Trump claims Harris would 'abandon' Israel if she wins November polls, slams Jews supporting US VP
Sept. 6, 2024, 12:38 a.m.
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While belittling the Jews who are supporting US Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming 2024 presidential elections, former US President Donald Trump claimed that his Democratic presidential rival would “abandon” the community and the Israeli cause. The provocative remarks from Trump came during his speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas.
Trump attempted to appease Jewish donors by saying that he would ban refugee resettlement from “terror-infested” areas such as Gaza and assured that he would arrest “pro-Hamas thugs," who cause “vandalism” in US colleges if he came back to power. While laying out his Middle East policy, Trump took potshots at Harris and claimed that her presidency would be harmful to Israel.
Advertisement “You’re going to be abandoned if she becomes president. And I think you need to explain that to your people … You’re not going to have an Israel if she becomes president,” Trump said without providing evidence to substantiate his claims. He insisted that American universities would lose federal support for, what he called, spreading “antisemitic propaganda”.
“Colleges must stop promoting antisemitic ideas, or they will lose their accreditation and federal funding,” he declared.
Trump belittles Jews supporting Harris
During his address to over 1,000 Jewish donors, Trump attempted to belittle Jews who are still supporting Harris in the November polls. “I don’t understand how anybody can support them – and I say it constantly – if you had them to support and you were Jewish, you have to have your head examined,” he averred. Trump told the coalition that the US President Joe Biden’s administration and Harris herself “have been very bad to you.”
The Harris campaign has not yet responded to the inflammatory remarks made by the Republican presidential nominee. While Harris has reiterated Biden’s strong support of Israel and rejected calls from some in the Democratic party to reconsider sending weapons to Israel, she has been a strong advocate for an immediate ceasefire in the region.
Not only this, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his apprehensions with Harris after the vice president told him that she “won’t be silent” on the Gaza crisis, during their bilateral talks.
“Israel has the right to defend itself, and the methods it uses matter. The situation in Gaza over the past nine months has been devastating,” Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, told reporters after her meeting with Netanyahu.
Advertisement “It’s time to bring this conflict to an end, and to do so in a way that ensures Israel’s security, secures the release of all hostages, ends the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, and allows the Palestinian people to exercise their right to freedom, dignity, and self-determination,” she stated at the time.
During the address, Trump reiterated his claims that the ongoing Israel-Hamas war would not have started if he was still in the Oval Office. “I will support Israel’s right to win,” Trump told the RJC. “It’s a war on terror, and we will win fast. You have to win and you have to win fast,” he added.
Advertisement It is pertinent to note that despite Trump’s disdain for Palestinian refugees, both he and Biden have similar numbers of Palestinians being admitted as US refugees. According to the Department of State, the US accepted 114 Palestinian refugees from 2017 to 2020, when Trump was the president. On the other hand, 124 Palestinian refugees were admitted to the US under the Biden administration.
With inputs from agencies.
