Donald Trump’s son-in-law and former senior adviser Jared Kushner says Saudi Arabia is a safer place for Jews than college campuses in the US.
“One of the ironies is that, as an American Jew, you’re safer in Saudi Arabia right now than you are on a college campus like Columbia University,” Kushner, who is Jewish, said on “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“They let me speak freely,” Kushner, 42, said of the Saudis after returning from a trip to Saudi Arabia, where he spoke at a conference.
There has been a wave of antisemitic incidents across the US where pro-Palestinian protesters have expressed their anger against Jewish students on campus.
Columbia University was forced to postpone its Giving Day fundraiser last week as its campus continues to be plagued by tensions over the conflict in Israel. Billionaire donor Leon Cooperman has threatened to cut funding to the institution over anti-Israel activity on campus, including by a professor who called the deadly October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel “monstrous.”
New York University students — met by counter-protesters (right) — take part in a walkout fought by Students for Justice in Palestine on Oct. 25. AFP via Getty Images
On Wednesday night, Jewish students were also forced to stay inside the library at Cooper Union in New York City while protesters shouted at them from outside.
Some Jewish students heard protesters chanting, “Globalize the intifada from New York to Gaza!” according to New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn).
Kushner, scion of a wealthy American Jewish family, is very comfortable with the Saudis. After he left the Trump-era White House, his private equity firm received a $2 billion investment from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
While in the Trump administration, Kushner tried to help normalize relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
A major diplomatic breakthrough occurred in September 2020, when the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to normalize relations with Israel.
But the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel remains elusive.
Jared Kushner took a keen interest in foreign policy and the Middle East during his tenure in the Trump White House. Getty Images
Polls have shown that people in the UAE and Bahrain are skeptical of the move. The Biden administration is still working to try to foster good relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, but since Hamas’s bloody surprise attack on Israel, there have been doubts about warming tensions between the two countries.
But Kushner remains optimistic that Riyadh may still be playing ball.
“Yes, I believe they want to continue the deal with America and with Israel,” Kushner said when asked if normalization in relations could still happen.
“The agreement being discussed is not just a partnership with Israel. It also strengthens their relationship with America,” he said about Saudi Arabia.
Jared Kushner meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in September 2020.SPA/AFP via Getty Images
“We have to remember that, if America is not close to Saudi Arabia, then [the Saudis] will go the other way to China. So I think that topic is being discussed.”
Before war broke out in Israel, Biden administration officials considered entering into a joint defense agreement with Saudi Arabia as well as sharing nuclear technology with Riyadh for civilian purposes, the New York Times reported.
Under the hypothetical mutual defense agreement, which is one of the deal’s sweeteners believed to be still under consideration, both the US and Saudi Arabia would agree to militarily support the other if attacked.
Jared Kushner said he did not know many details about a potential deal being negotiated between Israel and Saudi Arabia. FOX
The Biden administration has a pretty bad relationship with the Saudis. During his 2020 campaign, President Biden suggested the oil giant would be relegated to pariah status.
He has been vocal in his criticism of the violent attack on Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Earlier this month, Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, who has served as the government’s de facto ruler, kept Secretary of State Antony Blinken waiting for hours for a meeting and did not show up until the next morning, The Washington Post reported.
Meanwhile Israel began an expanded ground offensive in the Gaza Strip to crush Hamas members, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Saturday. So far, more than 1,400 Israelis and 33 Americans have been killed in the conflict.
More than 8,000 Palestinians are estimated to have been killed by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health. The dataset has been subject to controversy because of Hamas’ track record.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
