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The mystery of Trump envoy's missing yarmulke

Israeli ultra-Orthodox became preoccupied with the faith of US envoy Jason Greenblatt after he made public appearances without a yarmulke.

Jason Greenblatt (L), U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Ministerís Office in Jerusalem March 13, 2017. Picture taken March 13, 2017. Courtesy Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv/Handout via REUTERS     ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY - RTX319T3
Jason Greenblatt (L), US President Donald Trump's envoy, meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem, March 13, 2017. — Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv/Handout via REUTERS

US President Donald Trump’s representative for international negotiations, Jason Greenblatt, landed in Israel two weeks ago, on March 12. The religious and ultra-Orthodox sectors were surprised to see that Greenblatt, a yarmulke-wearing Orthodox Jew for all intents and purposes, attended public meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other leaders without a yarmulke. The religious media in Israel wondered where it had gone.

Yonatan Dov Greenblatt, his Israeli name, has been a close associate of Trump’s for nearly two decades, working as a legal adviser for the Trump Group, and has his trust and confidence. Trump was once quoted as saying that the only kind of people he wanted counting his money were “little short guys that wear yarmulkes every day.” Greenblatt appeared to be among them.

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