Why is there a Hebrew plaque in Trump’s office in ‘The Apprentice’ movie and what does it say?
The story behind the award from the Jewish National Fund involves two Israeli playgrounds and a Liza Minnelli look-alike
Donald Trump’s office in Trump Tower, as seen in 2016. On the wall is an award from the Jewish National Fund with the Hebrew words “Etz Chaim,” meaning Tree of Life. Photo by David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images
By Benyamin Cohen October 14, 2024
In The Apprentice, a new film set in the 1970s and ’80s about a young Donald Trump and his business mentor, pugnacious Jewish attorney Roy Cohn, the producers spent much time recreating Trump’s actual office. Located on the 25th floor of Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan, the office overlooks Central Park, and appears in the film as it was in the mid-1980s.
On the wall in Trump’s office in the film is a piece of art: a tree whose branches surround the Ten Commandments. Across it are the words “Etz Chaim,” Hebrew for “Tree of Life.” Viewers glimpse it for just moments in the movie, but the award made a lasting impression on Trump.
During a Feb. 2016 office tour Trump gave to The Washington Post, the future president proudly points to the same Tree of Life award.
“These awards are given to me by the Jewish community for different things,” Trump said in a video of the tour, pointing to a few items on the wall. “This is the Tree of Life, which is a very big award in terms of everything that I stand for. It means so much to me. A lot of times, I’ll have friends of mine come in — Jewish — and they will see the Tree of Life, and they’ll say, ‘Wow, what a great thing.’”
The Tree of Life award is handed out by regional chapters of Jewish National Fund-USA. A 38-year-old Trump received his on March 1, 1983, from the JNF’s tri-state region at a real estate-focused event.
The plaque on Trump’s award reads: “In recognition of his outstanding contributions to his city and to the real estate industry, strong humanitarian interest and support of Israel.”
Trump received the award shortly after he donated to the construction of two playgrounds, a park and a reservoir in Israel. (At least one of those parks has since been torn down “because it was deemed unsafe,” according to one local resident.) Trump also contributed funds to help Israelis evacuate the Sinai desert and resettle in Southern Israel — near Egypt and the Gaza Strip — as part of an Israel-Egypt peace agreement signed in 1979.
A writeup of the event where Trump received the award, held at New York City’s Grand Hyatt Hotel, called the affair with 1,500 attendees “the most successful of JNF’s history and one of the most fabulous events that we have covered.” Entertainment included mimes and a Liza Minnelli look-alike. Roy Cohn, “who wore a gray tuxedo among the many black tuxes,” was also in attendance.
A controversy over another regional Tree of Life award erupted in October 2017, during the height of the #MeToo movement, when the Los Angeles chapter of the JNF gave the award to Brett Ratner, a Hollywood producer accused of sexual misconduct. (Ratner has denied the allegations.) Israeli actress Gal Gadot was supposed to present Ratner with the award, but backed out days before the event, citing a scheduling conflict. Patty Jenkins, the Wonder Woman director who has worked with Ratner since 1994, stepped in to give him the award instead.
Most coveted item on the wall
In the 2016 tour of his office, Trump also points to another Jewish award on his wall, something he refers to as the “Shalom Humanitarian Award.”
Also on the office wall in Trump Tower are framed magazines — including Fortune, GQ, Newsweek and Playboy — that feature Trump on the cover. Alongside that is perhaps Trump’s most prized artifact: a glass-encased page from the Nielson ratings published in a 2004 issue of Variety after the airing of the first season finale of The Apprentice, the TV show that skyrocketed him to national prominence. It was the No. 1 show of the week with 40 million viewers.
“He doesn’t dare touch this valuable document, something that seems to carry as much value to him as the U.S. Constitution, if not more,” wrote Ramin Setoodeh, the author of a new book about the TV series, who interviewed Trump at this office.
As for the trappings of Cohn’s brownstone, meticulously recreated for the film, you won’t find much Judaica, but viewers will get a glimpse of something far stranger: his extensive collection of toy frogs. Yes, he really had those.
PJ Grisar contributed to this report.
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