Like so many others I’m also a bit nervous about Donald Trump’s victory. But he’s not the one I’m worried about — it’s his Jewish daughter and son-in-law that scare me. Not that I have anything against the new royal couple who have been catapulted to the top tier of power by their father’s election. Chalilah. They are a lovely gracious couple and their Orthodoxy brings a note of refinement and poise to the aura of aggressiveness and worrisome contrasts that surround the president-elect. 

A combination like that in a family so surreal yet accepted so naturally could only happen inAmerica where democracy really is democratic. Stories have been emerging lately about the sympathetic attitude toward Jews displayed by Donald Trump’s father; about his help in building a synagogue in Beach Haven Brooklyn where he lived; or about Donald himself putting his private jet at the service of a Jewish family free of charge whose child needed urgent medical care in Los Angeles — examples that testify to an attitude in the Trump family that is at least on the surface free of any anti-Jewish prejudice.

But nevertheless there is something troubling about the official position soon to be occupied by Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka in the new administration inWashington. It’s not the first time I’ve had cause to feel this concern. It started back in 2000 when Senator Joe Lieberman was selected as Al Gore’s running mate on the Democratic ticket for the presidency. Lieberman was highly regarded for his many achievements as a senator and his record provided the perfect background for a vice-presidential candidate. But Lieberman also happens to be a Jew and an Orthodox one to boot.

Now at first glance that appointment looked wonderful. InAmerica Jews enjoy true freedom and equality; a Jew can even be elected vice president of the most powerful nation in the world. But then the gnawing doubts set in. After allAmericais not completely free of anti-Semitic sentiment. Perhaps the centuries-old feeling is more dormant than in other countries but it exists and I don’t think anyone would deny it. And isn’t it possible that a Jew especially a religious Jew holding such a high position in the federal government could be liable to wake up the sleeping giant of anti-Semitism?

Those were my thoughts at the time — how the media follows the vice president’s movements and since there isn’t a human being who never makes a mistake there will always be something to criticize. These failures — petty though they might be — always elicit sharp criticism and if the public figure in the spotlight happens to be a Jew that provides fertile ground for the reemergence of anti-Semitism. You might think I sound paranoid but it’s a lesson that our people’s long and troubled history has taught us. When Jews in galus rise too high there is always a price to be paid. And therefore I swallowed any pride I felt in the fact that “one of our own” was chosen as the running mate for a presidential candidate and to be honest my hope for his success was that he wouldn’t be elected.

The situation now with the young and likable Jared Kushner is more complex. He is already wielding power at the top and is surely feeling the intoxication that such a stunning victory naturally brings on. But this is exactly the moment when we must remind him that he is a Jew and a religious Jew at that. Every step he takes every statement he makes will be judged not only on its own merits but in light of the fact that he is an Orthodox Jew — and he needs to be aware of this uncomfortable truth because it will have repercussions for the Jews of America and perhaps even of the world. He will be a playground for anti-Semites wherever they lurk and a target for those who would like to bring down his father-in-law. The liberals on the Democratic side of Congress aren’t about to make life easy for the Trump administration which they haven’t even accepted as being legitimately elected. President Obama as he prepares to exit the White House has declared war on all that Trump stands for — albeit in veiled terms — but political commentators agree on what he meant by “rebuilding the Democratic Party.” When the liberal Democrats aim their poisoned arrows at the new administration Jared Kushner and his traditional Jewish values will make a soft target. And surely the liberal Jews who voted forClintonand are horrified at the thought of an Orthodox Jew having the president’s ear will be the first to take aim. No Mr. Kushner will not have an easy time in the White House.

And since whether he likes it or not in the eyes of our enemies he will represent not only Jewish interests inAmerica but the people ofIsraeltoo a heavy responsibility rests on his shoulders. We hope and pray he will be saved from the pitfalls that await him.

If I could make a suggestion it would be that he avoid the press as much as possible. The media wizards know how to take the most innocent remarks and turn them into noxious sound bites. So Jared please stay away from them as much as you can and don’t provide fodder for gossip columnists. Maybe you should also stay away from overt international political activity — which would surely bring blessings but not if it takes place under the spotlights. And above all don’t let your father-in-law saddle you with the task of dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It’s touching that he’s willing to do anything it takes to put an end to this conflict and we believe in his sincerity in this matter. But don’t let this hot potato come into your hands and not only because failure is assured. Keep away because as a Jew you will quickly be branded as the enemy of one side or the other. If you exert the slightest pressure on the Arabs to negotiate a solution the entire global coalition of sonei Yisrael will be up in arms against you as a “Zionist.” And if on the other hand you start pressuringIsrael to make concessions and more concessions then your own people will turn against you. Go into that minefield and you will only come out worse for wear.

I wish you well Jared Kushner. May Hashem guide you in the right way because like it or not you have become a shaliach tzibbur.