Republican Jews Celebrate Taking White House Still Wary Of Trump – Forward
LAS VEGAS (JTA) Republican Jews have President Donald Trump to thank for their partys renewed dominance of Washington politics. So what do they think of him?
Marlyn Appelbaum paused to contemplate the question at the opening of the Republican Jewish Coalitions confab at the Venetian resort hotel in Las Vegas Friday evening.Then, she avoided mentioning the president.
My biggest thing is pro-Israel, said Appelbaum, the head ofa teacher training institute in Sugar Land, Texas. I was real upset at the last eight years. I think things for Israel are going to turn around.
Her answer capturedthe vibeat the RJCs annual two-day Leadership Meeting. Amid giddy celebration of the end of the Obama years and the advent of a new Republican administration, RJC officials and members seemed to make an effortto get excited about Trump, with whom their group has a fraught history.
By contrast, Vice President Mike Pence, one of the pro-Israel communitys closest friends, was greeted effusively at the event, where headdressed the crowd.
For the first time in RJC history we have a sitting Republican [vice president] sitting with us for our Shabbat dinner! RJC director Epsteinannounced ahead ofPences speech.The crowd erupted in applause.
And a Republican president who is going to make our country great again! Epstein added. Only acouple tables in the corner clapped.
Still,Make America Great Again kippahsdotted the Venetians byways, and Elliot Lauer, a board member perhaps best known as Jonathan Pollards lawyer, delivered a dvar Torah Friday evening in which he likenedTrumps victory to the triumph of the Jews in ancient Persia celebrated on Purim.
Asked about Trump, RJC members clad in bespoke suits and flowing gowns highlighted his political effectiveness.
He did say things that were offensive, said Robert Lewit, a retired psychiatrist from Florida who in the Republican primaries supported Marco Rubio, his states U.S. senator.But hes innately a brilliant politician, making immigration an issue, advocating for a U.S. economic revival.
Though unimpressed by Trumps star turn onThe Apprentice reality show, Lewits wife, Jane, said, No one saw what he saw: the forgotten man, a referenceto Trumps appeal to working and middle class Americans. In any case, its better than what was. I happen to have had a total antipathy for our last president, and everything he stood for.
It has been a rocky road for the RJC and Trump.At the groups presidential candidates forum in December 2015, Trump mocked the wealthy Jewish donors by saying he too was richand so immune to their purchasing power. He also said he would be neutral on brokering Israeli-Palestinian peace and refused to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital.
Then there were Trumps affronts tominorities, like Muslims and Hispanics, which did not sit well with a Republican constituency that has in recent years spearheaded calls for the party to be more inclusive. And when Trump appeared last spring hesitant to disavow his burgeoning support from the alt-right, a loose grouping of anti-establishment conservatives that includes within its ranks unabashed anti-Semites, the RJC went dark.
The group hardly issued statements mentioning Trump. None of its events at the RepublicanNational Convention in July were open to the press in contrast with the groups high profile in past years. Its get-out-the-vote drive largely barely mentioned Trump and focusedon vulnerableGOP senators in states with large Jewish communities. And even its inaugurationparty last month was closed to the media.
Now, the RJCis trying hard to get behindthe president. Trumps pivot from his neutrality on Israel in 2015 to an eager embrace earlier this month of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his policies on the Palestinians and Iran have helped the RJC belatedly come around.
There was not a consensus [on the RJC board], said Elliott Broidy, a venture capitalist who was among about a dozen of the 50 or so board members who backed Trump prior to his nomination. Even when he was our presumptive nominee. Over time, people became more supportive. Now that hes president, theres deeper support on the board.
Fred Zeidman, another board member who is close to George W. Bush and could never quite bring himself to endorse Trump duringpresidential campaign, said it was incumbent on all Republicans to make sure government works now that the GOPis in control of all its levers.
I have a vested interest in making this White House a success, said the Houston-area businessman.
Asked by journalists Friday about Trumps most recent Jewish controversies including the White Houses omission of reference to the Jews in a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was widely criticized by Jewish groups, including the RJC the groupsdirector Matt Brookstalked about Israel.
Theres a professional complaining class in the Jewish community that will criticize and attack Donald Trump no matter what he says, Brooks said.People who genuinely have an open mind, individuals and organizations, see he is following through on commitments he made on campaign, he is repositioning in a positive way the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Brooks alsopointed to the vice president. Hes a terrific partner to President Trump, you have a terrific team with the both of them.
In his speech, Pence too vouched for Trumps pro-Israel bone fides. If the world knows nothing else, it will know this: America stands with Israel, he said.
We told the ayatollahs of Iran they should check the calendar, theres a new president in the Oval Office. President Trump will never allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, this is my solemn promise to you.
