Being pro-Jewish trumps being pro-Israel
Articles from 1] IB Times (includes inset on Trump’s scramble to become an insider), 2] Jewish Forward, 3] Washington Post.
Hundreds of rabbis walk out on Donald Trump’s pro-Israel speech to protest ‘hate and bigotry’
By Mary Papenfuss, IB Times
March 22, 2016
They said they’d do it, and they did. Hundreds of rabbis either boycotted or stood as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump began to speak at a pro-Israel conference and walked out to protest his “hate and bigotry” that hold troubling reminders for them of the Holocaust.
Yet, in a sign of the divisive power of the front-runner, hundreds of others in the 18,000-strong crowd applauded and loudly cheered Trump several times — particularly when he attacked President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton — and even gave him standing ovations. Obama “may be the worst thing ever to happen to Israel,” he said during his 25-minute speech.
An Orthodox rabbi in a prayer shawl seated near the front was forced out by security moments after he shouted out once Trump began speaking in the Verizon Center in Washington DC where the conference for the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobby was held.
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, leader of a prominent Washington DC Modern Orthodox synagogue, told the Washington Post that when Trump came to the podium, he immediately stood, put on his tallis — prayer shawl — and shouted: “Do not listen to this man. He is wicked. He inspires racists and bigots.”
“With every cell in my body I felt the obligation as a rabbi to declare his wickedness to the world,” Herzfeld said on Facebook later. Protesting rabbis and supporters went directly to other areas in the complex to pray, activists said.
Video screenshot of the AIPAC speech. Trump, campaigning as a populist outsider, has shifted a number of his positions to become a right-wing insider. He used to be for women’s right to choose an abortion; he’s now officially anti-abortion. He used to be ‘neutral on Israel-Palestine. He now claims to be as “Israel’s number one friend”.
It’s not just Mexicans who are low life scum to Trump. So are Muslims and “Our great African-American President hasn’t exactly had a positive impact on the thugs [i.e. black people] who are so happily and openly destroying Baltimore.” He now insists he is anti-racist.
And, biggest change of all, he insists he loves, er respects, women. We can’t bring ourselves to copy and paste his various remarks about women and their appearance or his many remarks on the size of his penis. We have standards. As does the Republican party he’s tumbling over himself to represent.
Trump has called himself “Israel’s number one friend,” though he has also said he would remain neutral in any peace talks between Israel and Palestine to be a more effective negotiator. But the rabbis who organised the boycott did so because they most oppose what they call Trump’s “hate speech” reminiscent of Adolf Hitler’s blaming the Jews for Germany’s economic troubles before World War II.
Trump hasn’t singled out Jews, but has blamed Muslims, Mexicans and other immigrants for America’s economic woes.
“When he speaks hatefully of Mexicans or Muslims … we recall a time when antisemitism put Jews at deathly danger,” said a statement by boycott organisers from the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest Jewish group in the US.
While the Post called Trump’s AIPAC speech “fiery,” other media outlets called it restrained and predictable. He reiterated the Republican line on many issues important to Jews, saying that the Iran nuclear deal was “catrostrophic,” the United Nations was an anti-Israel joke, and that Palestinians “glorify terrorists.”
He closed his remarks by noting that his daughter, Ivanka, whose husband is an Orthodox Jew, had converted to Judaism and is expecting “a beautiful Jewish baby. In fact, it could be happening right now.”
Rick Jacobs, the head of the Union for Reform Judaism, who called Trump a “person of hate and bigotry,” said before the speech there are ongoing talks with the Trump campaign to arrange a meeting with candidate and rabbis and other leaders to discuss their objections to his statements.
He said that despite the walkout, he and other protestors would be attentive to Trump’s message on Israel. But “even if we hear a good clear position, that doesn’t erase his previous statements,” he told Haaretz.
Protester outside the AIPAC conference. Getty images.
Donald Trump Works His Magic on a Frustrated AIPAC
By Nathan Guttman, Jewish Forward
March 21, 2016
Washington – Proving his critics wrong once again, Donald Trump entered Tuesday an arena potentially packed with skeptical Jewish pro-Israel activists, and worked his magic on them.
Early warnings of protests and boycotts turned out to be overstated, as Trump, in his first teleprompter-read speech on the campaign trail, threw out one applause line after the other, ranging from criticism of the nuclear deal with Iran to direct attacks at President Obama.
And all in his signature Trump style.
“Hillary Clinton, who is a total disaster by the way, she and President Obama have treated Israel very, very badly,” Trump said, adding that under his presidency, “the days of treating Israel like a second-class citizen will end.”
Jewish liberals and centrists had hoped Trump’s AIPAC speech would unite the community in a clear rejection to Trump and what they view as his troubling messages on race, minorities, immigration, and violence. But instead, the pro-Israel lobby awarded the New York billionaire with an embrace. It was slightly less warm than those Trump receives at his raucous, countrywide rallies, but the audience, excited by his forceful, pro-Israel presentation, forgave his past comments and heated rhetoric.
The ‘If not now’ demonstration outside AIPAC. Photo by Gili Getz, JewSchool. More of his photos below.
Hardly anybody walked out as Trump took the stage at the Verizon Center in Washington. Protesters in the arena were few and did not draw much attention. A small group of Reform rabbis, led by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, left the hall before Trump began to speak and studied Jewish texts outside. “We were disappointed but not surprised that Mr. Trump did nothing tonight to allay our deep concerns about his campaign,” Jacobs said afterwards. “It still seems that he does not share our values of equality, pluralism, and humility.” Outside the sports hall, a small group of demonstrators peacefully protested Trump and AIPAC for inviting him.
The ‘If not now’ demonstration outside AIPAC. Photo by Gili Getz, JewSchool
But from the revolving stage at the center of the arena, Trump, who is used to protests during his rallies, could easily chalk down his AIPAC performance as one of the quietest events to date.
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The Donald, as some supporters like to refer to him, pushed all the right buttons to activate the pro-Israel crowd’s enthusiastic response. He presented a three-pronged plan to deal with Iran in a post-nuclear deal situation, assuring the audience that he studied the agreement “more than anyone else” and that, as president, he would move to “dismantle” the accord. He also placed the blame for the lack of any movement on the Middle East peace process squarely on the Palestinians.
“Their heroes,” he said, “are those who murder Jews”: another applause line. Trump also threw in the promise to move the United States embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a standard pledge for all Republican presidential candidates.
Compared to his usual stump speech, Trump spent more time on policy than on politics, but this relative caution was unnecessary. The crowd loved it when he took direct shots at the administration and President Obama, whom he described as the “worst thing to ever happen to Israel.” Trump offered an outlet to an audience of pro-Israel activists recovering from their fierce fight against the Obama administration over the Iranian nuclear deal, winning rounds of applause after stating: “President Obama, in his final year – yay!”
Entering the AIPAC event, Trump was seen as wavering on some key issues relating to Israel, mainly his pledge to remain “neutral” when it comes to brokering a peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians. During the AIPAC conference Trump came under attack from all the other candidates who addressed the forum for this statement, but in his speech he offered no explanation or retraction. Instead, Trump, stated that “The Palestinians must come to the table knowing that the bond between the United States and Israel is absolutely unbreakable.”
Another stumble occurred just hours before Trump spoke to AIPAC. During a press conference in Washington he was asked if Israel would also be required to pay the U.S. for its military support, just like Trump promised to demand from South Korea, Japan and Germany. “I think Israel will do that also,” he responded, seemingly questioning the foundation of the pro-Israel advocacy efforts carried out by AIPAC. But later, asked by reporters to clarify, Trump walked back the comment.
Protesters outside AIPAC bearing the banner ‘Trump + AIPAC Deserve Each Other. Jews Deserve Better’. Photo by Gili Getz, JewSchool
Good for the Jews? Trump at AIPAC triggers protests, standing ovations — and debate.
By Michelle Boorstein and Julie Zauzmer, Washington Post
March 21, 2016
Israel policy and AIPAC are always heated topics among U.S. Jews but Donald Trump’s fiery speech to the powerful AIPAC lobby Monday elicited intense debate outside the downtown area, inside the hall and on social media. People were contesting not only the meaning of Trump’s words but also that of the huge roars and standing ovations he got from many in the massive audience.
