MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A number of rabbis and other Jewish community leaders belonging to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) plan to protest against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a speech he is due to give to the organization on March 21, local media said Friday.
"We're hoping thousands of people will join us in that protest <…> We're going to be providing the antidote, we believe, to what Donald Trump is espousing," David Paskin, a rabbi from Florida, was quoted as saying by the CNN television channel.
The AIPAC, an influential lobby group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the US Congress and Executive, is due to hold its annual policy conference on Monday. The group has confirmed the attendance of a number of high-profile speakers, including Trump, Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton, Republican nominees Ted Cruz and John Kasich, US Vice President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu via videolink.
Several other US Jewish groups, including the Union for Reform Judaism and the American Jewish Committee have reportedly voiced opposition to Trump's candidacy.
Both Trump and the AIPAC have not commented on the planned protest, while the lobby group stated that it has a policy of inviting all presidential candidates to its conferences during election years.
Trump, who is currently leading the Republican presidential race, has been widely criticized for his controversial statements, including in relation to immigrants, Muslims, and women.