Image by Getty Images

By Josefin Dolsten March 14, 2016

A pastor speaking at a Donald Trump rally called Monday for Bernie Sanders to “meet Jesus” and be saved.

“Bernie Sanders, who doesn’t believe in God… Listen, Bernie got to get saved. He got to meet Jesus, he got to have a ‘coming to Jesus’ meeting,” televangelist Mark Burns said at the North Carolina gathering for the frontrunner GOP candidate.

Burns, who is black, also dismissed claims that Trump is racist and said Hillary Clinton “needs to go to jail” for lying.

Forwarding the News

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

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Bernie Sanders describes himself as a “secular Jew,” but has mostly kept religion out of his campaign. Last month, when asked about his faith at a town hall meeting, he spoke fondly of his roots.

“Obviously, being Jewish is very, very important to me,” Sanders said. “I am very proud of my heritage.”

Trump’s daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism upon marrying Jewish real estate magnate Jared Kushner.

After being criticized for taking a neutral stance on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Trump invoked his Jewish offspring.

“I have tremendous love for Israel. I happen to have a son-in-law and a daughter that are Jewish, OK? And two grandchildren that are Jewish,” he said.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.

This year, we have stood together in strength and sorrow. Our Forward team has worked around the clock to help you find clarity amid the chaos.

If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.

Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism. 

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount