Rabbis Call for Trump Boycott, Protest 'Senseless Hatred'

Dozens of rabbis have been organizing a boycott against Donald Trump at one of the nation's largest pro-Israel events.

The Republican presidential frontrunner is speaking Monday night at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington.

The group of about 40 rabbis say they're boycotting because of hateful rhetoric.

Rabbi David Paksin of Palm Beach Florida says Trump embodies the Hebrew expression "Sinat chinam" - senseless hatred.

Paskin says the protesting rabbis are opposing "the ugliness that has engulfed this election season."

And South Florida Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin says Trump's appearance "poses political, moral, and even spiritual quandaries."

Some Jewish leaders say they are also uneasy with Trump's pledge to stay neutral on peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

"Trump has said a lot of things about Israel over the years, most of it favorable but some of it more ambiguous," said Josh Block, a former AIPAC official who now heads The Israel Project. "This will be an opportunity to address the ambiguity before a serious foreign policy audience."

America's leading pro-Israel group will be hearing from nearly all the presidential candidates, including Republicans Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, who's trying to become the first Jewish candidate to win a major party's presidential nomination, is skipping the event.

AIPAC bills itself as nonpartisan and has never endorsed a candidate. Yet the organization has delved into highly partisan political debates over issues of interest to Israel, most recently and notably the Iran nuclear deal, which it vehemently opposed.

Clinton and Sanders have been ardent supporters of the Iran deal, and Kasich is the lone Republican who has not said he would automatically rescind the pact.

Trump and Cruz have promised, if elected, to rip up the Iran agreement.

Beyond that, Cruz has pledged absolute support for Israel, but Trump has been far from clear on how he would approach matters of deep concern to pro-Israel voters.

Unlike Cruz, Trump has not said he would move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a perennial Republican campaign promise. And, unlike Cruz, he has said he will be neutral as a negotiator in trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Cruz's campaign website features an entire section on Israel; Trump's does not address it all.