Jason Greenblatt Image by Getty Images

By Laura E. Adkins January 23, 2020

(JTA) — Jason Greenblatt said he left his position as special representative for international negotiations in the Trump administration because of political turbulence in Israel — and the financial cost of raising an Orthodox family in America.

In an interview with Mishpacha Magazine, one of the most widely read haredi Orthodox weeklies, Greenblatt said he decided to leave when it seemed clear that a third round of Israeli elections in less than a year was likely.

“Once I did the math and realized that there’s an impasse and it might mean long months in which we couldn’t move forward, I felt like it was appropriate to step down,” he said. “I had already stayed longer than I’d committed to.” 

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Greenblatt was part of the team led by Jared Kushner, a top presidential adviser and Trump’s son-in-law, that was drafting a Middle East peace plan. That plan has never been revealed in its entirety.

Greenblatt does not plan on returning to the Trump administration, though he “hope[s] he wins again.”

Despite feeling that his service was important, it wasn’t necessarily financially or personally sustainable.

“We have six children with yeshiva tuitions and the relevant expenses, and for the last three years, we were cutting into savings significantly,” he told Mishpacha. “Naomi and the children were packing up and driving up to D.C. almost every Shabbos. I couldn’t often get away. It was a crazy lifestyle. They were amazing years, but it wasn’t family life.”

Greenblatt also is not planning on returning to his plush job as a top lawyer in the Trump Organization anytime soon.

“If the president isn’t there, the big deals aren’t happening and I’m not needed,” he said.

But that doesn’t mean he’s going to be writing a tell-all.

“I have no bombshell revelations,” Greenblatt said. “I have tremendous respect for President Trump and his family, and I try hard not to speak lashon hara [evil speech] and to avoid rechilus [gossip]. I try to be a mensch.”

The post Jason Greenblatt says he left Trump administration due to Israeli political turbulence — and yeshiva tuitions appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re in the middle of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount