Former President Donald Trump said the Democrats “hate Israel” and “the Jewish people.”
Speaking at a private fundraiser organised by the Republican Jewish Coalition in New Jersey last night Trump said: "The Democrats hate Israel. The Democrats largely hate the Jewish people. It's time for the Jewish people to step up and vote for the Republicans and for Donald Trump, and we're gonna save Israel."
The vast majority of Jewish Americans identify as Democrats according to polling, with an estimated two-thirds saying they’d vote for Biden over Trump in June.
Trump made similar comments in March when he accused Jews who vote for Democrats of hating Israel and “their religion.”
In an interview in March, the Republican Party’s election candidate had been asked about Democrats’ criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his handling of the war in Gaza.
He said: “I actually think they hate Israel. I think they hate Israel. And the Democrat party hates Israel.”
Trump added: “Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion. They hate everything about Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves because Israel will be destroyed.”
At the time Jonathan Greenblatt, who heads the Anti-Defamation League, condemned Trump’s comments.
Greenblatt said: “Accusing Jews of hating their religion because they might vote for a particular party is defamatory & patently false.”
“Serious leaders who care about the historic US-Israel alliance should focus on strengthening, rather than unraveling, bipartisan support for the State of Israel.”
