( JTA ) — LAS VEGAS — The Republican Jewish Coalition kicked off its annual gathering by highlighting the messages it has long stressed in its pitch to Jewish voters: that the Republican Party and its standard bearer, Donald Trump, are stronger defenders of Israel during wartime, and of American Jews in the face of rising antisemitism.
“This election is about whether we as a nation will tolerate antisemitism. This election is about whether we as a nation will stand with Israel or capitulate to terrorists,” Florida Sen. Rick Scott told the crowd at the Venetian Resort on Wednesday evening.
Speakers at the conference’s opening event – including Sen. Joni Ernst, Reps. Jason Smith and Davis Kustoff, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum – repeatedly tied the Biden administration and Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and to domestic antisemitism, particularly on college campuses.
“On the Biden-Harris administration’s watch, Iran and its proxies like Hezbollah have been emboldened and we have seen the terrifying consequences,” said Smith, of Missouri. He accused the Democratic Party of harboring a “pervasive culture of antisemitism,” evidenced by anti-Israel activity on college campuses.
Smith and others called for stripping funding from universities that allowed for antisemitism on campus.
“The problems at some of these so-called elite schools are systematic,” Smith said. He added, “As a new semester begins, these schools must show Congress, and more importantly Jewish students, that they are willing to stand up to antisemitic hatred.”
The event opened with renditions of the American and Israeli national anthems, the latter accompanied by a video montage of Israeli soldiers singing the anthem in uniform, clearing a tunnel and doing training exercises. The audience of several hundred sang along.
The crowd at the opening event was a mix that included older attendees and several tables of students clustered toward the back of the elaborately decorated convention hall. Many in the crowd wore kippahs, some bearing Trump’s name.
The former and hopeful president will headline the event with a speech delivered via satellite on Thursday morning. RJC CEO Matt Brooks said in a statement that Trump will speak not only to Republicans, “but to the entire American Jewish community.”
He also linked Harris to the Gaza war and antisemitism in the United States.
“With President Trump, American Jews could wear a kippah and walk the streets without fear, and Jewish students felt safe when going to class; with Kamala Harris, antisemitism has skyrocketed to unprecedented and dangerous levels,” Brooks said.
The hotel and casino complex where the gathering is taking place was owned by the late Jewish Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson; his widow, Miriam, remains a leading donor and force in Republican politics and will address the convention on Thursday.
The RJC is traditionally aligned with the party’s establishment, which backs broad American involvement in world affairs, including in the Middle East. Tensions have emerged in the party between that establishment and an ascendant movement aligned with Trump that takes an “America First” isolationist approach.
Speakers on the convention agenda represent both wings of the party, including establishment stalwarts such as Sen. Lindsey Graham. From the more isolationist wing of the party, Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, and Sens. Sam Brown of Nevada and Tim Sheehy of Montana will speak.
At Wednesday night’s event, foreign involvement was in vogue. Speakers pushed for a muscular foreign policy that would protect allies including Israel. Several speakers praised Trump for the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020.
“We were holding Iran accountable, but look at Biden-Harris. They’ve been greenlighting billions of dollars to Iran,” Scott said. “They’re the biggest state sponsor of terrorism. They get the money from us.”
Michael Whatley, the chair of the Republican National Committee, said, “When Ronald Reagan talked about peace through strength, it wasn’t just a pithy campaign slogan.”
He added, “When America is weak, the world is a more dangerous place.”
Whatley also flatly rejected accusations of antisemitism in the Republican party after right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson, who spoke at the Republican convention in July, hosted on his podcast a historian who promoted falsehoods about the Holocaust .
“There is no element of antisemitism within the Republican party. If you want to talk about antisemitism, you need to go across the aisle,” Whatley told reporters. “We stand by Israel, we stand with the Jewish people. There’s no question about it.”
The speakers received an enthusiastic reception from the audience, with mentions of Trump drawing applause and the crowd booing Harris and hardline left-wing Democratic lawmakers such as Rep. Ilhan Omar. Scott received standing applause closing his speech advocating for the hostages and Israel, with one attendee shouting, “We love you, Rick” from the back of the room.
Also set to speak at the conference are Shabbos Kestenbaum — who spoke at the Republican convention and attended the Democratic convention — and Eyal Yakoby. Both have testified to Congress about antisemitism at their respective Ivy League alma maters. Ronen and Orna Neutra, the parents of American-Israeli Omer Neutra, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, are also due to speak.
Speakers at the event repeatedly referred to the hostages and mourned the six captives executed by Hamas last week, with several mentioning American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin by name.
“May God be near to the families of our hostages. We must bring them all home now,” Ernst said, prompting chants of “Bring them home” throughout the hall.
Some speakers blamed the White House for abetting Hamas to the detriment of the hostages.
“Biden and Kamala Harris threatened Netanyahu and withheld weapons to stop him from going into Rafah. Maybe if they hadn’t impeded Israel’s advance, maybe these innocent lives would still be alive today,” Scott said.
The parents of Omer Neutra told JTA that they would look to raise awareness of the hostages and talk about who their son is in their speech.
“We want them to know our son, we want them to know his story. A brave American kid, all-American, loves sports, very social, who decided to do the brave thing like any other Israeli and protect the homeland,” Ronen Neutra said. “Now it’s our job to take him out.”
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