(JTA) — On Sunday, more than 2,100 people packed the sanctuary of Temple B’nai Abraham in Livingston to hear remarks by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and students who survived the February 14 shooting that took the lives of 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
The rally, organized by the Community Relations Committe of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, comes as local Jewish federations debate whether they should be supporting specific gun policies in the wake of the Parkland shooting. Federations, which raise money for Jewish education, social services and Israel, often seek to avoid advocacy issues seen as deeply partisan. However, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, whose 125 constituent community relations councils are often funded in whole or part by the local Jewish federations, issued a statement supporting various gun control measures.