Who’s the guy with the yarmulke in Trump’s hush money trial?
Judge is closing court during parts of Passover to accommodate Gedalia Stern and other attorneys, as well as any potential Jewish jurors
Gedalia M. Stern, left, and former President Donald Trump at a courthouse in New York City. Photo by Getty Images
By Benyamin Cohen April 16, 2024
Former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York City is not televised. The public’s only glimpses come when Trump and his legal team enter and leave the courthouse. Eagle-eyed viewers may have caught sight of a middle-aged man on Trump’s legal team wearing a yarmulke. His name is Gedalia M. Stern, and here are six things to know about him.
What’s his specialty?
Stern, 39, is a partner at the New York-based law firm of NechelesLaw, where he represents “clients in both federal and state court charged with a variety of crimes, including bribery, benefits fraud, wire fraud, kidnapping, and sex crimes,” according to the firm’s website. He and his law partner, Susan Necheles, defended the Trump Organization in its 2022 criminal tax fraud trial. Necheles is the former counsel to the late Venero Mangano, known as Benny Eggs, the underboss of the Genovese crime family.
He’s well-versed in Talmud, too.
Stern spent several years studying at Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, New Jersey, one of the largest yeshivas in North America, before attending Columbia Law School, where he graduated in 2014.
Will the trial pause for Passover?
Sort of. Passover begins at sundown on Monday, April 22.
For Stern, an Orthodox Jew, the first two days of Passover (Tuesday, April 23, and Wednesday, April 24) and the last two days (Monday, April 29, and Tuesday, April 30) are considered like Shabbat, when work is prohibited. Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, said the court will work through lunch until 2 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday of the first week of Passover and Tuesday of the second week, “to allow counsel to arrive at their holiday destination.” He said there would be no court session on Monday, April 29.
Trump has also asked the court to adjourn on May 17, so he can fly to Florida to attend the high school graduation of his youngest son, Barron.
He’s not the only kippah-wearing Trump lawyer.
David Schoen, a Modern Orthodox attorney based in Atlanta, represented Trump during his second impeachment trial in February 2021, which related to the former president’s role in the Capitol riots on Jan. 6 of that year.
Schoen chose not to wear his yarmulke during opening arguments in that trial and a video of him went viral when he drank a bottle of water with one hand and placed his other hand on his head as a makeshift head covering.
My guess in all seriousness is that he normally wears a yarmulke and this was reflex. Schoen is modern Orthodox so that would make sense. But I defer to @jacobkornbluh https://t.co/MkKx6W03v2
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 9, 2021
Schoen explained his decision not to wear a yarmulke to CNN: “It’s just an awkward thing and people stare at it.” But after the social media hoopla, Schoen opted to wear his yarmulke when the trial reconvened the next day.
Schoen was elected chair of the Zionist Organization of America in October 2021.
What’s another notable case Stern has worked on?
Four Jewish brothers were charged related to wire fraud and money laundering in 2020 as part of a $19 million invoicing scheme that manipulated Amazon’s vendor system to force Amazon to pay for goods that it had not ordered. For example, in one instance, they shipped and invoiced for more than 10,000 units of an item when Amazon had requested fewer than 100.
Stern represented at least one of the brothers, Shmuel Abraham, in the case.
What’s the meaning of his first name, Gedalia?
The etymology comes from the Hebrew words “gadel” (to make great) and “yah” (God). Put together, Gedalia can mean any of the following: “God is great,” “To make God great,” or “Made great by God.”
In the Bible, Gedalia was a governor of the Kingdom of Judah. He was assassinated, and the anniversary of his death, observed annually on the day after Rosh Hashanah, is one of the six fast days on the Jewish calendar.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
