Spindale, N.C. (AP) — Jewish leaders in Florida say they’re pulling their support for a Holocaust exhibit because of its association with a North Carolina church where five members have been indicted on charges that they kidnapped and beat a man because he’s gay.
Students at Word of Faith church in Spindale have created art commemorating Holocaust victims. Ron Shelton, a retired pastor in Cocoa, Florida, is helping bring the art this month to the Space Coast Convention Center.
But David Pelzman, president of the Temple Beth Shalom, says he’s troubled by the church’s past. So are others who say they didn’t know about the problems before the exhibit was announced.
In recent years, national groups have criticized the church after several young men — whose parents are members — claimed they were abused because they’re gay.
