New York – Orthodox Rabbi Bows Out Of Republican Convention Appearance Following Student Petition

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    FILE - Rabbi Haskel Lookstein ( Stefano Giovannini/ VIN News)New York – Rabbi Haskel Lookstein canceled his planned appearance and speech at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this week, after over 600 alumni of Manhattan’s modern-Orthodox yeshiva day school Ramaz signed a petition calling him out for his public support of Donald Trump.

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    Lookstein’s father founded the school in 1937, and Lookstein is its former principal and rabbi emeritus of its associated synagogue, Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun.

    Lookstein, 84, who has recently caught media attention after Israel’s Supreme Rabbinical Court refused to recognize a conversion he performed in New York, was scheduled to attend the convention to lead a prayer for Trump.

    Lookstein is also the rabbi who converted Trump’s daughter Ivanka to Judaism.

    “When Ivanka Trump, a member of our congregation, invited me to deliver the opening prayer at the Republican National convention next Monday, I made a personal decision to honor her request out of respect for her and our relationship,” the rabbi explained in a letter he sent to the school’s current students, graduates and staff on Friday.

    “Unfortunately, when my name appeared on a list of speakers at the convention, without the context of the invocation I had been invited to present, the whole matter turned from rabbinic to political, something which was never intended.”

    Former students who had signed the petition urged Lookstein to withdraw his participation, stating that his legacy is at stake.

    “Donald Trump openly spouts racist, misogynistic rhetoric; he advocates torture, the expulsion of millions of families, some long settled in America, and insinuates that some citizens of this great country are somehow less than others,” the petition said.

    “To embrace Trump and Trumpism goes against all we’ve been taught. As graduates of Ramaz, and as current or former members of the modern-Orthodox community, this is a shanda [disgrace] beyond the pale.”

    “Rabbi Lookstein, all the good work you’ve done in your life – everything you’ve done for your community, for the plight of Soviet Jews – will be flushed down the toilet for 10 minutes on stage in Cleveland,” the graduates wrote. “This is the single action history will remember you by, and history will not be kind.”

    They also told their former principal that “Jews are never far behind” on Trump’s list of scapegoats and that supporting the candidate, whom they called a “dangerous man,” is equivalent to “embracing and politicizing hate.”

    “Not in our name. Today we are ashamed to be Ramaz graduates,” they wrote.

    In his email to “the Ramaz family,” Lookstein said he would comply with the graduates’ demands “in the interest of bringing our community together.”

    In his email to “the Ramaz family”, Rabbi Lookstein said he complied with the graduates’ demands “in the interest of bringing our community together.”


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    28 Comments
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    YisRos
    YisRos
    7 years ago

    Sickening that these liberal alumni made him give in.

    lakewooder
    lakewooder
    7 years ago

    The halocho is that one may not convert someone for the sake of marriage. But ‘rabbi’ lookstein knows better than halacha…..

    7 years ago

    Shame on these 600 leftists who blackmailed the ruv from delivering a bracha at the convention. Unfortunately that is what happens when you have a yeshiva that lets in many whose only yichus is that their families have gelt.

    7 years ago

    The Rabbi made the right decision to withdraw; he should never have accepted the invitation in the first place. Undoubtedly, he was pressured by both the Trump and the Kushner families to accept. I agree that Jews are not far behind Trump’s scapegoat list. He will blame the Jews (I’m sure), if he loses the election. If by chance he is elected, he will go after the many Jews who opposed him. If you think that Nixon’s enemies list was an aberration, wait until Trump takes office. A leopard (in this case, a school yard bully), does not change its spots.

    thetruthis
    thetruthis
    7 years ago

    I dislike Rabbis who are lead by their flock instead of leading the blind sheep. Trust me, the Ramaz alumni are blind sheep – on a good day.

    SandmanNY
    SandmanNY
    7 years ago

    So instead, they will encourage everyone to vote for HilLIARy, whose past includes openly lying under investigation, murder of US diplomats, oppression and bullying of Bill’s former paramours? Ramaz has been sipping the liberal Koolaid.

