Image by Getty Images

By Nathan Guttman February 3, 2016

Donald Trump not only lost Iowa, he also lost his rabbi.

Rabbi Bernhard Rosenberg, the founder and sole member of the Facebook group named “Rabbi for Trump” announced Tuesday he is closing the group.

“Ladies and gentlemen of Facebook: Rabbi For Trump will be closing down,” Rosenberg, a rabbi from Edison, New Jersey, announced. Rosenberg went on to accuse Trump’s campaign of ignoring Jewish supporters in the Republican primary race.

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)

“It seems to me that representatives of his campaign don’t care about the Jewish vote. They think they can win without it,” he wrote, explaining that he had “pleaded” with the campaign to clarify Trump’s platform on Israel and express complete support for the Jewish state. “This has not happened and I doubt it will.”

Rosenberg had told the Forward last month that he wants the New York billionaire to make clear that if elected he will not support dividing Jerusalem into its Jewish and Palestinian areas. Rosenberg had hoped to get enough supporters on his Facebook page to force Trump’s advisers to meet and discuss the issue of Israel, but at the end of the day he remained the only member.

“I do not dislike Trump and wish him well, but I can not fight for him if I do not believe he fully supports Israel and the Jewish people,” he wrote, adding that he is considering other GOP candidates. “If the (Ted) Cruz or (Marco) Rubio people want my support, I will be happy to give it to them.”

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