President Donald J. Trump on Saturday night told a raucous and adoring audience at the annual conference of the Israeli-American Council (IAC) in Hollywood, Florida: “The Jewish state has never had a better friend in the White House than your president, Donald J. Trump.”
After being introduced by philanthropists Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, Trump lashed out at the majority of Jewish American voters who would not vote for him, despite his unprecedented support for the State of Israel.
“So many of you voted for people in the last administration,” he said, “Some day you’ll have to explain that to me because I don’t think they liked Israel too much.”
The Israeli-American Council is an American nonprofit organization that represents and serves more than 250,000 Israeli-Americans across the US. Its mission is to preserve and strengthen the Israeli and Jewish identities of future generations, strengthen the American Jewish community, and strengthen the relationship between citizens of the United States and the State of Israel. The IAC is considered the fastest-growing Jewish organization in the world.
Turning to the 2020 elections, the president picked on Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) who is a contender in the race for the Democratic party’s presidential nomination, and whose agenda Trump described as “Let’s take 100 percent of your wealth away.”
He then lashed out at Jewish Democrats saying that despite their being “great people, they don’t love Israel enough.”
Then, in a reference to vehemently anti-Israel congresswomen Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who voted against the anti-BDS bill which was supported overwhelmingly in the House, Trump suggested, “You’ve got to be very careful, make no mistake, radical lawmakers who support the BDS movement are advancing anti-Israel and anti-Semitic propaganda. My administration strongly opposes this despicable rhetoric, and as long as I am your president, it makes no difference, it is not happening.”
Trump sharply criticized his predecessor, saying under the Obama administration relations with Israel were “undermined and neglected.”
“I don’t think they liked Israel too much, I’m sorry. After eight years of which our alliance was undermined and neglected, I am happy to report the United States-Israeli relationship is stronger now than ever before,” Trump said.
One name Trump did not mention was that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – whose argument for remaining in power in Israel revolves around his great friendship with the American president. This cold shoulder followed a statement last week from the State Dept. which denied Netanyahu’s claim that he and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed the annexation of the Jordan Valley.
Trump did mention the US peace plan for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which was conceived by a team headed by his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“A lot of people say that can’t be done,” Trump told the IAC gathering in Florida Saturday night. “They say that’s the toughest of all deals, but if Jared Kushner can’t do it, it can’t be done.”
Good to know.