Ohio Gov. John Kasich addressed hundreds of congregants at the Great Neck Synagogue Saturday, where he delivered a speech on his life experiences, his faith as a Christian and his support for Israel.
Kasich, who is seeking a bid for the Republican presidential selection against businessman Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, said after his speech he wanted to focus more on life and faith rather than politics.
“Not out of disrespect to the people who I was going to speak to but I had a lot of things that I wanted to say. I didn’t want to make a political talk,” he said. “I just wasn’t interested. If you’re in a synagogue, you talk about faith.”
At the time of his appearance, l, Kasich trailed frontrunner Trump by 36 percent and Cruz by 2 percent going into Tuesday’s New York primary, according to a CBS News poll.
Kasich, who attends an Anglican church, said it was religion that helped him forgive the drunk driver who killed his parents in a car crash in 1987.
“I know that if that man who drove that car could turn back the hands of time, he would,” he said.
In one of his only mentions of the presidential race during the speech, Kasich said he was “thankful” for all the different cultures of people he has met while campaigning and how they helped him show compassion to people from different walks of life.
He also pledged his support for Israel in its dealings with Palestinians, which he called a “terrible situation” for Israelis.
“The Israelites had entered the promised land and they always will be in the promised land forever, until the end of history they will be there,” Kasich said. “I’m not neutral when it comes to Israel.”
The latest round of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians in Israel began in 2013, but were suspended in April 2014 after the two sides failed to reach an agreement.
Kasich said he favors creation of an independent Palestinian state to coexist with the State of Israel, but said he would leave it up to Israeli officials to determine what was best for them.
“As I’ve said, we would all love to see some sort of a two-state solution but that’s up to the parties,” he said. “I’m not going to tell the Israelis how to run their security, how to run all their foreign policy. If I have something to tell them, I’ll tell them without any cameras around.”
Kasich also said he was concerned with the rise of anti-Semitism in the world and said it “would not be tolerated on college campuses.”
Speaking to reporters outside the Modern Orthodox synagogue at 26 Old Mill Road after his speech, he responded to critics who might question his commitment to his run for presidency by not speaking about the campaign during his speech.
“I believe that life is more important than a political campaign because we’re here and then we’re gone,” he said. “That’s why it’s so important to live a life beyond ourselves.”
“Probably some wish I talked more about policy or whatever but that’s all I had today,” Kasich added.
State Sen. Jack Martins (R-Old Westbury) was in attendance at the synagogue for Kasich’s speech.
Going into Tuesday’s primary, Kasich needs 1,093 delegates to win the nomination, but there are only 838 still available.
Trump needs 493 delegates to secure the nomination, while Cruz needs 678 delegates.
