Republican Jewish Lawmaker Cancels Town Hall, Citing Protests
Image by wikimedia commons
Lee Zeldin, Congress’ lone Jewish Republican, has canceled an April town hall event, after protesters disrupted a recent appearance of his at a Long Island, New York rotary club.
“This meeting was co-opted, renamed and re-branded by a group of liberal activists who were already holding strategy meetings to turn it into a disruptive show for their own political theater,” Jennifer DiSiena, a spokeswoman for the congresswoman, explained to the Southampton Press.
She further alleged that demonstrators at last week’s Rotary Club event had crossed a line by obstructing vehicular traffic and banging on people’s cars, a charge that protest organizers denied.
“Regardless of his intentions, Mr. Zeldin has an obligation to explain his lack of availability and to begin direct communication with constituents,” said the organizers of the Rotary Club event, after news of the cancellation broke.
Republican House members have been facing hostile audiences at town halls, as progressive activists adopt the tactics of the Tea Party as part of a drive to preserve Obamacare and defeat President Donald Trump’s agenda. Many congressmen have responded to the wave of protest activity by canceling events or scheduling fewer.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
