NY Hasidic rabbis reportedly ask Trump to intervene in Israel’s draft crisis
Leaders of several Jewish movements in New York region appeal to president for help with federal prisoners, schools and housing
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Hasidic rabbis from New York reportedly discussed the conscription of Haredi men in Israel and other community issues in a meeting with US President Donald Trump on Thursday.
US Vice President JD Vance and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also attended the meeting.
The meeting represented Trump’s annual engagement with the Jewish community ahead of the Rosh Hashanah holiday.
The group represented several Hasidic groups including the Satmar, Bobover and Vizhnitz movements from New York City and the surrounding areas.
The two leaders of rival Satmar groups, Rabbi Aharon Teitelbaum and Rabbi Zalman Leib Teitelbaum, both attended in a rare joint appearance.
Satmar, one of the most prominent Hasidic movements in the US, is non-Zionist on theological grounds, but is not aligned with the mainstream, anti-Zionist activist movement.
Republican US Representative Mike Lawler also attended the meeting. Lawler is running in a close reelection race and has the support of Orthodox communities in his district north of New York City.
Hasidic areas of the New York region supported Trump in the 2024 election.
According to reports from Orthodox media in New York, which gave the visit heavy coverage, the rabbis asked Trump to intervene in the Haredi conscription crisis in Israel, where efforts by ultra-Orthodox parties allied with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the blanket military service exemptions granted to their communities for decades has become one of the key political issues ahead of the October 27 Knesset elections.
The rabbis asked Trump to take the side of yeshiva students who are opposing enlistment, according to Yeshiva World News.
Rabbi Aharon Teitelbaum told yeshiva students ahead of the visit that he planned to raise the issue with Trump, the outlet reported.
Hasidim in New York occasionally protest against the draft in Israel.
The group of Hasidic rabbis and Trump also discussed issues including kosher food for federal prisoners, prisoner furloughs, public housing assistance, threats to Jewish cemeteries in Europe and federal funding for yeshivas.
The Times of Israel Community.