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As Trump Taps America First VP, Top Jewish Republican Insists GOP Is …

Jul 17, 2024 3:29 am IDT

MILWAUKEE – Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks addressed the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, offering the most significant plea toward American Jews to date on why they should defy decades of precedent and vote for Donald Trump over Joe Biden.

Brooks, in a three-minute address during a prime speaking slot, implored the crowd to cheer with Israel — which they did enthusiastically.

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"If you tried that at the Democratic convention, you'd be booed off the stage," he said, describing the 2024 election as a critical moment for both the American-Jewish community and Israel.

"This is our chance to continue the incredible pro-Israel legacy of the most pro-Israel president in history: Donald J. Trump," Brooks said, highlighting the former president's frequently cited list of accomplishments like moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, weakening Iran and the Abraham Accords.

"Under President Trump, we will repair and rebuild the U.S.-Israel relationship that has deteriorated after four disastrous years under President Biden," he continued.

"Nine months after the historic Hamas attacks, President Biden is still withholding critical arms that Israel needs to defend itself," Brooks said. Biden is withholding half of a single shipment of 2,000-pound bombs amid concerns that Israel would use them in highly concentrated civilian areas.

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"We must stand with the Israeli people," he continued. "My message here today to the Jewish community is clear: there is only one pro-Israel party and it's the Republican Party."

Brooks vowed that Trump would "put a stop to the rising tide of antisemitism. President Trump will bring back law and order so that American Jews can once again wear a kippah and walk the streets," holding a red kippah adorned with Trump's name.

"President Trump will stop Hamas on the college campus and Jewish students feel safe when they go into class," he continued. "The Jewish community is ready to help elect Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. The Jewish vote continue to increase for Republicans year after year, and I promise you 2024 will be no different."

Brooks stressed Trump will "stand up to the Hamas sympathizers in the squad" while thanking the Republican Party for "elevating Jewish voices."

Speaking to Haaretz and other reporters after his speech, Brooks stressed this is the first time he can remember true insecurity among the Jewish community.

"This is a dangerous time for the for the Jewish community," he said. "People can trust him to take a firmer hand on cracking down on the chaos on the college campuses and really temper the rise of antisemitism and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Jewish community."

Attendees hold and Israeli flag as CEO of Republican Jewish Coalition Matt Brooks speaks on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Tuesday.Credit: REUTERS

Brooks' speech comes 24 hours after Trump tapped J.D. Vance as his running mate. While the RJC praised Vance's appointment, the Ohio senator notably voted against providing Israel with $14 billion in emergency assistance due to its pairing with Ukraine aid.

Brooks' organization notably halted fundraising for other Republicans who voted alongside Vance, begging the question why Vance could be excepted.

"Fundamentally these guys have a difference of opinion on the bill," Brooks said, noting that he and RJC Chair Norm Coleman held a Zoom call with Vance 72 hours before Trump's announcement.

"I am confident if you look at everything that he has said," encouraging people to watch his recent speech at the Quincy Institute. "Everything he has said at other speeches, he is going to be an absolute stalwart friend of Israel and a rock-solid supporter."

Brooks further noted that "he's also the vice president to the most pro-Israel president in history. The president sets the foreign policy agenda, and I don't think there's any daylight between Donald Trump and J.D. Vance when it comes to Israel and making sure Israel is safe and secure."

Attendees hold signs with Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump's name in English and Hebrew at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, WisconsinCredit: Brian Snyder/ REUTERS

Vance's political ascendance is the greatest victory yet for the America First isolationist wing of the GOP — a development inherently at odds with Brooks' organization, which he describes as "Reaganesque" with a robust foreign policy with peace-through-strength at its core.

"It's a debate we're having within our party, there's no question about it. But at the end of the day, through the leadership of people like Speaker Johnson and others — we got aid to Ukraine through with strong Republican support — so it's just a debate that we're going to have."