He also described his recent visit to the Dachau concentration camp in Germany, where a Holocaust survivor gave him a tour. The crowd was clearly moved.
In one ballroom of the Venetian, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who has defended the Trump White House fromallegations it iscovering up Russian interference in the elections, pleaded with RJC members to have the presidents back, according to people who were present. Boris Epshteyn, a top White House aide who is emblematic of an emerging vocal minority among Republican Jews who have adoptedthe alt-rights confrontational style, made a similar pitch in another ballroom.
Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate who owns the Venetian and who contributed tens of millions to the effort to elect Trump, had a private meeting with Pence prior to his speech. At Trumps inauguration, Adelson and his wife, Miriam, were accorded a rare honor to political donors, appearing on the capitols dais for the swearing-in.
Despite his access, Adelsons hoped-for administration officials have been waylaid: Former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, former ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Elliott Abrams, a mandarin in the Reagan and the George W. Bush administrations, are all on the outside looking in.
Seen as responsible for freezing them out is Chief White House Strategist Steve Bannon, a heroof the alt-right and the bane of neoconservatism, an interventionist outlook that many Republican Jews stillsupport.
But RJC members were able to hold uptheir Jewish representatives in government, however few. Rep. David Kustoff, the freshman from Tennessee, joked, in an easy drawl, that Jewish Republicans in the House grew by 100 percent, with himjoining Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y.
Eric Greitens, the steel-jawed Missouri governor, described how he rallied a diverse community this week to help clean up a vandalized St. Louis area Jewish graveyard, an effort joined at the last minute, by none other than the vice president. Pence called out inspiration over a bullhorn. Pence stood on the back of a pick-up truck. Pence wielded a rake.
Greitens, having depicted a sweaty, intense Pence, getting down and dirty for the Jews, finally got around toTrump.
The president had called me earlier that day, Greitens said. He said, Tell the people of Missouri that we stand with them in the fight against anti-Semitism.
More here:
Republican Jews Celebrate Taking White House Still Wary Of Trump - Forward
- Exclusive | The Republican Strategy to Win Without Trump on the Ballot - WSJ - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Another Republican enters race to succeed Andy Barr in U.S. House - Kentucky Lantern - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Republican tax and spending cut megabill expected to take billions from Oregon Health Plan - Oregon Capital Chronicle - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Up Close with Bill Ritter: Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa on race for NYC mayor; Democrats try to unite behind Zohran Mamdani - ABC7 New York - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Exclusive / Moreno set to replace Tillis on Republican whip team - Semafor - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Chairman of Randall County Republican Party arrested for election fraud - KVII - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Republican Backs Push to Repeal Part of Trump Bill Days After Voting For It - Newsweek - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Republican The View Co-Host Admits to Crying Backstage at Least Half a Dozen Times - The Daily Beast - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Wisconsin Republican compares himself to Trump as he launches his bid for governor - AP News - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Opinion | Jeff Flake: The Republican Fever Must Break - The New York Times - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Two women accuse Republican state lawmaker of making unwanted sexual advances. He denies the allegations. - The Colorado Sun - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- 1988: A year that echoes in Georgia Republican politics to this day - SaportaReport - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Manassas Republican Party Headquarters vandalized over July 4 weekend - Washington Times - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Republican House leader Windschitl announces campaign for Congress in western Iowa - thegazette.com - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Public Safety Should Trump Politics; The High Cost of Republican Posturing - Progress Texas - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Georgia Republican says grandchildren are safe after being at Texas summer camp that flooded - The Hill - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Two women accuse Republican State Representative of inappropriate sexual behavior - KUSA.com - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- New York Times columnist admits that Trump is a 'normie Republican' - Fox News - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- E&E News: Energy winners and losers in the Republican megabill - POLITICO Pro - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Completely beatable: Dems go on offensive over unpopular Republican budget - MSNBC News - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Rep. Mark Green resigns from Congress, leaving Speaker Johnson with an even narrower Republican majority in the House - CNBC - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- A swing-district Republican on why he supports Trump's sweeping policy bill : Here & Now Anytime - NPR - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Trumps climate research cuts are unpopular, even with Republican voters - Yale Climate Connections - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Energy winners and losers in the Republican megabill - E&E News by POLITICO - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Tax Cuts Now, Benefit Cuts Later: The Timeline in the Republican Megabill - The New York Times - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Opinion | An Immoral and Cruel Republican Bill - The New York Times - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- No One Loves the Bill (Almost) Every Republican Voted For - The Atlantic - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Truth to Power: A Republican Senator Stands Up for Medicaid and His Constituents; Then Announces Retirement - Georgetown University - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- 9 Questions About the Republican Megabill, Answered - The New York Times - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- This Pennsylvania Republican withstood pressure on the megabill. Heres why. - Politico - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Wisconsin Republican Deletes Post That Appeared To Celebrate Millions Of People Losing Health Insurance - Yahoo - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Republican Bill Puts Nation on New, More Perilous Fiscal Path - The New York Times - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Trump