The OU Advocacy Center hosted a forum April 5 with four of the Democratic candidates vying to represent Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, currently held by Rep. Chris Van Hollen. The participants were William Jawando, Kathleen Matthews, Joel Rubin and David Trone.

The event, held at Kemp Mill Synagogue in Silver Spring, Md., was moderated by OU Advocacy Center Executive Director Nathan Diament. Diament asked the candidates about their positions on issues ranging from support for Israel and funding for non-public schools to the Iran nuclear agreement.

Van Hollen is vacating his position to run for the U.S. Democratic Senate seat held by outgoing Sen. Barbara Mikulski. The Advocacy Center will host a forum April 14 for the Republican candidates running for Van Hollen’s seat.

The OU Advocacy Center does not endorse candidates for office. The event was sponsored by OU Advocacy as a service to the community and the candidates to help educate and inform voters about issues affecting the community and the candidates’ positions on those issues.

The Orthodox Union is the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization; the OU Advocacy Center is the non-partisan public policy arm of the OU and leads its advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C. and state capitals.