    Curiosity
    Curiosity
    7 years ago

    Is it the right thing to do or is it the wrong thing to do? If it’s wrong why would he do it, and if it’s right, why would he not? In Torah hashkafa the student doesn’t boss around the rebbe.

    Moose
    Moose
    7 years ago

    To quote;
    Donald Trump openly spouts racist, misogynistic rhetoric; he advocates torture, the expulsion of millions of families, some long settled in America, and insinuates that some citizens of this great country are somehow less than others,” the petition said.
    1) Racist? Oh of course bring in all the terrorists?
    2) Tourture? If I knew a terrorist had info I’m going to get it out of him and save lives from a rodef/murderer.
    3) some citizens are better? Misleading (intentionally?) only non citizens are in danger.
    And finially I am ashamed of these Ramaz folks who prefer to support Clintons someone who supports gay marriage and abortion all against the torah which they should spend more time studying rather than moving into politics.
    World events and economy are Bashert but torah values are our responsibility.

    Reb Yid
    Reb Yid
    7 years ago

    Well, he bred these people who wrote that filth, so he has nothing but himself to blame.

    7 years ago

    Same old liberal blah blah blah.

    ramyif
    ramyif
    7 years ago

    Modern Orthdoxy is the weakest link in the Orthodox chain. They are the Shadah I.e. Ramaz graduates!

    bsnow
    bsnow
    7 years ago

    Students are a bunch liberal losers!

    coachmentor22
    coachmentor22
    7 years ago

    They had no business to pressure Rabbi Lookstein and it is sad that he gave in. Donald Trump is not a ravist. What is Hillary an honest politician??

    Shimon
    Shimon
    7 years ago

    The real shanda is that Lookstein is spineless to react to a well organized group of democrats who have successfully intimidated him.
    They obviously prefer an Obama acolyte who put this country’s security in grave danger.
    There are, indeed, troublesome times.

    elyeh
    Noble Member
    elyeh
    7 years ago

    The overwhelming Ramaz support for the one-sided depiction of Trumps positions and his proposals is a shanda.

    The Ramaz students and community are just copying Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign talking points and supporting Hillary’s lying, thieving and worse over so many years having political power.

    MayerAlter
    MayerAlter
    7 years ago

    The Israeli rabbinate is right; Lookstein is a worthless individual.

    grandchildspoiler
    grandchildspoiler
    7 years ago

    How sad to see how many Jews would not have a problem with lying, corrupt, dishonest Clinton machine. Horrible. Where is emes with all these people?

    schmaltzy
    schmaltzy
    7 years ago

    This is where Ultra Modern Orthodoxy displays its underbelly. It has proven to be more modern than Orthodox. They care more about the social issues such as supposed racism , rights of Muslims than they do about Torah values. These so called darlings of Religious Zionism would rather embrace a candidate that backed the Iran deal which threatens Israel’s existence, who immediately upon becoming secretary of state dropped her support for Israel and lectured PM Netanyahu for being an ” obstacle to peace”, who kissed Yassir Arafat’s wife after she accused the Israelis of poisoning children and who proved to be a bald faced liar concerning American Security. Good Choice!
    Sorry Rabbi Lookstein but you reap what you sow. And you have sown a generation of “tolerant “Jews who tolerate anyone who thinks like them and who disdain anyone who differs. Sorry that you have now fallen victim to the devil that you created.

    7 years ago

    This school picks a very strange place where to decide what they are embarrassed of.

    Talmudist
    Talmudist
    7 years ago

    I think Rabbi Lookstein made a BIG mistake!
    Perhaps he should not have accepted it in the first place.However, now that he did it is a slap in the face to someone who is may be the next president. I understand his students are upset but they should have been taught that there is a bigger picture .
    Think about the implications for Jews all over the world and Israel.

    hashomer
    hashomer
    7 years ago

    I’m sure Trumpie will find a rav who exposes racism, bigotry and torture to give a bracha…

    NotSoFrum
    NotSoFrum
    7 years ago

    From the tone of comments, one would think that because this Rabbi backed out of the Trump convention, he is no longer fully Jewish. It is really amazing how things can be so distorted. Goodness.

    7 years ago

    L’CHAIM