Trump Meets US Rabbis in Historic White House Gathering

President Donald Trump hosted a large delegation of American rabbis, rebbes, and yeshiva deans in the Oval Office, a gathering described as unprecedented in nearly five decades. The delegation included prominent figures such as the Rebbes of Satmar and Bobov, Rabbi Malkiel Kotler, dean of Beth Medrash Gevoha in Lakewood, and Rabbi Aaron Menachem Mendel Twersky, son of the Skverer Rebbe. Congressman Mike Lawler, who helped facilitate the visit, was also present.

The meeting, reportedly months in the making and coordinated by White House liaison for Jewish affairs Martin Marx, touched upon several issues relevant to the Orthodox Jewish community in the U.S. Notably, the sensitive topic of Israeli yeshiva students' military conscription was among the subjects discussed, according to reports in The Jerusalem Post.

During the meeting, the Satmar Rebbe delivered a prayer for kings, "Ha'Noten Teshuah La'Melachim," with the other rabbis joining him. Trump, reportedly moved by the occasion, summoned his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to join them. In another unusual gesture, Trump requested the handwritten notes from the Rebbe's private discussion and placed them in his personal desk drawer.

The joint session lasted approximately 30 minutes. The visit was highlighted as the first of its kind in the Oval Office in over 50 years, emphasizing the direct connection forged between the U.S. administration and the leadership of the Orthodox Jewish community in America.