A large event featuring former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that was scheduled to take place Monday at Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C., was canceled a day earlier due to security threats, according to two sources with knowledge of the event’s planning. 

The news was first reported in the Forward, whose report suggested the leadership of the synagogue gave in to left-wing members of the congregation who did not want Gallant to speak. 

The idea that Adas Israel canceled the events due to protests within the synagogue “are a malicious lie, designed to pump up the false notion that the synagogue bowed to critics of hosting the former defense minister,” Washington Institute for Near East Policy Executive Director Robert Satloff wrote in a post on X. “As someone with intimate knowledge of the situation, I can state that is the opposite of the truth, which is that the synagogue looked forward to hosting Mr. Gallant.”

A community member with knowledge of the plans pointed out that because Adas Israel has one of the largest preschools in Northwest Washington, the synagogue must be particularly mindful of security risks.

“We were told that there were some security concerns because of some threats that they had received, so they asked us not to hold the event at the synagogue,” a spokesperson for Gallant told Jewish Insider. “It was never brought up that there was any sort of political issue or political pressure from anyone, and quite the opposite.”

On Monday evening, Gallant met with Adas Israel’s head rabbis and synagogue leaders in a small private event.

In an email to the Adas Israel community on Monday, the synagogue’s executive committee asserted that the cancellation was due to security reasons.

“Contrary to speculation, this decision was not based on the event’s subject matter, but rather on our commitment to the safety of our community. Although we do not share details of security concerns publicly, we take them extremely seriously,” the committee wrote. 

“Adas Israel Congregation has more than 5,000 members and has always been committed to creating space for a wide range of opinions and speakers on issues critical to our community,” the email continued. “Open dialogue is key to our commitment to Jewish values. While we regret this cancellation, safety remains our highest priority.”

A spokesperson for Adas Israel declined to comment on the nature of the threat or share specifics about why the synagogue, which regularly hosts big-name speakers, felt a need to cancel this one.

The event, announced last week, was billed as “an exclusive conversation on Israel’s multi-front security challenges since Oct. 7.” Gallant served as a member of Israel’s war cabinet until he was fired by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November.

Adas Israel, a major Conservative synagogue with more than 1,500 families as members, is also popular with politicians, journalists and other high-profile Jewish Washingtonians. 

The synagogue’s senior rabbis did not respond to a request for comment. 

This story has been updated.