唐纳德·特朗普的女婿贾里德·库什纳显然有能力从以色列在中东的战争贩子中大赚一笔。
Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is apparently in position to make a killing off Israel’s warmongering in the Middle East.
这是美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）一份新报道的核心，该报道有助于揭示总统家族从以色列战争经济中获利的方式。特朗普已指派库什纳和史蒂夫·维特科夫监督以色列政府与巴勒斯坦领导人之间的和平努力。
That’s the crux of a new report from CNN, which helps shine light on ways the president’s family is profiting from Israel’s war economy. Trump has assigned Kushner and Steve Witkoff to oversee peace efforts between the Israeli government and Palestinian leaders.
但库什纳是一位负责处理政府事务的商人。举一个例子，正如我的同事安东尼·费舍尔去年所说，他计划利用加沙部分地区进行豪华房地产开发，这为“种族清洗提供了一种光鲜亮丽的光泽”，这削弱了人们对库什纳至少看起来是一位真诚的谈判者的希望。
But Kushner is a businessman tasked with doing government business. In one example, his plan to use part of Gaza for a ritzy real estate development provided “a glossy sheen to ethnic cleansing,” as my colleague Anthony Fisher put it last year, dampening hopes that Kushner might at least appear to be a good-faith negotiator.
他与以色列最大的武器制造商和其他向以色列提供武器的公司有联系的消息无助于提振这种希望。正如CNN报道的那样：美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）的一项调查发现，贾里德·库什纳（Jared Kushner）在加沙战争中担任关键谈判代表的同时，他的私募股权公司Affinity Partners持有一家支持参与以色列军事行动的企业的以色列公司的最大股份。
And news of his ties to Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturer and other companies that provide weapons to Israel won’t help boost such hopes. As CNN reported: At the same time Jared Kushner has acted as a key negotiator in the war in Gaza, his private equity company, Affinity Partners, has held the largest stake in an Israeli firm backing businesses involved in Israel’s military campaigns, a CNN investigation has found.
库什纳通过担任志愿特使，而不是接受要求他披露财务状况的政府工作，回避了对这种潜在利益冲突的更深入审查。
Kushner has skirted deeper scrutiny of this potential conflict of interest by acting as a volunteer envoy, rather than accepting a government job that would require him to disclose his finances.
该报告重点关注Affinity Partners及其对一家名为Phoenix Financial的以色列公司投资的数亿美元，该公司持有大量为以色列生产武器和军事装备的公司的股份。据报道：美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）利用以色列的金融透明度法追踪了凤凰城金融（Phoenix Financial）的一些与军事相关的投资，凤凰城金融是一家总部位于特拉维夫的公司，去年，就在唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）重返椭圆形办公室前不久，库什纳的投资集团将其持股增加了一倍。
The report centers on Affinity Partners and the hundreds of millions of dollars it has invested in an Israeli firm called Phoenix Financial, which holds large holdings in companies that make weapons and military equipment for Israel. According to the report: CNN used Israeli financial transparency laws to trace some of the military-linked investments of Phoenix Financial, a Tel Aviv-based firm that Kushner’s investment group doubled its stake in last year, shortly before Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office.
库什纳后来将凤凰城描述为Affinity的“最佳投资”。这些记录仅包括菲尼克斯控股的一小部分，显示菲尼克斯已向以色列最大的军火制造商埃尔比特系统公司投资了数亿美元。美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）发现，菲尼克斯还持有至少八家为以色列军方提供设备的公司的股份，从无人机、军舰到拆除机械。
Kushner later described Phoenix as Affinity’s “best investment.”Those records, which include only a fraction of Phoenix’s holdings, show Phoenix has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems. Phoenix also holds stakes in at least eight other companies providing equipment for the Israeli military ranging from drones to warships to demolition machinery, CNN found.
特朗普家族还与以色列的好战行为有其他经济联系。例如，总统的儿子埃里克·特朗普投资了一家以色列无人机公司，该公司吹嘘其“低成本”杀伤能力。（特朗普儿子的代表表示，他们不参与授予或管理国防合同。）所有这些都凸显了为什么特朗普政府没有赢得人们的信任，相信它能够公平地促进以巴谈判。
The Trump family has other financial ties to Israel’s warmongering ways as well. The president’s son Eric Trump, for instance, has invested in an Israeli drone company that has boasted about its “low-cost” killing capabilities. (Representatives for the Trump sons have said they are not involved in awarding or managing defense contracts.) All of this underscores why the Trump administration has not earned trust that it can fairly facilitate Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
尽管如此，库什纳称CNN的报道“严重误导”，并指出凤凰城是一家金融机构，而不是一家国防公司。他的律师也淡化了对不当行为的指控：库什纳的一名律师告诉CNN，库什纳“从未参与或指导菲尼克斯关于投资地点的决定”，并补充说，他“没有参与购买、持有或出售这九家公司中任何一家的决定”。CNN强调，并且从未加入过菲尼克斯的董事会。
Nonetheless, Kushner called CNN’s report “deeply misleading” and noted that Phoenix is a financial institution, not a defense company. His lawyer also downplayed accusations of impropriety: An attorney for Kushner told CNN Kushner has “never participated in or directed Phoenix’s decisions” on where to invest, adding he had “no involvement in the decision to purchase, hold or sell any of the nine companies” highlighted by CNN and has never been on Phoenix’s board.
他们补充说，“任何认为贾里德的外交工作影响了菲尼克斯对您确定的公司的投资的说法，反之亦然，都是错误的。”不过，美国有线电视新闻网还指出，库什纳去年表示，他与该金融集团保持着“非常积极的对话”，并定期与其领导层会面。
They added, “any suggestion that Jared’s diplomatic work influenced Phoenix’s investments in the companies you identify, or vice versa, is incorrect.”CNN also noted, however, that Kushner said last year that he maintained a “very active dialogue” with the financial group and regularly met with its leadership.