Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, April 2, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
Former President Donald Trump questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’s support for Israel and the Jewish community during a press conference on Thursday, arguing he would be the better choice for Jewish voters in this year’s US presidential election.
While fielding questions from reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump commented on recent reports that Harris would be “open to” considering an arms embargo on Israel if she is elected president in November. Aides to Harris have said that the Democratic presidential nominee did not agree to discuss imposing an arms embargo during an exchange with anti-Israel activists this week but would engage with members of the Muslim and Palestinian community on the Israel-Hamas war.
Regardless of the conversation, Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, stated that he would oppose withholding arms from Israel and attacked Harris for her positions on issues of concern to Jewish voters.
“Look, she’s been very, very bad to Israel and very bad to Jewish people,” Trump said. “And I say it, if anybody I know is Jewish, and they would vote for Kamala over me, they should have their head examined. If you think about it, I gave them Golan Heights. I gave them the capital of Israel — Jerusalem. I even built the embassy.”
During his single term in office, Trump recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a strategic region on Israel’s northern border previously controlled by Syria. He also moved the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognizing the city as the Jewish state’s capital.
Trump added during the press conference that Iran, the arch enemy of Israel, “cannot have a nuclear weapon.” He touted his decision to withdraw the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which placed temporary restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.
Trump argued that under his administration, “Iran was broke,” weakening the Islamist regime’s ability to fund terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah throughout the Middle East.
Harsh US sanctions levied on Iran under Trump crippled the Iranian economy and led its foreign exchange reserves to plummet. Trump and his Republican supporters in the US Congress have criticized the Biden administration for renewing billions of dollars in US sanctions waivers, which had the effect of unlocking frozen funds and allowing the country to access previously inaccessible hard currency.
US intelligence agencies have for years labeled Iran as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, noting it devotes significant sums of money and weapons each year to supporting proxies across the Middle East such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Trump also noted his administration’s efforts to broker the Abraham Accords, which normalized Israel’s relations with four Arab countries in 2020.
“I got them the Abraham Accords; everyone said that’s impossible. I got them the Abraham Accords,” he said, before turning his attention back to Harris.
“She’s been very, very bad to Israel, and she’s been very bad and disrespectful to Jewish people,” Trump added.
The former president then argued that Jews and Zionists who support Harris need to “have their head examined” because she has been “very, very bad to Israel and very bad to Jewish people.”
Harris has sent mixed signals regarding her stance toward the Jewish state. The current vice president delivered a 2017 speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in which she proclaimed the bond between the US and Israel was “unbreakable.” In 2020, while delivering another speech to AIPAC, she emphasized that US support for Israel must remain “rock solid.”
However, Harris has exhibited a tougher stance toward Israel in the months following Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, raising doubts about her level of support for the Jewish state. During a call with then-Israeli war cabinet leader Benny Gantz earlier this year, Harris suggested that Israel has indiscriminately killed Palestinian civilians in Gaza while targeting Hamas terrorists. While speaking to Israeli President Isaac Herzog in April, Harris expressed “deep concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and discussed steps to increase the flow of life-saving humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians.” Harris also urged Israel not to greenlight military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, arguing that it would be a “huge mistake.”
The vice president skipped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s congressional address last month, opting to attend a sorority conference in Indianapolis instead. After conducting a private meeting with Netanyahu, Harris reaffirmed her “unwavering commitment to Israel” but said she “will not be silent” about civilian casualties in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
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