Last month, students participating in anti-Israel protests at Harvard University finally agreed to dismantle their protest tent. The university administration agreed to meet and discuss their demands, which included severing ties with Israeli institutions. After several weeks of unprecedented protests at this prestigious institution, the major pro-Palestinian demonstrations are subsiding.
According to the rules of identity politics, Elizabeth Pipko could have been one of those protesters. She is a Harvard graduate and also attended the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), another campus known for its turbulent protests, including arrests. Although she is Jewish, many Jews were among the protesters.
Pipko grew up in a progressive and liberal environment in Manhattan, the daughter of Eastern European immigrants who identify as feminists. She was a model who wore risqué outfits and published poetry books. In short, she had the potential to be a "woke" individual advocating for the cause.
But she is not. In fact, she is almost the complete opposite, a staunch Trump supporter. Today, at 28, Elizabeth ("You can call me Leah") is the new spokesperson for the Republican National Committee (RNC), appointed by Lara Trump, Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, who recently became the chairwoman of the RNC. This is the main and powerful political body in the party, through which election strategy, fundraising and more are channeled. If Trump returns to the White House, it wouldn't be surprising if Pipko accompanies him, perhaps even as press secretary. "But everything in its time," she says.
In the meantime, Pipko is working hard for Trump. She participates in numerous TV interviews, where she also defends Israel and founded the Jexodus movement (a blend of "Jews" and "Exodus") to encourage Jewish Democrats to switch to the Republican Party. Despite criticisms, her daring modeling photos and fashion magazine covers remain on her social media accounts.
"No matter what I have achieved in my life, people will always bring up my appearance. That's the culture we've created," she tells Ynet in an interview. "Of course, it bothers me, but I have also learned to deal with it. I have tried enough times to get people to talk about something else, but it didn't work. So I realized I just need to focus on what I want to do – and let people keep talking."
Trump likes to surround himself with beautiful and glamorous people.
"I don't know. I mean, I think it's funny I do. At the same time, I would hope that people realize not because of him, but just because of me. As a woman. I think it's a little unfair to continue trying to do good and get degrees and learn and work and contribute to society and do all these things, and still just be considered someone with good looks. So I would hope that for my sake, not even for his, I will be considered something more than the girl that looks a certain way."
And Trump himself doesn't contribute to this atmosphere, with his sometimes misogynistic talk.
"Again, I would say the accusations that have been thrown his way over the last eight years, many of them are on fire. Many of them are dangerous, because they're meant not just to disparage him, but to scare Americans from voting for him, knowing that he could be what's best for them. I think that's very unfortunate. And again, there's a lot of things people say about him that are truly despicable. And if I believed that they were true, I would not support him."
The values Pipko speaks of also challenge the norms of identity politics. For instance, she is the daughter of immigrants—her father from Estonia and her mother from Russia—yet she supports restrictions on immigration, particularly illegal immigration.
"Wanting Americans to be protected and having a good system that only brings good people to the country is very fair," she says. "I am proud to be the daughter of immigrants, and precisely because of that, legal immigration, in my opinion, is a beautiful thing. What we see today is the opposite: letting anyone into the country is much worse for Americans."
She also addresses another highly debated topic in American society: abortion. Pipko identifies as a feminist but opposes abortion, describing herself as "pro-life" in conservative terms. "I completely agree with Trump, who thinks it should be a state-level decision," she says. "There is a reason we have the political system we have today. It's an excellent system, and the less power the federal government has, the better. Not many countries in the world have a special legal system like ours."
Trump has also claimed responsibility for overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.
"He has said that he is pro-life, but I think he's also said that he appreciates those who aren't. Americans have to come together on this issue because it is something that's divided us for many years, and that's why setting the decision back to the states is the most American and patriotic thing that I think you can do in this case."
And where do you stand on this matter?
"I consider myself pro-life. Obviously, it's a very long conversation about exemptions and nuances. There's so much to it, but as a religious person, I would consider myself pro-life."
Indeed, Pipko, who lived in Israel for a short period, identifies as someone who keeps kosher and observes the Sabbath, as someone who "feels comfortable in an Oorthodox shul. But I also understand that when you've modeled in Maxim magazine, an Orthodox would say it isn't appropriate, and I have nothing but respect for the Orthodox community and those who are more religious and observant than I am. So I guess you could say modern Orthodox but hoping to get more and more religious in my life."
Modeling is not the most modest job. How did you settle that conflict?
"To be honest. I'll give you my explanation and it's almost cheating, I think. True. I like to be honest. For me, when I got into modeling, I was 17. My dad had to come with me when I signed the contract even because I was still a minor. And I decided when I signed the contract, that they would make all the decisions with me. So anytime I've ever modeled for any brands for any magazine or anything else my parents have basically known about it, if not even also seen the images. So for me anytime that I was offered a job or an opportunity that I thought was inappropriate, or that I shouldn't do, I didn't do everything that I had done. My parents approved, and I trust my parents with my life. They are the greatest people I know. So for me, it's as long as they think it's okay and they're so proud of me. I know that I can be proud of myself too. I assume if they're okay with it, Hashem is too and that's why I can sleep at night."
