With Pro-Israel Push At The RNC, Republicans Make A Play To Win Over Jewish Voters

Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, summed up the Republican pitch to Jewish voters succinctly in his speech to the Republican national convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday evening.

“My message today to the Jewish community is clear: There is only one pro-Israel party, and it’s the Republican Party,” Brooks declared, as Jewish convention attendees waved yellow signs with the words, “We are Jews for Trump.”

In keeping with their historically Democratic leanings, in 2020, the overwhelming majority of Jewish voters opted for President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump.

And Trump, whose daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism before marrying Jared Kushner, has even disparaged Jewish Democrats, claiming they “hate Israel.”

But Trump’s allies apparently see an opening following Hamas’ deadly terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Democrats remain divided on support for the ferocious invasion of Gaza Israel launched in response, which has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of whom are civilians.

Brooks’ message got greater amplification on Wednesday — the theme of the day’s programming was “Make America Strong Again,” and it focused heavily on foreign relations and the military. The lineup of primetime speakers included, in quick succession, Orthodox Jewish campus activist Shabbos Kestenbaum; Orna and Ronen Neutra, the parents of an American citizen, Omer, captured by Hamas while serving in the Israeli military; and former Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Jewish Republican who ran an unexpectedly spirited race to unseat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2022.

Kestenbaum, a recent graduate of Harvard University, has already made national waves with his criticism of pro-Palestinian