- Kushner said American Jews are ‘safer’ in Saudi Arabia than on liberal college campuses as he returned from a trip there to speak at a conference
- There is unrest on campuses after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel this month
- The former president’s son-in-law said there is ‘appetite’ among leaders for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords
Following a trip to Saudi Arabia, Jared Kushner said it would be safer for American Jews to visit the Islamic Monarchy than on liberal American college campuses.
Former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and once close adviser is Jewish — and helped facilitate the Abraham Accords while working 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 locked in an ongoing, deadly conflict.
This has also led to unrest in the US, where pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups are clashing. Jewish students say they feel unsafe on college campuses where pro-Palestinian groups are very vocal — and where some have expressed support for Hamas.
But Saudi Arabia harbors a deep and historic hatred of the Jewish people and its oppression – including lifting the ban on women driving in 2018.
Jared Kushner, who is Jewish, said Sunday morning that American Jews are currently “safer” in Saudi Arabia than on liberal college campuses as unrest emerged following Hamas’s terror attacks on Israel earlier this month.
Large, noisy demonstrations by pro-Palestinian students have erupted on college campuses across the country in the wake of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where the de facto government is the terrorist organization Hamas. Jewish students say they don’t feel safe on campus
“One of the ironies is that as an American Jew right now you are safer in Saudi Arabia than on a college campus like Columbia University,” Kushner assured during an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartimo.
He said Sunday morning that the proof lies in the fact that he was able to speak at a conference in Saudi Arabia this week, noting: “They let me speak freely.”
If he were not married to Ivanka Trump and a former adviser to Trump, Kushner would probably not even have been allowed into the borders of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has a long-established practice of banning people with Israeli passports or stamps from visiting their country — and the media there attacks Jews and claims the religious group is plotting to take over the world.
Kushner said that while he was in Saudi Arabia this week, he got the “feeling” that the people and leaders were “disgusted” by Hamas’s terrorist attacks, despite their “great concern for Palestinian citizens.”
“They would like to see Israel complete the mission of ensuring that Hamas can be eliminated. They are against terrorism in the region in general,” he assured.
Israel is America’s only ally in the Middle East and its only democracy.
Kushner helped broker the Abraham Accords while serving in the Trump administration in an effort to achieve peace in the Middle East and normalize relations between Israel and its neighbors.
Kushner, Trump’s adviser on Israeli 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 former Prime Minister of Italy 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 being discussed is not just a partnership with Israel. It also deepens 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, they will go the other way, to China,” he warned. “And so I think the subject is being discussed.”