Dozens of Rabbis to Protest Trump's Speech at pro-Israeli Conference
A number of rabbis plan to boycott Donald Trump’s speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a lobbying group advocating pro-Israel policies to Congress and the executive branch of the United States.
The GOP front-runner’s previous comments about Israel have created anxiety among some AIPAC participants including Rabbi David Paskin, who explained his concerns on the FOX Business Network’s Varney & Co.
“As a Jew myself, I can tell you that someone doesn’t have to say disparaging things about Jews for me to be offended,” Paskin told Stuart Varney. “Mr. Trump has made as a cornerstone of his campaign, ‘us vs. them.’ He believes that in order to win, we have to defeat ‘them.’ Whoever is other than us.”
Trump is set to address more than 18,000 people attending the annual AIPAC conference on Monday in Washington.
Paskin, who’s the Temple Beth David spiritual leader, says some rabbis, Jewish community leaders and AIPAC members will respectfully and silently walk out the moment Trump is introduced.
“All of us are going to be gathering outside to study what we believe is the antidote to what Mr. Trump has been offering. We are going to learn about common decency,” Paskin concluded.