr, former special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism in the first Trump administration, who also spoke on the panel, said he informally also did some of the work of a Jewish liaison. But though he said he was “astounded” by the degree to which the Trump administration took the concerns of Jewish Americans seriously, “it’s better to have one,” he said of the liaison.
“There was the internal White House dynamic, which I had access to, but I was still, you know, I had a job,” he said.
Carr said after the panel that he “cant’ say” if he would take the job if Trump offered it to him.
William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations — who was also a member of the panel, part ofg the JFNA’s General Assembly conference in Washington, D.C. — said that liaisons to the Jewish community in past administrations have had various amounts of influence.
“Who that person is, whether they’re a traffic cop or whether they’re a senior person who can actually open doors and also be a traffic cop, is important too,” he said.
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