WaPo | 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.”
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.”
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