Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States. Among the speakers at the ceremony was Rabbi Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University. Berman prayed that Trump and Vice President Vance “choose the right and the good, unite us around our foundational biblical values of life and liberty, service and sacrifice, and especially of faith and morality.” The first time that clergy offered prayers at a presidential inauguration was in 1937, when Franklin Roosevelt’s second inauguration included an invocation by Chaplain ZeBarney Thorne Phillips and a benediction by Father John A. Ryan. The first rabbi to participate was at Harry Truman’s inauguration in 1949, when Rabbi Samuel Thurman of the United Hebrew Congregation in St. Louis offered a prayer. Since then, most, but not all, presidential inaugurations have included a rabbi in the ceremony. What rabbi spoke at a presidential inauguration and then at a later time criticized that President?

President Roosevelt's Inauguration Address (15075354530) by SMU Central University Libraries is in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons

A. Rabbi Thurman, who had offered the prayer at Harry Truman’s inauguration. In 1950 he criticized Truman for remarks made at the Washington Hebrew Congregation commemorating the Holocaust, because Truman failed to mention Israel.

B. Rabbi Seymour Siegel, a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary, offered a prayer at the second inauguration of Richard Nixon in 1973. Years later, when the Nixon tapes were released, Siegel heard the many antisemitic comments by Nixon (eg, “The Jews are just a very aggressive and abrasive and obnoxious personality”) and he stated that in hindsight he regretted having participated in the inauguration.

C. Rabbi Marvin Heir, Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, offered a benediction at Donald Trump’s first inauguration, in 2017. Heir criticized Trump later that month for offering remarks on International Holocaust Memorial Day that failed to specifically mention Jews.

D. Rabbi Abraham Rosenberg from Congregation Bnai Brith Jacob in Savannah, Georgia, offered the benediction at Jimmy Carter’s inauguration in 1977. In 2006, he criticized Carter upon the publication of Carter’s book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, noting that apartheid was not an appropriate description of the situation of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

E. Rabbi Amal E. Litella spoke at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. He later criticized President Kennedy for what he called antisemitic remarks, when he heard Kennedy say the famous words, “Ask not what your country can do for Jew—ask what Jew can do for your country.” Told that Kennedy said, “you,” not “Jew,” Rabbi Litella replied, “Oh, that’s very different. Never mind!”

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Donald Trump has revived his plan, originally raised five years ago, to purchase (or militarily seize) Greenland from Denmark, ostensibly “for economic security.” There is no permanent Jewish population in Greenland, though it is believed that there may have been Jews in Greenland as early as the 16th and 17th centuries, among the Dutch whalers who fished in Greenland waters. Which of the following is true about Jews in Greenland?

Aerial view of Jakobshavn Glacier at Disko Bay (Greenland) by Giles Laurent is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A. Fritz Loewe, a Jewish meteorologist, traveled to Greenland in 1929 to work with Alfred Wegener, the geologist who developed the hypothesis of how continental drift works. After their ground-breaking research Loewe returned to his native Germany. But in 1933 he lost his civil service job and was briefly incarcerated because of his religion, leading Loewe to flee Germany and resettle in Australia.

B. Fritz Loewe, a Jewish meteorologist, traveled to Greenland in 1929 to work with Alfred Wegener, the geologist who developed the hypothesis of how continental drift works. Unfortunately, on this trip to the frozen interior of Greenland, Loewe developed frostbite on his toes, leading to a crude amputation by scissors and a pen knife.

C. There are many ethnic communities around the world who claim to be Jewish or to have Jewish roots, including the Bene Israel and the Bene Ephraim of India, the Beta Israel of Ethiopia, and the Lemba people of southern Africa. There is a small community in Greenland called the B’nai Nordit (sons of Norway) who claim to descend from Jews who traveled to Norway (at the time of Jewish emigration to Russia in the 12th century), eventually then settling in Greenland. While they no longer live religiously as Jews, they do not eat the shellfish available in Greenland but thrive on the plentiful salmon, char and cod in the local waters.

D. Rita Sheftelovich, an Orthodox woman from Copenhagen, traveled to Greenland in the mid-1950’s to work as a nurse, caring for tuberculosis patients among others. Other than the many American Jews serving at the Thule Air Base, she may have been the only Jew in Greenland at that time. She kept kosher by eating canned goods and the plentiful fresh fish.

E. Rita Sheftelovich, an Orthodox woman from Copenhagen, traveled to Greenland in the mid-1950’s to work as a nurse, caring for tuberculosis patients among others. She kept kosher by eating canned goods and the plentiful penguins. (Her rabbi told her that turkeys aren’t listed in the Torah as kosher birds, but are called “tarnegol hodu,” or “Indian chickens” and are considered kosher like chickens. Similarly penguins are called “tarnegol eretz-yarok,” or “Greenland chickens,” and can therefore also be considered as kosher).

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President Biden announced the names of 19 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States. Since the honors were first bestowed by President John F. Kennedy, there have been many Jewish recipients including Felix Frankfurter, Arthur Rubinstein, Irving Berlin, Henry Kissinger, Kirk Douglas, Elie Wiesel, Natan Sharansky, Harvey Milk, Bob Dylan, and Shimon Peres, Three of this year’s honorees are Jewish. George Soros, the investor and philanthropist, has supported progressive organizations including Media Matters for America, MoveOn, and Open Society Foundations. Soros has frequently been attacked as a symbol for antisemitic conspiracy theories. David M. Rubenstein is a lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist who serves as the chairman of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Among his philanthropy has been financial support for the  United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Ralph Lauren is a fashion designer, businessman, and philanthropist who is particularly known for his Polo line of menswear and women’s fashions. His philanthropic support has largely focused on cancer research, education, and support. Which of the following is a Jewish fact about Ralph Lauren?

Presidential Medal of Freedom 1 by Toma2552 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A. Lauren’s first designing experience was at his synagogue, the Intervale Jewish Center in the Bronx. As part of the bar mitzvah preparation, all of their students designed a tallit (Jewish prayer shawl) which they could wear at their service. The children were encouraged to draw whatever pictures they liked on the material they were given. Lauren included horses on his tallit as he loved the horses in television westerns, including Trigger, Roy Rogers’s horse. That tallit drawing was a later inspiration to him when he created his first men’s clothing line, featuring the polo horse symbol.

B. As a young man, Lauren attempted to join a local country club to compete on their polo team, having played the sport in college. He was refused membership, however, only later learning that it was because they did not accept Jewish members. Lauren later chose the polo symbol to claim a form of ownership over the sport which he was denied access to because of his religion.

C. Ralph Lauren first introduced a fragrance line for men and women in 1978, debuting perfume for women and cologne for men at Bloomingdale’s. When he first began working on the creation of these fragrances, he named the project Besamin, Hebrew for spices. The original fragrances were inspired by the spices included in the Havdalah spice box, including cinnamon, rose petals, and orange peels.

D. Ralph Lauren’s birth name was Ralph Lifshitz. After he graduated from City College with a degree in business, he applied for many jobs in local companies, but was constantly turned away. He reached out for support from his college advisor, who explained to him that it was his Jewish name that was preventing him from even getting an interview. Lifshitz subsequently changed his name to Lauren, after which he was able to get his first job at Brooks Brothers.

E. Ralph Lauren’s birth name was Ralph Lifshitz. As a child he attended a Jewish day school, where other children made fun of his name, emphasizing the second syllable. As a result, he decided to change his name to Lauren.

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