Friday, July 13, 2012

Philadelphia-area synagogue’s plans to host DNC chairman draw scrutiny

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D., Fla.) is scheduled to appear in a Philadelphia-area synagogue Monday on behalf of the Obama for America campaign, fostering more concerns that Team Obama is engaging in a controversial and possibly illegal effort to win over Jewish voters from within their religious institutions.
Jewish Americans for Obama is slated to hold a campaign event Monday at the Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, a Philadelphia suburb. The synagogue is affiliated with the Jewish religion’s Reform movement, which is known for its progressive political activism.
The event will feature Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee, as well as Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D., Pa.) and Democratic County Commissioner Josh Shapiro.
According to a copy of the invitation obtained by the Free Beacon, those interested in attending are urged to RSVP to Zach Billet, an Obama campaign field organizer and former Shapiro staffer.
Keneseth Israel’s participation in an event hosted and organized by the Obama campaign appears to directly conflict with an IRS rule stating that nonprofit organizations, such as religious institutions, “are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.”
Synagogue officials maintain that the event is purely about informing its members, and that Wasserman Schultz will talk “about President Obama’s relationship with Israel.”

Read more: http://freebeacon.com/politics-and-the-bimah/

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