RELIGION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump will hold a conference call on Friday [9-15-17] morning with Jewish leaders ahead of the High Holy Days, moving ahead with a standard White House event that several rabbinical groups have vowed to boycott…
The tradition of the conference call had been nonpartisan in previous years ahead of the holidays of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur. But late in August, four coalitions of rabbis said they would boycott the call, in the wake of Mr. Trump’s equivocating response to the racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Va.
Issues related to the Jewish community have been problematic for the president throughout his presidency. A statement from the White House on Holocaust Remembrance Day made no mention of the millions of Jews who were killed, instead focusing on ‘all’ who suffered.
And the president’s statement that there were ‘very fine people’ among the white supremacists rallying in Charlottesville prompted an outcry.
It was not immediately clear how many groups were invited to participate on the conference call. Still, some people thought the president deserved praise for going ahead with it.”
-Maggie Haberman, “Trump to Hold Call With Jewish Leaders Ahead of High Holy Days,” The New York Times online, Sept. 14, 2017