Upper East Side Rabbi Backs Out of Republican National Convention Commitment

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A rabbi from a prominent Upper East Side congregation has reneged on his commitment to give the opening prayer at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein of the Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun released a statement saying his intentions for attending the convention were misconstrued as politically motivated.

"Unfortunately, when my name appeared on a list of speakers at the convention, without the context of the invocation I had been invited to present, the whole matter turned from rabbinic to political, something which was never intended," read the statement.

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Who would've guessed that appearing at a convention to nominate a presidential candidate could be interpreted as "political"?

Rabbi Lookstein's ties to the Trump family go back to when he performed Ivanka Trump's conversion to Judiasm.

Here is the statement in full:

Rabbi Lookstein has been the Rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun since 1958, according to the temple's website.