Are the Kushners Joining The Shul of Bal Harbour?

By COLlive reporter

Former presidential advisers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have signed a deal to lease a condominium in Arte Surfside, a collection of 16 oceanfront Miami Beach luxury condos in Miami’s upscale Surfside neighborhood.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the striking, pyramid-shaped building designed by Italian architect Antonio Citterio is considered one of the most luxurious new developments in the area.

The building is owned by the Sapir Organization founded by the late Tamir Sapir, a businessman and investor who was raised in the former Soviet republic of Georgia and immigrated to New York. He was a donor to Chabad.

The Sapir Organization has ties with former President Donald Trump, having teamed up with the Trump Organization to build the Trump SoHo condo-hotel in New York before the 2008 financial crisis, the Journal reported.

The Arte features an impressive suite of luxury resort-style amenities and services such as a 75’ indoor lap pool, outdoor swimming pool, a state-of-the-art fitness center and yoga studio, a pet runway, a relief corridor, a rooftop tennis court, and a children’s playroom.

A chief perk for the Kushners might be the location of the building and its close proximity to The Shul of Bal Harbour, the large and thriving Chabad synagogue founded by Shliach Rabbi Sholom Ber Lipskar.

It is a 14-minute walk up Collins Avenue to get to The Shul from the Arte building complex. (It will be an over 40-minute walk to The Shul from the home the Kushners are building on the exclusive Indian Creek Island.)

The Kushners are no strangers to The Shul and its prominent community. Ivanka Trump held a town-hall meeting there in 2016 to campaign for her father’s election, and Jared’s wealthy parents, Charles and Seryl Kushner, frequent The Shul during their visits to the sunshine state.

After her father’s election, the Shabbos-observant Jewish couple Ivanka and Jared moved with their family to Washington, DC, to serve in the administration of her father.

They settled on a high-end home in the Kalorama neighborhood. The reason? Its close proximity to The Shul of the Nation’s Capital – the Chabad center in Washington, DC, led by Rabbi Levi Shemtov.

It seems that they will be doing the same in Florida. Asked for comment, a secretary at The Shul told COLlive.com: “Whether they are or aren’t members, I would not be able to disclose that information to you.”