US Republican Jewish Coalition’s Significance Amplifies amidst Ongoing Israel-Hamas Conflict

Long considered a “can’t-miss” annual event for GOP politicians, the national Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) leadership summit is occurring at a crucial time, shortly after the Israel–Hamas war erupted.

“The summit has taken on added significance and added weight, given what’s going on in Israel,” RJC spokesman Sam Markstein told The Epoch Times.

The gathering also comes at a time when more American Jews may be ready to shift their political affiliation from Democrat to Republican, given that Democrats’ support for Israel has waned, he said.

Former President Donald Trump and seven other Republican presidential hopefuls are scheduled to speak Saturday at the summit, which is being held at the Venetian Resort’s conference center in Las Vegas.

About 1,000 people and more than 50 media outlets, including international press and Israeli TV, are expected for the three-day event, which begins Friday.

State and national elected officials will meet with “some of the most engaged and influential party activists in the country,” Mr. Markstein said.

“This conference is going to show that the Republican Party unequivocally and apologetically stands with the Jewish state of Israel,” he declared.

“Back in the day, you’d be able to get up at a Republican or a Democratic event, and you could say, as a candidate, ‘I stand with Israel,’ and it was always an automatic ‘applause line,'” Mr. Markstein said. “But I think you would get booed off the stage if you said that in the Democratic Party today.”