Ivanka Trump converted to Judaism in 2009 before marrying Jared Kushner.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner on their wedding day.
Brian Marcus/Fred Marcus Photography via Getty Images
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner met in 2007, aged 25, at a networking lunch arranged by one of their longtime business partners.
“They innocently led us to believe that our only interest in each other was transactional,” Ivanka told Vogue in 2015. “Every time we see them, we’re like, ‘Best deal we’ve ever done!'”
Raised in an Orthodox Jewish family, Trump and Kushner later separated due to their religious differences: the Trump family is Presbyterian, while Kushner was expected to marry a Jewess.
However, the couple got back together three months later. By 2009, Trump had converted to Judaism and she and Kushner were engaged.
She and Kushner follow a kosher diet, which she described to Vogue in 2015, saying she stays away from raw fish and meat.
“I’ve always shied away from having a public conversation because it’s such a personal thing,” she said of her conversion to Judaism. “We’re pretty observant, more than some, less than others. I just feel like it’s such an intimate thing for us.”
“It was such a great life decision for me,” she continued. “I’m very modern, but I’m also a very traditional person, and I think that’s an interesting juxtaposition of my upbringing as well. I really think Judaism provides an amazing blueprint for family connections.”
She also said that her family keeps the Sabbath.
“Friday through Saturday we don’t do anything but hang out,” she said. “We don’t talk on the phone.”
Comments are closed.