Ten years ago, Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun’s Rabbi Haskel Lookstein made national headlines by withdrawing from his commitment to deliver an invocation at the 2016 Republican National Convention.  A decade later, his successor, Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, has made the opposite decision with increasing fervor.

To those with any knowledge of New York Jewish life, it came as no surprise that Lookstein was asked to deliver the RNC invocation in 2016.   He had overseen Ivanka Trump’s conversion and was a nationally recognized rabbinic figure.  However, Lookstein bowed out when faced with opposition from many KJ congregants and Ramaz alumni who argued that his presence would condone Trump’s hate-filled rhetoric.  In a July 15, 2025 email, Lookstein wrote that “politics divides people” and that his “life had been devoted to uniting a community.”  Lookstein stated that he accepted the speaking request out of respect for Ivanka but had since asked to be relieved of his commitment.

Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun is home to some of the most politically well-connected Jews in the country, and indeed, the world.  Its broader community includes or has included Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Senator Joseph Lieberman, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.  KJ’s pulpit is one of national import and Lookstein’s public about-face marked a rare misstep for an otherwise savvy leader who regularly........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)