Over the past few days, a story has spread in Jewish American circles about the roots of the Trump family's ties to New York city's religious Jews. According to the story, Rabbi Israel Wagner, a Holocaust survivor, began organizing prayer minyans (quora) in the underground parking garage in the apartment building he lived in Brooklyn, which was built in 1950 and mostly housed fellow survivors. As the years passed, these minyans expanded "exponentially."
"Having only heard about their landlord, Mr. Fred Trump, by name, Rabbi Wagner set out to meet him in the hopes that Mr. Trump would assist them in establishing a new facility as a Jewish community center," said the message being disseminated on Jewish WhatsApp groups in the US, parts of which were originally posted on the Beach Haven Jewish Center's website.
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"From the first meeting, a deep friendship sparked between Mr. Trump, a Lutheran land developer, and Rabbi Wagner, a Polish Jew. Their mutual love, respect, and friendship only deepened over the next 48 years. Mr. Fred Trump donated the plot of land where the synagogue was built and contributed towards the construction. He then attended the dinner every year and generously donated to the Beach Haven Jewish Center. He affectionately referred to Rabbi Wagner as 'My Rabbi' at their yearly meetings," the website said.
The message goes on: "The apartment owner continued giving financial assistance to the synagogue over the years. He was a Christian person who instilled his respect for Jews in his 14-year-old son, a wild and adventurous boy. Today, the rabbi's son clearly remembers seeing the boy at the laundromat, while he and his friends were praying the shacharit (morning prayer). The building owner taught his son the importance of responsibility. His name was Fred Trump and the boy's name was Donald Trump. As we all know, the son learned from his father how to be a faithful supporter of Israel and a generous friend of the Jews."
Attached to the fascinating story is a photograph from 1956, which shows the president's father at the synagogue's cornerstone-laying ceremony.
A confidant of President Trump confirmed the story to Israel Hayom. Although Trump is broadly accused by leftist circles in the US of being anti-Semitic, it appears that even in his childhood he was raised with an affinity toward the Jews. As a reminder, many years later, Trump's daughter, Ivanka, converted to Judaism in accordance with Jewish law. The president himself has boasted on multiple occasions about "my Jewish grandchildren."
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