Jared Kushner: The invisible architect of peace in Gaza

On a diplomatic chessboard marked by eternal conflicts, the advance of global jihad and clashing worldviews, Jared Kushner once again stands out as the low-key figure who nonetheless weaves deals that seemed unlikely for traditional diplomacy. At 44, Donald Trump's son-in-law does not hold an official position in the White House, but he has been a key figure in the recent ceasefire negotiations in Gaza. His experience as the architect of the Abraham Accords in 2020 now makes him the bridge to a "new Middle East." Those who know him portray him as a pragmatic, tenacious businessman, capable of transforming conflicts into business opportunities and regional stability.

Born on January 10, 1981 in Livingston, New Jersey, Kushner grew up in a Modern Orthodox Jewish family immersed in the world of real estate development. He is the eldest son of Charles Kushner, a prominent real estate mogul who founded Kushner Companies and Seryl Stadtmauer, a philanthropist devoted to Jewish causes. But the family history starts much earlier: his paternal grandparents, Rae and Joseph Kushner, were Holocaust survivors who escaped from the Novogrudok ghetto (present-day Belarus) in 1942 via a secretly dug tunnel. With nothing but their hopes for a better life, they arrived to the United States in 1949 and managed to pass that iron will on to succeeding generations.

Jared attended the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy (named after his grandfather). During elementary school, an early experience scarred him when a schoolmate was killed in a bus bombing in Gaza. At Harvard he graduated in 2003 with a degree in government, and after brief internships in the White House under George W. Bush, he earned an MBA and a JD from New York University in 2007.

At age 24, he took over Kushner Companies when his father was sentenced in 2005 to two years in prison on 18 federal charges. (Charles was subsequently pardoned by Trump in 2020). Under Jared's leadership, the company sold assets in New Jersey for $1.9 billion and acquired the iconic 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan for $1.8 billion, expanding the family portfolio - valued at more than $1 billion - through aggressive acquisitions. He also forayed into media with the purchase of the New York Observer in 2006.

The Kushner family, a tight-knit clan of four brothers, has been a pillar of his life. Devoted philanthropists, they have donated millions to hospitals in the United States and Israel, and maintain deep ties to the Orthodox community. In 2005, Jared met Ivanka Trump at a dinner party his parents hosted seeking a real estate transaction. What started as business talk drifted into a date at the New York Opera. Ivanka, raised Presbyterian, converted to Judaism and they were married on October 25, 2009, in a Jewish ceremony at the Trump National Golf Club. They have three children, Arabella Rose (2011), Joseph Frederick (2013, in honor of Jared's grandfather) and Theodore James (2016).

This marriage merged two real estate dynasties and catapulted Kushner into Trump's inner circle. Initially a Democrat, Jared became a key ally during his father-in-law's 2016 campaign, running digital operations that raised $280 million.

Trump described him as an extremely reliable voice. And despite criticism of his inexperience in traditional diplomacy and in particular of the Middle East, in 2017 Trump appointed him senior adviser for the region. It was what gave him access to the role that would define his legacy: the Abraham Accords between Israel and four Arab nations (United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco).

These treaties represented a complex and astute diplomatic effort that enabled Israel to foster diverse industries, interfaith and community dialogues. In technology, they fostered an "integrated market" with million-dollar exports of Israeli cybersecurity. The achievement was so significant that Kushner was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 by lawyer Alan Dershowitz and in 2022 by Congressman Lee Zeldin, recognizing his role in Arab-Israeli normalization.

Years after leaving the White House, Kushner returns to the epicenter of Middle East diplomacy. Following the Hamas attack on Israel from October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza, Trump summoned him to push for a peace plan that seeks to secure the release of the remaining hostages and the total disarmament of Hamas.

Kushner arrived in Cairo, joining special envoy Steve Witkoff in mediations with Qatar and other Arab leaders. His pragmatic and efficient diplomatic style, based on personal networks forged in the Gulf during the Abraham Accords; he has assembled a coalition that includes Turkey, Qatar and other countries that pressured Hamas to accept the 20-point plan proposed by Trump.

The plan is ambitious: it seeks not only to stop the war, but to impose an Arab security force in Gaza, paving the way for economic reconstruction. If successful, it could radically transform political and social life in the region. The world is watching hopefully, just hours after Kushner landed in Egypt, Israel and Hamas announced that they had reached an agreement on the "first phase" of the peace plan, news that Trump immediately celebrated as a historic breakthrough.

Kushner has been an indispensable factor in a world where diplomacy often fails on empty symbolism. The president's son-in-law represents the triumph of Trumpist pragmatism: a transactional diplomacy that seeks concrete results over abstract principles, that privileges trade and security agreements over grandiloquent declarations.

His strength lies in his ability to build personal relationships with Gulf leaders, many of them from his own generation, with whom he shares a vision of the Middle East centered on economic development and stability. He is not a career diplomat tied to old protocols, but an entrepreneur who understands incentives, risks and rewards.

If the Gaza deal takes hold and succeeds in expanding the Abraham Accords - with Saudi Arabia as the big outstanding piece - Kushner will have accomplished what generations of professional diplomats could not: fundamentally transform a region that many considered doomed to perpetual conflict. For now, this businessman-turned-peacemaker watches from Cairo, reminding us that in the Middle East peace is not a gift, but a deal that is negotiated.