At least 40 rabbis are set to boycott Donald Trump’s Monday remarks at a conference about Israel.
Boycott organizers at this year’s meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) said they did not want Trump’s participation in the annual conference to lend him any legitimacy, the Washington Post reports.
Some seemed uncomfortable with Trump’s sometimes abrasive rhetoric about immigrants and minority groups. “Jewish history teaches that when hatred is unleashed, it takes on a life of its own,” organizing Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin told the Post.
MORE: Donald Trump’s Complicated Relationship with Jewish Voters
Trump has called himself pro-Israel, but has said he would like to appear “neutral” when it comes to Israel-Palestine peace talks, so as not to endanger any possible “deals.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition, an organizational group of donors, will address its stance towards Donald Trump at its meeting in April this year, the Post reports.
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Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com