Off the back of a trip to Saudi Arabia, Jared Kushner said that American Jews would be safer visiting the Islamic Monarchy than on liberal U.S. college campuses.
Former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and once close adviser is Jewish – and helped facilitate the Abraham Accords during his work with the administration in an effort to bring peace to the Middle East.
He said there is ‘enthusiasm’ from Saudi Arabia to join the agreement.
Hamas terrorists attacked Israel earlier this month and the two sides are now engaged in an ongoing, deadly conflict.
This has led to unrest in the U.S., as well, where pro-Israel and pro-Palestine groups clash. Jewish students express feeling unsafe on college campuses where pro-Palestine groups are very vocal – and where some have signaled support for Hamas.
But Saudi Arabia has a deep and historic hate of Jewish people and oppression of their own people – including just lifting a ban on allowing women to drive in 2018.
Jared Kushner, who is Jewish, said Sunday morning that American Jews are ‘safer’ in Saudi Arabia right now than on liberal college campuses as unrest ensued following Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel earlier this month
Jared Kushner, who just returned from a visit to Saudi Arabia, on Fox Business: “One of the ironies is that as a American Jew you’re safer in Saudi Arabia right now than you are on a college campus like Columbia University.” pic.twitter.com/bYQNPSkGee
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) October 29, 2023
Large, vocal demonstrations of pro-Palestine students have broken out on college campuses across the country in the wake of the conflict between Israel and Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where the de facto government is the terrorist organization Hamas. Jewish students say they do not feel safe on campus
‘One of the ironies is that as a American Jew you’re safer in Saudi Arabia right now than you are on a college campus like Columbia University,’ Kushner still assured during an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo.
He said on Sunday morning the proof is in the fact that he was able to speak at a conference in Saudi Arabia this week, noting: ‘They allowed me to speak freely.’
If he weren’t married to Ivanka Trump and a former adviser to Trump, Kushner likely wouln’t have even been let into Saudi Arabia’s borders.
Saudi Arabia has a long-established practice of barring people with Israeli passports or stamps from visiting their country – and the media there attacks Jews and claims the religious group is conspiring to take over the world.
Kushner said that while in Saudi Arabia this week, he got the ‘sense’ that the people and leadership were ‘disgusted’ with Hamas terrorist attacks despite ‘having a lot of care for the Palestinian civilians.’
‘They’d like to see Israel accomplish the mission to make sure that the Hamas could be eliminated. They’re against terrorism in the region in general,’ he assured.
Israel is America’s only ally in the Middle East and the only democracy.
Kushner assisted in mediating the Abraham Accords when he served in the Trump administration in an effort to achieve peace in the Middle East and normalize relations between Israel and its neighbors.
Kushner, who was Trump’s adviser on Israel issues, returned this week from a trip to Saudi Arabia where he spoke at a conference in Riyadh on November 25. Here Kushner speaks with Italy’s former prime minister Matteo Renzi during a panel
The accords were signed in September 2020 by Israel, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates. Now, Kushner claims, Saudi Arabia wants to join the pact.
‘I believe they would like to move forward with the deal with America and with Israel,’ he said.
‘The deal that’s being discussed isn’t just a partnership with Israel. It’s also deepening their ties with America, which is very important,’ Kushner added.
‘We have to keep in mind that, if America is not close to Saudi Arabia, then they will go in the other direction to China,’ he warned. ‘And so I think that the topic is being discussed.’