Mike Pence Gets Jews For Jesus ‘Rabbi’ To Pray For Pittsburgh Synagogue Victims

Image by Getty Images

By Dave Goldiner October 31, 2018

Vice President Mike Pence was joined by a Jews for Jesus ‘rabbi’ who prayed for the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting at a Republican campaign rally in Michigan on Monday.

Messianic Jewish Rabbi Loren Jacobs of Synagogue Shema Yisrael intoned prayers to “Jesus the Messiah” and denounced the “hate inspired shooting in synagogue in Pittsburgh” before Pence spoke at the rally in Grand Rapids.

Rabbi Loren Jacobs of Messianic synagogue Shema Yisrael offers prayer before VP Pence speaks at Michigan campaign event: “God of Abraham … God and Father of my Lord and Savior Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah…hate inspired shooting in synagogue in Pittsburgh”https://t.co/tRwFvBTjYE pic.twitter.com/u6JJCfdhgj

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)
I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Email(Required)

— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) October 29, 2018

Pence is an evangelical Christian who maintains close ties to so-called Messianic Jews, who mostly share his right-wing political beliefs and strongly support Israel and the occupation.

Messianic Jews believe in Jesus Christ and focus on seeking to convert Jews to their unusual belief system. Most mainstream Jewish groups do not accept them as legitimate Jews. Some retweeted stories about Pence’s rally with the hashtag #FakeJews, a play on Trump’s penchant for bashing the media.

Like President Trump did over the weekend, Pence quickly pivoted away from the tragedy in Pittsburgh to partisan pot shots.

“All that talk about a blue wave, let’s just make sure that blue wave hits a red wall right here in Michigan,” Pence said, according to the Detroit News.

The veep stumped for GOP Rep. Mike Bishop, who is trailing Jewish Democrat Elissa Slotkin in a tightly contested race. Pence also boosted Lena Epstein, a Jewish Republican, who is locked in a tight race with Democrat Haley Stevens for an open seat outside Detroit.

Epstein, who ran Trump’s successful 2016 campaign in Michigan, has invited Jacobs to pray at other campaign events, Talking Points Memo reported. She claimed that inviting Messianic Jews is a sign of embracing “religious diversity.”

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO