Ivanka Trump Posts ‘Tu BiShvat’ Tweet, Hitting Climate and Faith Issues

Ivanka Trump posted a tweet Sunday afternoon noting the arrival of the Jewish holiday of Tu BiShvat — the Jewish New Year for trees.

The holiday is not among the major festivals — work is still permitted, for example — but TuBishvat (literally, the “Fifteenth of the Month of Shvat”) is among the most beloved dates on the Jewish calendar, and is often celebrated by planting trees and enjoying festive meals that feature the seven species of fruit associated with the Land of Israel in the Bible.

In recent decades, Tu BiShvat (also spelled Tu Bishvat or Tu Bishevat) has been linked to environmental themes, including climate change.

Ms. Trump, who serves as an advisor in the White House as well as being the president’s daughter, tweeted:

The tweet referred to President Donald Trump’s commitment last month at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to join the “One Trillion Trees” project, aimed at fighting climate change.

The project, theoretically, appeals to both alarmists and skeptics of the climate change hypothesis: planting trees is generally good for the environment, regardless of the effect on atmospheric carbon dioxide and global temperature.

Ms. Trump’s tweet also subtly notes her own Jewish faith. Trump’s critics often attempt, without evidence, to associate him with antisemitism.

In that sense, Ms. Trump’s tweets accomplishes two goals at once, suggesting an openness to climate change policy on the one hand, and expressing solidarity with Jewish communities on the other.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He earned an A.B. in Social Studies and Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.