A prominent Orthodox rabbi who was listed as a speaker for the Republican National Convention emailed his community on Friday to say that he will not attend the nominating convention.
Rabbi Haskel Lookstein was expected to appear in Cleveland, where Donald Trump expects to receive the Republican nomination. Coincidentally, Trump's daughter Ivanka is a member of the said rabbi's congregation.
Hundreds of members of the Modern Orthodox Jewish community signed petitions asking him not to appear at Trump's convention, and Lookstein immediately complied.
Lookstein emphasized in his email, which was sent to the members of the community, how the whole matter turned from rabbinic to political. "Politics divides people. My life has been devoted to uniting a community."
Lookstein is the principal emeritus of Ramaz School and rabbi emeritus of Congregation Kahilath Jeshurun in New York City. He said in the email that Ivanka Trump asked him to say the convention's opening prayer. He initially said yes to her "out of respect for her and our relationship," but soon backed out after the community members objected.
His prayer said: “We thank you for our constitutional government that has created and fostered the American ideals of democracy, freedom, justice and equality for all, regardless of race, religion or national origin.” It also included a sentence about the threats to America from outsiders and “from within, by those who sow the seeds of bigotry, hatred and violence.”
Ivanka Trump converted to Judaism when she married her Jewish husband, Jared Kushner.
Source: The Washington Post
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