Teaneck’s Jason Dov Greenblatt has been named President-elect Donald Trump’s special representative for international negotiations. In a statement, Trump spoke highly of Greenblatt, indicating that he was one of his closest and most trusted advisers. “He has a history of negotiating substantial, complex transactions on my behalf, as well as the expertise to bring parties together and build consensus on difficult and sensitive topics. His talents lend themselves perfectly to the role I have asked him to play, assisting on international negotiations of all types and trade deals around the world.”
During the campaign, Greenblatt served together with David Friedman, who has recently been named U.S. ambassador to Israel, as co-chair of Trump’s Israel Advisory Committee. Both men have known and advised President-elect Trump for close to two decades and both are unapologetic, ardent Zionists. Friedman owns a home in Israel, and Greenblatt has visited Israel dozens of times and wrote a book with his children about traveling to Israel with family.
Greenblatt has worked for the Trump Organization since 1997 and currently serves as its executive vice president and chief legal officer. Greenblatt grew up in Forest Hills, Queens, and is the son of Hungarian immigrants; he is a graduate of MTA, Yeshiva University and New York University Law School. He spent his gap year in Israel at Yeshivat Har Etzion. Greenblatt is married to Dr. Naomi Greenblatt, a psychiatrist, and they have six children, the first three of which are triplets. The Greenblatt family manages a website called inspireconversation.com, which encourages teens to think more deeply and work to give back to society.
“My philosophy, in both business and in life, is that bringing people together and working to unite, rather than to divide, is the strongest path to success. I truly believe that this approach is one that can yield results for the United States in matters all over the world,” said Greenblatt, in a statement announcing his appointment. “I look forward to serving on President-elect Trump’s team, and helping to achieve great outcomes for our country.”
“What we do for a living is work out transactions,” Greenblatt told The Jewish Link last June. “You need negotiating skills, you need to listen to the other side, you have to try to piece together everything to try to address as many issues as you can, with both sides satisfied that a fair and appropriate deal has been struck. Not everyone is happy all the time. I am not diminishing the concept of a peace deal or a U.S.-Israel relationship; they are complicated and there are lots of layers, but people like Donald, who are skilled negotiators, and people on his team who have worked on transactions large and small over the course of their careers, are well suited to these things.”
“I am deeply grateful and humbled by President-elect Trump’s decision to appoint me to represent the United States in international negotiations,” said Greenblatt.
