The Jewish lawyer Roy Moore’s wife invoked when responding to anti-Semitism claims on the eve of Alabama’s special election is now an evangelical Christian.
In an email to AL.com, Kayla Moore said she was referring that night to Martin Wishnatsky, a lawyer who works for the Foundation of Moral Law, which was founded by the former judge in 2003. Wishnatsky gave an interview to AL.com in which he discussed his faith in detail.
He was born and raised Jewish, he said, but became a Christian in his 30s. He says he is a Messianic Jew, a term he says is used for a Jewish person who has accepted Christ.
According to AL.com, Wishnatsky became a Mormon first, then an evangelical Protestant Christian. He is staunchly against abortion rights and has spent a total of 18 months behind bars for protests against women’s access to health care, including blocking clinic entrances.
Kayla Moore’s comments came under fire as she was introducing her husband at the final campaign event before the special election for Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ former Senate seat. She lashed out at the media, calling reports on Moore’s history of sexual misconduct and harassment “fake news.” She also responded to the backlash her husband received after suggesting Democratic donor George Soros would go to hell for his Jewish faith.
“Fake news would tell you that we don’t care for Jews,” Kayla Moore said. “I tell you all this because I’ve seen it also; I just want to set the record straight .... One of our attorneys is a Jew. We have very close friends who are Jewish and rabbis, and we also fellowship with them.”
Moore lost the election to career prosecutor Doug Jones, who became Alabama’s first Democratic senator in 25 years.