says the Republican mega bill will eliminate taxes on Social Security. It does not - PBS - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Republican Bill Will Raise Costs, Poverty, and Hunger, Take Health Coverage Away From Millions - Center on Budget and Policy Priorities - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Republican voters on Trumps sweeping tax-and-spend legislation: This bill is a no-brainer! - The Guardian - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- These are the Republican votes to watch on the Trump megabill - The Hill - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Trump Meets With House Republican Holdouts to Press for Policy Bill - The New York Times - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- How the Republican spending bill super-charges immigration enforcement - Reuters - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- House Should Reject Senate Republican Bill That Is Even Worse Than Already Harmful House Version in Important Ways - Center on Budget and Policy... - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Trump Tax Bill Hits Republican Resistance in House Ahead of Vote - Bloomberg - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- The Republican senators who voted against Trump's "big, beautiful bill" - Axios - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- By the Numbers: Senate Republican Leaderships Reconciliation Bill Takes Food Assistance Away From Millions of People - Center on Budget and Policy... - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Which Republican senators voted against Trump's agenda bill and why - ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- State of Colorado says Republican budget bill will cut billions in federal funding for Medicaid in the state - CBS News - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Republican Senator Tells House Not To Vote on Bill She Just Voted For - Newsweek - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Here Are the Republican Senators Who May Revolt on Trumps Bill - The New York Times - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Opinion | The Republican Policy Bill Will Cripple Obamacare - The New York Times - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- House Republican files amendment to revert Trump-endorsed 'big, beautiful bill' back to initial House version - Fox News - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Republican budget leaders moving forward a plan to close the aging Green Bay prison - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- RFK Jr. is bringing psychedelics to the Republican Party - Politico - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Republican Sen. Thom Tillis will not seek reelection next year after Trump attacks - NPR - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Following Trump attacks, Republican Senator Tillis bows out of 2026 reelection race - Reuters - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Republican North Carolina Sen. Tillis wont seek reelection after opposing Trumps bill - PBS - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina wont run in 2026 after opposing Trumps bill - AP News - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Sanders Leads Republican Governors to Call on Congress to Remove AI Regulatory Moratorium from One, Big, Beautiful Bill - Arkansas Governor - Sarah... - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- House Republican Don Bacon, a Trump critic, will not seek reelection - media - Reuters - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Exclusive | One NY Republican opens massive lead in possible primary to face Gov. Kathy Hochul: poll - New York Post - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina won't seek reelection after opposing Trump's bill - WCCB Charlotte - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Nebraska Republican Don Bacon will not seek re-election to Congress - NBC News - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Democratic and Republican Parties Hold Nominating Events This Week for Sept. 9 Special Election - Fairfax County (.gov) - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Vulgar and threatening graffiti painted on Huntsville business ahead of Republican congresswomans visit - WAFF - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Centrist Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska won't seek reelection - ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- A Running List of Policies Rejected From the Republican Megabill - The New York Times - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Trumps Bill Slashes the Safety Net That Many Republican Voters Rely on - The New York Times - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Republican plans to overhaul Medicaid are already shaking up the 2026 midterms - CNN - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- The Senate Republican Tax Plan: Officially Worse than the House Republican Tax Plan - Senate Committee on Finance (.gov) - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Texas Republican State Representative discusses why he opposed the THC ban, criticizes the state bud - CBS News - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Republican Says 'Most' of Iran's Uranium Is Still There - Newsweek - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Fewer Democrats Are Taking the Bait on Republican Immigration Votes - NOTUS - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- US Republican senators push back on Trump cuts to foreign aid and public media - Reuters - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Republican introduces amendment to end birthright citizenship once and for all - Fox News - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Centrist Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska won't seek reelection - Yahoo - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Scoop: New Republican Senate candidate in Kentucky to team up with top Trump ally - Fox News - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- The Republican foreign policy debate, President Trump, and the transatlantic alliance - Brookings - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- A Republican plan to sell off millions of acres of public lands is no more for now - Los Angeles Times - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- By the Numbers: Senate Republican Leaderships Health Agenda Takes Health Coverage Away From Millions of People and Raises Families Costs - Center on... - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Sweeping GOP budget bill illuminates the central fault line in the modern Republican coalition - CNN - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Lisa Murkowskis commitment to the Trump-era Republican Party appears increasingly shaky - MSNBC News - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Republican plans to cap student borrowing could shatter an everyday profession - Politico - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Republican Lisa Murkowski on Trumps America and the intensity on the security of our democracy - The Guardian - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]