President Trump’s Washington hotel will host a kosher pop-up restaurant during the American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference in Washington, D.C.
“We want to serve the community,” Trump International Hotel managing director Mickael Damelincourt told Jewish Insider, citing increased demand for a kosher menu from hotel guests around the annual gathering of Israel’s lobbying arm in Washington, which will be held from March 1 to 3.
The hotel has served a kosher in-room menu since last year, but this marks a more expansive effort. Using a dedicated kosher kitchen, Medina Cuisine will prepare the food, certified by the Rabbinical Council of Greater Washington. A dedicated dining space can accommodate 120 diners, and the hotel will also stock a fully kosher bar.
The $150-per-person menu includes a choice of two soups, salad, and a main course of a Moroccan-style half-Cornish hen, rib-eye steak, or halibut fillet, with a separate option catering to vegans. “Eventually, we are going to do this all year-round,” hotel food and beverage director Daniel Mahdavian said.
The Trump Organization’s ownership of the hotel and the stake the president still holds in it has prompted questions and lawsuits from officials who point to lavish spending by foreign governments as a possible breach of the Constitution. The emoluments clause bars presidents from accepting gifts or money from foreign governments without approval from Congress.
A close ally of Israel’s embattled leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump has taken pains to cement his legacy as a fiercely pro-Israel president, but critics have pointed to Trump’s alleged use of anti-Semitic tropes.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who, if elected, would become the first Jewish president, is a vocal critic of Israel’s Netanyahu. He has vowed to secure “the independence and security of Israel” if elected president but frequently comes under fire for remarks allegedly hostile toward Israel.
Sanders said he would not be on hand for the AIPAC conference, a traditional stop for Democratic candidates. “I remain concerned about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights,” he said. “For that reason, I will not attend their conference.”
