Boston Jewish leaders slam Mass. treasurer

Boston Jewish leaders were among the religious leaders who slammed the Massachusetts state treasurer for criticizing Gov. Deval Patrick’s attendance at a forum at a local mosque.

The religious leaders—including representatives of several synagogues, the Archdiocese of Boston, the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, the Massachusetts Council of Churches and some of Boston’s most prominent black churches—gathered May 28 on the steps of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center to criticize Treasurer Timothy Cahill for saying that the meeting was “playing politics with terrorism,” the Boston Globe reported.

Cahill is running as an independent candidate for governor against Patrick, a Democrat.

Patrick’s campaign told the newspaper that Cahill was engaging in “fear mongering” when he rapped Patrick for holding a forum for the Muslim community. The forum touched on such issues as discrimination and racial profiling, and encouraged businesses to allow Muslims time off to attend Friday prayers.

Rabbi Eric Gurvis of Temple Shalom in Newton praised members of the mosque, who assisted the synagogue when it was vandalized with a swastika earlier this year.  He called Cahill’s statement against the governor an “act of hatred and bigotry.”