Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) appeared before a packed house of more than 700 Jewish constituents at a major Conservative synagogue in the heart of his district on Monday evening, facing a barrage of questions from attendees skeptical over his vote to cut U.S. military aid to Israel.

Auchincloss appeared in conversation with Jeremy Burton, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, at Temple Emanuel in Newton, Mass., before taking around two-dozen questions from the audience, attendees said. 

Those in the audience said that most of the crowd was not supportive of Auchincloss’ vote and was not persuaded by his explanation, but most of those who spoke to Jewish Insider came away expecting that he’ll maintain significant Jewish community support and were appreciative of his engagement.

Auchincloss’s explanation for his vote, attendees said, was largely consistent with those he offered in statements and in an interview with Jewish Insider last week, that he viewed the vote as a way to block further taxpayer support for the Iran war he opposes. The congressman is expected to make similar appearances at other synagogues around the district in the coming weeks.

“I really think that there was worry and skepticism about the vote, about what it says about the future of support for Israel,” Barry Shrage, the longtime former president of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, the local Jewish federation, told JI. 

He said that he and others in the crowd were concerned about the impact of the amendment on Israeli security. “A majority of people in that audience were very skeptical about what he did and worried about what he did.”

One attendee who requested anonymity to speak candidly estimated that between 70 and 80% of attendees opposed the stance Auchincloss had taken on the issue.

Auchincloss declined to comment.

Lisa Coll, a former board chair of Prizmah who said she’s known and supported Auchincloss for years, said she was “shocked and surprised and slightly hurt and a little angry,” having expected Auchincloss would vote against the amendment based on his pro-Israel record and the fact that the amendment was led by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), an anti-Israel Republican who has a history of making antisemitic comments.

She said that Auchincloss offered a clear and reasoned explanation for his vote, but felt that he didn’t grasp the concerns in the Jewish community or why the community was so concerned. There’s “very much a lot of surprise and hurt going around,” Coll said.

Coll said that she emerged from the event still feeling the same shock and frustration with Auchincloss’s vote. “It was not an easy evening, it was a very uncomfortable evening for everyone,” Coll said. “Everyone was squirming at some point,” and attendees were “angry and sad.”

Lisa Danetz, who works as an expert and adviser in elections and voting rights, said that she felt, and remains, “conflicted” about Auchincloss’ vote and was surprised that Auchincloss supported the amendment, given his record. But she said she understood his reasoning.

“I ended up thinking, I’m not sure how I feel about this particular vote — but since the amendment didn’t pass and wasn’t going to pass, I didn’t feel like I was going to get too worked up about it and appreciated hearing the reasoning,” Danetz said.

“I think you have to respect him, he did what he thought was right,” she continued. “I don’t know if I agree with it or not. But overall I feel aligned with his underlying values.”

Coll said that she’s concerned that, as a Jewish member viewed as a serious, policy-oriented and pro-Israel lawmaker representing a large Jewish constituency, Auchincloss’s vote has the potential to influence and provide license for other members less engaged on the issue to take anti-Israel positions.

She said that Auchincloss did not share those concerns when she asked him a question on the subject. “I don’t think he is anti-Israel,” Coll said. “I don’t know if he is aware of what I perceive as the consequences of this vote.”

She said she also didn’t think Auchincloss fully understood the community’s concerns about how his vote and comments might perpetuate narratives framing the Iran war as “America fighting Netanyahu’s war” that have fueled antisemitism and antisemitic violence.

Shrage said that Auchincloss repeatedly emphasized that his vote was intended as a repudiation of the Iran war and of President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — both unpopular figures in the district’s Jewish community.

“A bunch of people got up and said, ‘This actually threatens the people of Israel,’” Shrage said. He recounted that one woman said, “‘I have Israeli and American citizenship. I have family in Israel. Your vote endangered them.’ And of course she added … ‘I’ve demonstrated against both Netanyahu and Trump, I have no sympathy for them whatsoever.’”

According to Coll, another attendee, an Israeli-American woman, said that Auchincloss’s vote was punishing the people of Israel for the actions of Netanyahu, and questioned whether he would support other countries punishing Americans the same way over frustration with Trump. Coll said Auchincloss did not offer a clear answer to the question.

