“I’m here to say that this ugly tide will be turned back and crushed starting at noon on January 20” 

Photo: AP Images

Former president Donald Trump brandished his pro-Israel and pro-Jewish credentials and made the case for why Jews concerned about anti-Semitism and the future of the Jewish state should pull the lever for him this November, despite the longstanding Jewish affinity for the Democratic Party — or as Trump would have it, “a hold, or a curse” — that continues to hold sway, much to the dismay of Team Trump.

Late last week, his campaign spread that message among American Jews.

Trump himself made the specific comments at an invitation-only event billed as “Fighting Anti-Semitism” held in a posh hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., last Thursday evening. The event was hosted by Yehuda Kaploun, a former business associate of Trump who remains close with the former president, and Dr. Miriam Adelson, the Israeli-American Las Vegas billionaire and Republican mega-donor.

Just a day before the speech, the former president’s son Eric Trump hosted representatives from Satmar for sit-down meetings in Manhattan’s Trump Tower during which he discussed policy with his chassidic guests.

The former president himself was slated to make a stop on Thursday in Williamsburg at the legendary Gottlieb’s Restaurant, which generated considerable buzz in the chassidishe enclave. It was scrapped at the last minute when Shulem Yoseph Gottlieb, the restaurant’s owner, passed away suddenly at the age of 75, just hours before Trump was supposed to stop in.

At the Washington event, after a two-hour prelude, during which participants alternated between taking photos in front of the Trump-Vance podium and clamoring for selfies, Mr. Kaploun spoke, noting that “It’s currently safer for a Jew to walk with a kippah in Abu Dhabi than on a college campus” and that only one party has had the courage to stand up to the world’s oldest bigotry head-on. That was underscored by the fact that the Trump campaign was hosting an event dedicated to the topic. The Democratic Party has been more circumspect, afraid of nettling its progressive base.

Dr. Adelson echoed Kaploun’s sentiments, encouraging her Jewish friends not to buckle and to be proud of who they are — to which many responded by donning “Trump 47” yarmulkes that had been handed out at the door.

Making His Pitch

Trump himself entered the room to thunderous applause and wasted no time, employing his unique mixture of bombast and conversational storytelling to make his pitch.

“I’m here to say that this ugly tide will be turned back and crushed starting at noon on January 20,” he declared, adding that he would “defend our Jewish citizens in the United States of America.”

He touted his administration’s opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem, its recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and the historic Abraham Accords — telling the audience that if any other administration had cut that deal, “they’d be awarded every Nobel prize possible.” He also reminded the crowd that he had terminated the Iran nuclear deal, “the worst deal ever made in the history of Israel, in the history of the Middle East” — a line that received a standing ovation.

But he went on to express his frustration — in his trademark unabashed style — that he hasn’t seen wall-to-wall support from Jewish voters. “I will put it to you very simply and gently. I really haven’t been treated right… because you’re putting yourself in great danger.”

He cited a poll showing his Jewish support at 40% — higher than the 25% he got in 2016 — but “that means you got 60 percent voting for somebody that hates Israel. You can’t let this happen. Forty percent is not acceptable, because we have an election to win.”

He warned ominously that “Israel will cease to exist in two years, if I don’t win this election,” and he stirred controversy by claiming that if he loses this race, “the Jewish people would have a lot to do with that — [as] 60 percent are voting for the enemy.”

Predictably, that statement generated sharply different reactions. Many of his Jewish supporters chalked it up to Donald Trump being, well, Donald Trump. Others — including the mainstream media — expressed shock at his level of rhetoric. The New York Times report suggested that Trump was “evoking a longstanding trope” that Jews have “dual loyalty.”

That backlash, of course, didn’t stop him from repeating the line again just a few hours later at American Israel Council’s annual summit a few blocks away.

“I’ll Figure Out a Law”

To illustrate the surge in anti-Semitic activity in the past ten months, organizers of the American Israel Council event invited several dozen Jewish students who were forced to defend Israel and their own identity after pro-Palestinian protests broke out on campuses following the Hamas massacre.

Republican officials known for being strong supporters of Israel were also in attendance, including Senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham, and Representatives Mike Lawler, Byron Donalds, Virginia Fox, and Elise Marie Stefanik — whose tenacious questioning on the campus protests forced the resignation of at least two university presidents.

When I asked Congresswoman Fox what steps a Republican administration could take to push back against a form of speech that is protected by the First Amendment, she was adamant.

“It’s first important to expose what was happening and to hold the colleges accountable,” she said. “We’re also looking into what kind of Title VI violations there may be, and students are filing their own lawsuits. But much of the outcome is going to depend on what the Department of Education and Department of Justice do in terms of oversight and exposing what happens. Unfortunately, we need the administration to take things to the next level.”

I pressed Congressman John Carter of Texas, who served as a trial judge prior to being elected to Congress, for a specific law that students are violating — which would then give an interested Department of Justice the ability to prosecute them.

Carter hesitated, but then said in his distinct Southern drawl, “I have to think about it, but I’ll figure out a law.”

For his part, President Trump said that combatting anti-Semitism on campus would be a top priority if he retakes the White House.

“My administration will inform every college president if they do not end antisemitic propaganda, they will lose their accreditation,” he said. “If they permit violence or harassment of Jewish students, the schools will be held accountable for violations of civil rights law.”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1030)