News

This Jewish Democrat Raised $13K for GOP on GoFundMe After ‘Nazi’ Firebombing

Image by iStock

By Daniel J. Solomon October 19, 2016

As the November election fast approaches, Democrats and Republicans are in the usual arms race to raise campaign cash. But in a rare moment of across the aisle solidarity, Democrats led an online fundraiser to fix a North Carolina Republican Party office damaged by an explosion last week.

“Even though we deeply, deeply, disagree with these people on political issues, we don’t want their offices blown up,” said David Weinberger, a Brookine, Massachusetts resident who launched the appeal on the online site GoFundMe, in an interview with CBS News.

David Weinberger Image by Facebook

“I think like any American it’s appalling and it’s exactly what we do not want for our electoral system,” he added.

Less than hour after the donation page went live, Weinberger said, the initial fundraising goal of $10,000 had been met. After the amount surpassed $13,000, he stopped taking contributions, redirecting do-gooders to other pages on GoFundMe.

Over the weekend, the GOP office in North Carolina’s Orange County was the victim of a firebomb set by assailants who graffitied “Nazi Republicans, leave town or else” on the building. No one was hurt.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton sent good wishes to North Carolina Republicans.

She wrote on Twitter, “The attack on the Orange County HQ @NCGOP office is horrific and unacceptable. Very grateful that everyone is safe.”

Her Republican opponent Donald Trump could not manage the same grace, casting blame on Clinton and the Democrats in his own Twitter post.

“Animals representing Hillary Clinton and Dems in North Carolina just firebombed our office in Orange County because we are winning @NCGOP,” he wrote.

On the GoFundMe page, commenters reacted warmly to Weinberger’s philanthropy.

“This is about being an American, not a member of a political party,” remarked one.

Another commenter opined, “Congrats on a great American moment from a loyal Florida Democrat!”

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

A message from our Publisher & CEO 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