A small number of attendees offered thanks and support for Auchincloss’ position in their comments, according to attendees.

Michael Gardener, a prominent area attorney, said he came into the event without having made up his mind on the vote and wanting to know more, while noting that it was out of step with Auchincloss’s prior votes on Israel issues.

Coming out of the event, “I understood his position and I must say I agree with it,” Gardener said. He said that Auchincloss had made clear that he did not seek an arms embargo in Israel and wanted to allow it to continue buying American weapons, but felt that providing U.S. taxpayer money that would facilitate the Iran war was not appropriate at this juncture, “which I agree with.”

Gardener said that views in the room weren’t uniform, but acknowledged that a majority of attendees likely did not agree with Auchincloss “and at the end of the evening probably still didn’t,” but felt that everyone understood Auchincloss’ reasoning and respected him for coming to explain it.

Another attendee, who also requested anonymity to speak candidly, cast a mixed picture of the audience, emphasizing that views in the room were diverse and said that the “audience appreciated him coming out and sitting in the hot seat to answer all of their questions” and “that he gave a lot of thought to all the implications” of the vote.

But, the attendee added, every mainstream Jewish organization in the Boston area had had serious conversations with Auchincloss about the vote expressing a “unanimity of disappointment” with him about it and exploring what his approach to Israel will entail going forward.

Shrage said he’s skeptical of Auchincloss’ claims, repeated throughout the event, that the vote wasn’t motivated by politics, or concerns about shifting Democratic party trends on Israel. Auchincloss similarly denied to JI that the vote was motivated by political considerations.

But, in spite of the concerns he saw in the audience, Shrage said he doesn’t expect any major defections in Auchincloss’ Jewish support base or efforts to oust him from office, predicting that most will “hold their nose and vote for him.” Most of the Democratic party opposition to Auchincloss in the district has come from his left.

“I don’t think anybody’s going to be joining a move to to defeat him in any way, shape or form,” Shrage said. “As a congressman, he still has broad support, but there was a lot of fear, worry and anxiety in this audience about what that vote meant.”

Coll said she wants to maintain her relationship with Auchincloss, and said she believes he’s a “principled and good person” who “in his heart … is very pro-Israel [and] does understand the importance” of the U.S.-Israel relationship and preserving Israel’s security and qualitative military edge.

She predicted that some members of the community will rethink their past support for Auchincloss, but others will likely wait to assess future votes on Israel.

“I’m hoping that we can count on [Auchincloss] to continue his support for Israel in his other votes like he has in the past and I would encourage the congressman to reach out to his constituents more before votes like this to read the room,” Coll said.

Danetz also said that Auchincloss was clear in his remarks that he didn’t take this or any vote based on politics. Asked whether she believes that, she said, “I think he thinks that, I don’t know if that’s humanly possible. He came across as very authentic and honest and wanting to have dialogue and conversation and explain his thinking.”

“I trust in his honest conviction of Israel’s right to exist and in the need for defense and also in concern related to the current government of Israel, a concern I share,” she continued.

Attendees generally said they appreciated Auchincloss coming to address the community and explain his position, and praised Burton’s questioning and the leadership of and comments by the congregation’s rabbi.

“I really respected [Auchincloss] for coming to speak to people. … I thought it showed how important it is to him to engage with his constituents in the district and in understanding that people were upset about his vote and a desire to explain his thinking,” Danetz said. “It seemed to me that whether people agreed with him or not, it would be hard to walk out of there not at least understanding where he was coming from, or where he thought he was coming from.”

She said Auchincloss was clearly knowledgeable about the issue and explained his stance clearly, and that he’d been “emphatic” in his continued support for Israel’s existence and security.

Gardener said that the synagogue was as full as it traditionally is for high holiday services, highlighting the passion that the community has for the subject, which he said can only be a good thing for Israel and the Jewish population.

He said he thinks everyone in the room shares the same passion for Israel and support for its security as a Jewish and Democratic state and “I think the congressman feels the exact same way.”

But, he continued, “I think there are different viewpoints about how you get to that spot.”