LAS VEGAS — Donald Trump wasn't at the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) venue in the battleground state's “Sin City” Las Vegas on Thursday, but his pro-Israel message still drew a standing ovation from a crowd of hundreds.
“Kamala Harris is the candidate for those who want to destroy Western civilization and Israel,” Trump told attendees via video link. “I am the candidate for those who want to protect Western civilization and Israel.”
“With her as president there will be no Israel,” Trump warned. “Israel will no longer exist.”
Trump was greeted with cheers and thunderous applause from the enthusiastic audience as he vowed his administration would “keep America safe and ensure that Israel will be with us for thousands of years.”
The former president condemned Hamas terrorists who killed six Jewish hostages last weekend, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg Pollin.
“Only an evil, inhuman, truly inhuman ideology would kidnap, torture and murder innocent men, women and children,” Trump said of terrorists.
“Similarly,” he said, addressing Democrats, “here in America, only a deeply sick political party would make common cause with people who sympathize with such evil, and they do.”
Trump then boasted to the audience about his foreign policy record.
“When I left office, America was safe. Israel was safe. Jewish people were safe. The whole world was at peace,” he said. “When I was president, American Jews felt safe in our cities and on our college campuses, and we kept radical Islamic terrorists out of our country.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition has been a consistent supporter of Trump in recent years, and this was no exception. Participants held up signs reading “Trump” in Hebrew and English, as well as “Kamala… Oi vey!”, a Yiddish phrase used to express disappointment or sadness.
Matt Brooks, the coalition's chief executive, said the RJC plans to spend $15 million on the election, encouraging people to get out the vote in battleground states such as Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania, and reaching out to “persuasive” Jewish voters.
One of those persuaded Thursday was Shavos Kestenbaum, a Harvard graduate student who said he remains a registered Democrat but will vote for Trump because of President Biden and Vice President Harris' stated anti-Semitic positions.