The interview with Elizabeth Leah Pipko is conducted from her home in Florida, not far from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. At home, she heard from her parents stories about antisemitism in the Soviet Union and how everything changed when they came to America.
"They left the Soviet Union with $90 in their pocket, that's all they had. My dad had to choose between taking the subway and having dinner. He would save something like a dollar every month just to treat himself to a McDonald's hamburger, so they really had nothing, and I think that shaped who I am today: knowing that in America, you can become anything, and in other places, you are forbidden to be Jewish. It made me become a proud and openly Jewish person here."
In her childhood, Pipko was discovered as a talent in artistic ice skating, so much so that her parents moved with her to Florida so she could train there. The goal was the Olympics, but an ankle injury shattered the dream, and the family returned to New York. Then, when she turned 17, she happened to be walking in Central Park, and a fashion photographer discovered her. From there, she was signed by one of the world's largest agencies, Wilhelmina Models.
"It's an interesting experience. I had some amazing experiences and some not so much, but the idea for me was always to use that fame for other causes that matter to me in life. I made it to the covers of the world's most prestigious magazines and did amazing and big things, but also things with value. Recently, for example, I was asked to model for a Jewish-owned clothing company. We started negotiations right after October 7, and we decided to create a clothing line together, Esteem, with ten percent of its sales going to women in Israel who were affected by Hamas actions."
Between photoshoots, Pipko enrolled at the Harvard Extension School, which allowed her to complete most of her degree from home. This flexibility enabled her to continue working and recover from her ankle injury. It was during this time that she first encountered the man who would become the 45th president of the United States, and possibly the 47th. She speaks of this period with genuine admiration.
"I was going through some really tough years with the injury and other things, and I wasn't following the elections at all until someone told me Trump was going to win. I started watching his videos, the things he does and says. I saw how this man gets up every morning and tells the world he's going to be president while everyone laughs at him. I thought to myself, 'if he can do that, with all that confidence, I can also get my life back on track.' I always felt very patriotic because of my family's story, and just seeing this man come out and say we need to put our country first – it moved me. That's exactly what I needed in my life then. I wanted to take a small part in making such a person president."
So what did you do?
"So this is where it gets complicated. In 2016, I volunteered for the Trump campaign and basically, I wanted to help and I didn't like what I was seeing as a volunteer. So I sent a letter to the data director of the campaign and I said, 'Hey, I'd like to help. You should give me a job.' And they hired me the next day. I worked on the Trump campaign for the remainder of the last four or five months of the campaign until we won the election.
And what did you do?
"So I ran all the volunteer centers across the country and phone from home system."
How does that happen from a letter?
"I am very, very intense, very pushy. For what I want, and I work very, very, very hard and I clearly have to prove myself but yeah, when I'm on something I usually try my best."
It's not a natural process. After all, you grew up in the Democratic stronghold of New York. Most Jews around you and in the country vote for Democrats.
"So I think there's a good balance or there was a good balance back then. Right now, I actually don't see the balance anymore. Back in 2016, for example, when I got into politics, it was a point in life that all I knew was that Jews vote Democrat. My parents both told me that when they came to America they were basically told as Jews to vote for Democrats. And as my family likes to say, I didn't leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me."
'I've been on Fox News maybe 50 times since Oct 7'
When Pipko talks about her disenchantment with the Democratic Party, she first pulls out the Israeli card. "I think it's gotten us to the point that we are as someone who undeniably supports Israel and always will are living in a time when the U.S. president, for example, is denying weapons to Israel when they're fighting for their survival against a terrorist organization that not only slaughtered 1,200 people but is currently holding five Americans hostage still," she says.
"I'm incredibly uncomfortable with that as an American. I'm incredibly uncomfortable obviously as I think for me right now, the answer is obvious, things always change. But for right now, the answer on who to support for me as a Jew was obvious. I don't tell people how to vote based on their religion or anything else. However, I do think that many would agree that the Democratic Party has changed, especially in their views surrounding Israel in the last decade or so."
Trump openly criticized the Israeli government; Biden came to the country and sent $14 billion in aid.
"I think everyone kind of agrees to be against the Israeli leadership or Israeli government is not anti-Zionism. I think Donald Trump is incredibly supportive of the State of Israel. I believe that in the conflict that they're in right now, he would have been more supportive than the current administration. I don't believe Trump would have given money to Iran. I'll also say I think what we saw when Donald Trump was in office was a record which was incredibly supportive of Israel. So though we never know what could happen, what would happen, we can't speculate. There's no reason to believe for example, during his presidency, someone would have dared to attack Israel, knowing how supportive America would have been afterwards. That's number one. Then you look at signing the Taylor Force Act into law, moving the embassy, Abraham accords. I mean, there's enough policies there to know that he was incredibly supportive of Israel and I believe to feel comfortable as an American should support Israel with a future Trump administration."
At the start of the war, Trump said only a madman wouldn't react like Israel did on October 7, and a few weeks ago when protesters behind him shouted "Genocide Joe," he responded, "They're right." Which Trump should we believe?
"You should believe the Donald Trump we saw in office for four years. People should pay less attention to the words candidates use in the heat of a political campaign and much more to the actions of that candidate. In this case, we have the advantage of knowing how Trump behaved for four years in the White House, and I think his policy toward Israel speaks for itself."
Doesn't it seem like a response to Biden? When Biden distances himself from Israel, Trump gets closer; when Biden gets closer, Trump distances himself.
"I think Trump's four years in office were completely consistent and speak for themselves."
When the presidential campaign ended and Trump entered the White House, Pipko enrolled in a master's program at UPenn and was convinced that the political chapter of her life was over. "In the end, politics is very stressful and very messy," she says. "It wasn't something I wanted to be part of again. I wanted to return to a normal life, to modeling, to studies. I missed it. I wanted to do things where you don't have to argue about policy all day."
And also, she admits, she knew that "people would be a bit more open to being part of my life and working with me if I were less politically identified."
And something else happened to her there: she met her husband, Darren Centinello, on the campaign, who worked as Trump's social media manager. The two married at the president's Mar-a-Lago estate, share their time between New York and Florida and are active in the local Jewish community. "Unlike me, he is a very private person," Pipko says. "We fell in love in a crazy environment, and it doesn't happen to many people, so it's very special, but we're also very normal and boring. We just work, come home and watch TV with our cats."
Between studies and cats, Pipko managed to publish another poetry book, released a book about her life and worldview called Finding My Place, engaged in advocacy for Israel and fighting antisemitism and opened a virtual Holocaust museum. Then came October 7, and the American media was looking for articulate speakers, preferably those who understand the situation in the Middle East a bit.
"I was doing a lot of media commentary just in general. Podcasts, cable news, different things and that kind of things after October 7, because I was someone who was advocating for Israel and talking about what had happened. I think that was on Fox News probably 50 times since October 7, if not more, so it just became a part of my daily life and my station. And with that came the opportunity to possibly come back to politics. And I thought about it and I thought that I'm not in a place where I'm privileged enough that I could say no to a platform to speak when my parents came here with nothing and one generation later and being offered anything like this. I think it's the right thing to do, to take any kind of platform and try to make a difference for your country."
All this did not go unnoticed by the top GOP officials. Pipko received an offer to return to politics as the leadership's spokesperson. "I pondered it over and over, debated, but in the end, I felt I didn't have the right to say 'no' to such a platform."
'The American education system is severely flawed'
In one of her interviews on Fox News, Pipko mentioned that she still sometimes receives responses that include "a delivery of swastikas once a week." It's not impossible that some of those sending the swastikas share her enthusiasm for Trump, but Pipko is currently focused mainly on fighting antisemitism from the other side, the one that has reared its ugly head at several of America's most prestigious universities, including Harvard and Pennsylvania, where she studied.
"I am ashamed to be a graduate of these institutions today," she says. "What we are seeing now on campuses is simply awful. I am a big supporter of peaceful protests, but that's not the case, and the things that come out of there are simply disgusting. I receive messages every day from Jewish students or parents asking me what they should do. People are afraid to return to campus. This is exactly the kind of thing my parents experienced in the Soviet Union and should not happen in America. Students singing about how they love Hamas, singing about death to Israel, to the U.S., about the genocide of the Jewish people? These are not just disgusting statements but proof that the education system in this country is severely flawed, that we have failed in many ways, because this is the next generation, and this is what they choose to fight for. At first, I thought these were just student opinions, but when you watch the university leadership unable to condemn such things at a congressional hearing, unable to say that calling for the genocide of Jews violates their policy – it's embarrassing. Not just for those who studied at these schools, but for every American.
Israelis living in the U.S. see children shouting 'From the river to the sea' on one side, and on the other, they see evangelists anticipating the battle of Gog and Magog, along with white supremacist groups like the Proud Boys, whom Trump asked to "stand back and stand by" in September 2020. Do you understand their concern?
"I think your description applies to the extremes. Nevertheless, I support the existence of a democratic and sovereign Israeli state that adheres to the values expressed in its Declaration of Independence, which was inspired by the U.S. Declaration of Independence. I believe that the two nations share similar ideals, and I unconditionally support the continued partnership between the U.S. and Israel. I believe that President Trump agrees with this."
Are you optimistic that it's really going to change and Trump is going to win?
"I'm optimistic that he's going to win, yes. I'm optimistic that it's going to change for Jewish people because we are resilient and we have been through much worse in our history. But that doesn't mean it's not scary to see it."