Slams on Iran, President Obama and Hillary Clinton triggered applause. But not only that. Hundreds of rabbis and others stood in separate groups once Trump took the podium and simply walked out in protest, activists said. Many went directly to locations at the Verizon Center to pray and study Torah.
A D.C. Orthodox rabbi in a prayer shawl who was seated six rows from the front was carried off by security moments after he shouted out once Trump began speaking.
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, leader of a prominent D.C. Modern Orthodox synagogue, told the Post that he immediately stood, put on a tallis — or prayer shawl — and shouted: “Do not listen to this man. He is wicked. He inspires racists and bigots.” Herzfeld did not resist security’s efforts to remove him, he said.
“With every cell in my body I felt the obligation as a rabbi to declare his wickedness to the world,” Herzfeld put on Facebook minutes after he was carried out, setting off dozens of comments from across the spectrum.
“How can you call him wicked? Using that standard, you should call Obama wicked for signing the Iran deal,” wrote one commenter. “Shame,” wrote another. “Thank you for your courage and moral clarity,” was yet another.
Protesters outside AIPAC. Photo by Gili Getz, JewSchool
On social media Jews — including advocates and members of the Jewish media — seemed taken aback at the roars of support from many at AIPAC. Ben Silverstein, a digital writer for the left-leaning pro-Israel group J Street wrote:
Benjamin Silverstein @bensilverstein
This crowd was supposed to be unfriendly to Trump. ROARING with applause as he slams Obama, who has very high approval rating w US Jews.
10:45 PM – 21 Mar 2016
Some suggested the crowd was a poor indication of U.S. Jewish voters, who lean heavily democratic:
Michael Cohen @speechboy71
This Trump speech is a pretty good indication of how out of touch AIPAC is with the American Jewish community
10:45 PM – 21 Mar 2016
Trump has elicited strong reaction from many U.S. Jews, who are divided about how to respond to a candidate who has set off so much concern about racism and xenophobia — causes Jewish leaders say are of particular alarm to their communities.
Among the hundreds who waited to get into the Verizon Center before the talk were Debbie Kurinsky and Jacquelyn Furman, who came from Needham, Mass. They had no problem with the organization’s decision to invite Trump to speak.
“I don’t understand it. I think it’s not respectful of what the organization is trying to achieve,” Kurinsky said of people who planned to walk out.
Furman said attendees should listen to Trump regardless of their own politics.
“I personally think he’s a bigot. I’m not planning to endorse him. I plan to welcome him civilly.”
Protesters outside AIPAC. Photo by Gili Getz, JewSchool
Milling around with those waiting to get in and a few protesters was a man selling $15 yarmulkes with the candidates’ names on them.
Among those who walked out was rabbinic student Rena Singer. Before the event, waiting in line, said she and her classmates at Hebrew Union College in New York had discussed how to handle the AIPAC talk. Some wanted to listen, saying that AIPAC had as much of a duty to invite Trump as any other candidate, or that the Jewish community needs to be able to work with any politician.
Singer said that at first she was unsure. “But then I thought about the reason I decided I wanted to be a Reform rabbi in the first place,” she said. “It’s a movement that has historically stood up to hatred and injustice.”
So as she waited in a long line to enter the Verizon Center, she didn’t plan to stay inside long. “I look forward to walking out.”
Waiting just behind Singer, David Rubin, 18, of Woodbine, N.Y., said he planned to stay for the speech. “Whether I agree with him or not, he is running for president.”
Jews are hardly the only faith group interested in Israel. As involved — and much larger — is the U.S. evangelical community, which has traditionally been more hard-line, but seems to have a growing, if small, even-handed camp.
Among those assessing Trump Monday was David Brody, who covers the the White House for the Christian Broadcasting Network:
David Brody @TheBrodyFile
Reality: Trump doesn’t have to prove he has more substance than others. Has to prove that he’s serious. AIPAC speech helped him. #AIPAC2016
11:13 PM – 21 Mar 2016 · Washington, DC, United States