"America has got a unique role in the world to help defend liberty and support democracy and fight back against totalitarianism. We're going to continue to wage that battle in the party and make sure the Tucker Carlson-wing of the party doesn't get a foothold," he said.

Carlson and Vance notably flanked Trump in his booth at the convention on Monday, illustrating just how much of a battle may lie ahead for the RJC and likeminded Republicans.

Brooks further defended Trump amid criticism of his frequent allegation on the campaign trail that American Jews who vote for Democratsare "disloyal" — a brazen statement that many U.S. Jews consider an antisemitic trope.

Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, speaks on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, WisconsinCredit: Mike Segar/ REUTERS

"Disloyal in his mind to Israel because they're supportive of the Squad and Biden's efforts to hold back critical arms and weapons it needs to fight back against Hamas. It's hard to disagree with that. This is an existential threat that Israel faces," he says.

"There's literally not a day that goes by, whether someone is Jewish or not Jewish," he says, "where somebody doesn't call me and say 'I don't understand the Jewish community, how can they continue to vote Democrat,'" citing the rise of the progressive left. "It's the same question that Donald Trump is asking, but in a Trumpian way."

"You've got to look at all these data points," he continues, "and it's clear there is one pro-Israel party. That's what has people like Donald Trump and others who come up to me every day perplexed."

Despite this, American Jews are still widely expected to vote for Biden over Trump — consistent with years of the U.S. Jewish community voting Democratic over Republican.

"Our goal is to continue to make inroads and do better than we did in the last election. This is a process. If you look at the trend lines, we keep growing incrementally year-after-year and my hope is that we will continue to still do that," he says.

Brooks' appearance comes one night before Israeli-American hostage Omer Neutra's parents will address the convention and one week before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit Washington, where he will meet with Biden and address a joint session of Congress.

When asked what he hopes to see in Netanyahu's speech, Brooks says he wants the prime minister to "help shift public opinion back" to why Israel is conducting the Gaza war to begin with.

Attendees hold up the Israeli flag during the speech of Republican Jewish Coalition head Matt Brooks on the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, WisconsinCredit: AFP

"The farther we get away from October 7, it looks more and more like Israel is not being the victim but being the aggressor. I hope that he's able to tug at the heartstrings of the American people," he says.

"It is not our position to tell the democratically elected Government of Israel what they should or shouldn't do," Brooks says when asked if Netanyahu should accept the cease-fire deal currently on the table.

"We will support the decision of the government when the decision is made, but it's not for us here in America to be offering our opinion as to what we think they should or shouldn't do on something of this significance," he says.

While this appears to contrast with Trump and Vance's calls for Israel to conclude the war "as quickly as possible," Brooks says people are misinterpreting the statement.

"What he's basically saying is 'you have a blank check: if you need to carpet-bomb the area, do it, just get it done. Rip the band-aid off, finish the job because Hamas needs to be destroyed.'"

"This is just taking months and months," he continues. "All he's saying — and he's exactly right —is that time is not Israel's ally. The longer this continues, the more public support erodes and the more international support erodes. Trump's point was 'do what you have to do, get it done and get out.'"

Brooks further insists that should Trump win the election, there will be "a number of high-profile folks who are pro-Israel — some who are Jewish, some who are not — very interested" in serving the administration.

He adds he has no concern about a relationship between Trump and Netanyahu, despite their well-established tensions of recent years.

"As somebody who has had conversations with the president and prime minister, I can assure you that he and the prime minister, that the two of them, will have a very positive and productive working relationship," he says.

"I will not share conversations that I have had with the president, but I have absolute certainty, based on my conversations the relationship between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump will be productive, fruitful and pick up right where it left off," he says.

When asked if he expects Trump and Netanyahu to meet next week during the prime minister's visit, he played coy. "I do not know the answer to that."

When asked if it is possible they will meet, he responded: "They're in the same country, anything's possible."