Republican presidential nominee tells Jewish donors that his Democratic rival would âtotally abandonâ Israel.
Israel will cease to exist if United States Vice President Kamala is elected to the White House in November, former President Donald Trump has claimed.
Addressing Jewish donors in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Thursday, the Republican nominee claimed that Harris would âtotally abandonâ Israel as president and that âterrorist armiesâ would wage war to âdrive Jews out of the Holy Landâ.
âYou are going to be abandoned if she becomes president, and I think you have to explain that to your people. Because they donât know it. They have no idea what they are getting into,â Trump said in a remote address to the Republican Jewish Coalition.
âYou are not going to have an Israel ⌠if she becomes president. Israel will no longer exist.â
Trump said he would ban refugees from âterror-infested areasâ including Gaza, arrest âpro-Hamas thugsâ who vandalise government property, and cancel funding and accreditation for universities that spread âanti-Semitic propagandaâ if elected to a second term.
US university campuses earlier this year were rocked by protests over Israelâs war in Gaza, triggering claims of anti-Semitism along with counterclaims that accusations of bigotry were being used to silence legitimate criticism of Israeli policy.
Trump, who claimed Hamasâ October 7 attack on Israel would not have happened if he was president, also took aim at Jewish people who vote for Democratic candidates, claiming he had done more for Israel than any other US president.
âWho are the 50 percent of Jewish people that are voting for these people that hate Israel and donât like the Jewish people?â he said. âWhy are they, why are they voting? How do they exist?â
In response to Trumpâs remarks, Harris campaign spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein said the vice president âstands steadfastly against anti-Semitismâ and has been a âlifelong supporter of the State of Israel as a secure, democratic homeland for the Jewish peopleâ.
Finkelstein also said Trump had a history of demeaning Jewish people and associating with far-right figures, including holding a private dinner with white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
âHe has said the only people he wants counting his money are âshort guys wearing yarmulkesâ, and praised neo-Nazis who chanted âJews will not replace usâ as âvery fine peopleâ,â Finkelstein said.
Harris has largely echoed President Joe Bidenâs staunch support of Israel, resisting pressure from the progressive wing of her party to halt shipments of weapons being used by Israeli forces in Gaza.
The Democratic nominee has, however, placed greater emphasis on the plight of Palestinians in public statements, saying she will not be âsilentâ about the suffering in Gaza and that âfar too manyâ innocent civilians have been killed in the war.