Rabbi Haskel Lookstein Image by YouTube

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, the prominent modern Orthodox rabbi who oversaw Ivanka Trump’s conversion to Judaism, said he is not the rabbi who gave the first daughter and her husband, Jared Kushner a dispensation to fly on Air Force One on Shabbat.

Lookstein told Isaac Herzog, leader of the opposition Zionist Union party, that it was “fake news” that he had given them permission to travel by plane on Shabbat for President Donald Trump’s first international trip, the daily Yediot Acharonot newspaper reported on Sunday. The report was picked up by several Israeli newspapers in advance of Trump’s arrival on Monday afternoon.

Lookstein also told Herzog, according to Yediot, that he had not been in contact with Ivanka Trump for several weeks. The couple moved to Washington DC shortly after Donald Trump was elected, and both serve as official advisers to the president.

The couple also was seen traveling to meetings by car in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

A White House official, reported by Politico on Friday, said the couple, who are Orthodox Jews, received a rabbinical dispensation to join the president aboard Air Force One when he off on his first overseas trip on Friday, according to the report.

Here is why I'm matching up to $36,000 in gifts to the Forward:

Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.

I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.

The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.

That’s why I’m paying it Forward, by matching $36,000 of reader gifts. It’s an investment in the Forward’s newsroom, to continue telling the American Jewish story with truth and independence.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Will you help support the Forward's work today?

— Joel Brown, Forward board chair

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT