Hasidic Jew appointed to senior US Treasury position

“For my family, this country represented freedom, security and immense opportunity,” said Silk, whose ancestors suffered from pogroms and the Holocaust. 

By Aaron Sull, World Israel News.

History was made this week when a hasidic Jew was appointed to a top position in the U.S. government.

In a unanimous vote of approval on Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Mitchell Silk’s appointment as Assistant Secretary of The Treasury for International Markets.

Following his appointment, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin tweeted, “Congratulations to Mitchell Silk, who was confirmed today as Assistant Secretary for International Markets. I know he will continue to serve the U.S. Treasury and the nation well.”

“It is an honor to serve and I am looking forward to continuing to support the President and Secretary Mnuchin to pursue growth and stability in the international financial markets during this critical time for the country,” Silk told Hamodia on Wednesday.

After being nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacated position in September, Silk spoke about his family roots during his congressional nomination hearing the following month.

“My grandparents immigrated to this country from hardship and persecution in Eastern Europe. Their life experiences were chilling,” he said at the time. “My maternal grandfather, the guiding light of my life, grew up in abject poverty, witnessed Cossacks brutally murder his family members, and struggled to cope with the extermination of his family in the Holocaust.”

“For my family, this country represented freedom, security and immense opportunity,” he added.

Silk, who speaks two dialects of Chinese, spent decades as a private lawyer specializing in international finance and trade. According to his Linkedin profile, Silk received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland and a certificate in advanced law studies from Beijing University

In 2017, he became Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Department’s Office of International Affairs.

During his swearing in, Silk chose to use a Tikkun Korim, a study guide used when preparing to chant the Torah reading in a synagogue, which had belonged to Rebbe Mordechai Leifer, the founding father of the Nadvorna Hasidic sect.