Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Chicago Congregants Walk Out of Services at Bachmann’s Mention

Congregants at a Chicago synagogue walked out of Yom Kippur services when the rabbi acknowledged the presence of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.

“I am aware of the fact that our congregation’s policy in regards to public officials clearly caused pain to some members of our community on the most precious day of reconciliation on the Jewish calendar,” Anshe Emet Rabbi Michael Siegel told the Chicago Tribune. “That we regret deeply.”

Siegel had greeted Bachmann (R-Minn.) during the service last week, citing what he said was a custom of the Lakeview synagogue to recognize public officials. The synagogue is affiliated with Judaism’s Conservative movement.

A number of congregants walked out and one, Gary Sircus, contributed to the campaign of Bachmann’s opponent, Jim Graves.

“Even though I do not vote in Minnesota, please do everything in your power to take away this evil woman’s soapbox,” Sircus wrote to Graves.

Bachmann, who was a candidate in the race for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, is stridently pro-Israel but deeply conservative on social and economic issues, making a focus her opposition to gay marriage.

Graves, a hotel magnate, has proven unexpectedly competitive in the congressional race.

It’s not clear why Bachmann was at Anshe Emet.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.