(JTA) — Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were named to Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list for 2017
The Jewish daughter and son-in-law of President Donald Trump were chosen in the Pioneers section, while the president also made the list under the Leaders section. Members of his administration selected include Stephen Bannon and Reince Preibus. Russian President Vladimir Putin also was named.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who wrote the brief entry on Kushner, shared his thoughts on the real estate mogul and political neophyte’s qualifications as one of the president’s senior advisers. “I first met [Kushner] 18 months ago, when he introduced himself after a foreign policy lecture I had given. We have sporadically exchanged views since,” wrote Kissinger. “As part of the Trump family, Jared is familiar with the intangibles of the President. As a graduate of Harvard and NYU, he has a broad education; as a businessman, a knowledge of administration. All this should help him make a success of his daunting role flying close to the sun.”
The entry on Ivanka Trump was written by her friend of the last 12 years, Wendy Murdoch, a businesswoman and former wife of News Corporation chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch.
“Ivanka continues to earn my respect and admiration for how she has chosen to use her new visibility,” Murdoch wrote. “She has long advocated to empower women and girls and is now leading education initiatives and working to put an end to human trafficking. I am deeply impressed by her courage to leave behind life as she knew it and move her young family to Washington to pursue positive change.”
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., the minority leader, also made the Leaders section. His predecessor in the post, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, said of Schumer: “The times we live in shape us in ways we never could have imagined. If there is one guarantee about being Senate leader, it’s that it is a completely unpredictable job. But whatever lies ahead, I have enormous faith in Schumer, and I am confident that he is the right man for this moment.”
Janet Yellen, chair of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve, made the list under the Titans section as the first woman to hold “what is often viewed as the most important and powerful economic position in the world,” wrote American economist Joseph Stiglitz. Yellen “has wielded that power deftly, with a sure but steady hand, during an enormously difficult time,” he added.
Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour, who supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. was named to the list along with the three other organizers of the Women’s March on Washington.
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