Republican presidential candidates demonstrated unrestricted support for Israel in the war against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas this Saturday during an annual event of the Jewish community in the United States, at which they presented their foreign policy pledges if they win the White House. reach in the United States. 2024.

“The United States fully supports Israel,” said former President Donald Trump, the most touted presidential candidate, at the annual meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) in Las Vegas, where potential party donors gather.

The event, which traditionally serves as a campaign platform for pre-candidates for the White House, took on greater relevance this weekend with the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.

“The RJC was founded for a time like this,” said Norm Coleman, chairman of the coalition. “To ensure that the United States supports Israel in doing whatever is necessary to eliminate Hamas.” “This is about good versus evil. You are either with Israel or you are with the people who are slaughtering and kidnapping women, children and the elderly,” said Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, setting the tone for the event.

“The United States stands with the Israelis in their mission to ensure that Hamas is decimated and that all these atrocities are avenged,” Trump said, attacking President Joe Biden but not attacking his Republican opponents.

Trump, who is leading the polls for the Republican primaries but is under pressure over his legal troubles, drew applause by promising to defend Israel “like no one has ever done.”

“The conflict between Israel and Hamas is not a conflict between equal parties. It is a battle between civilization and barbarism,” he said, referring to the unprecedented attack Hamas launched against Israel on October 7, which left more than 1,400 dead, most of them civilians.

“Cultural Chemotherapy”

The event kicked off early in the morning with surprising news, as Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence announced he was withdrawing from the election race. “It’s not my time,” he said.

Otherwise, the speeches were marked by rhetoric criticizing the administration of Democrat Joe Biden and statements of support for Israel.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the Hamas attack “the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”

In second place in the polls, De Santis, like other pre-candidates, has also expressed fears of an anti-Semitic escalation in North American universities, defending a legislative offensive, in addition to an economic siege of educational centers, as well as migration measures against foreign students .

DeSantis has pledged to revoke the visas of students who speak out in favor of the Palestinians, a position shared by the pre-candidates who spoke before him.

“We need cultural chemotherapy to fight this cancer,” said Senator Tim Scott. “Any student who advocates murder and terrorism should be removed from campus. Any student with a visa that promotes genocide should be deported,” the senator added.

Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy was among the most moderate, although he emphasized that there is no middle ground in his solidarity with Israel. He warned that Washington must provide strong diplomatic support to the ally but keep its troops on the sidelines of the conflict.

This year, with the escalation of violence in the Middle East following the Hamas attack on Israel, security at the event was strengthened with extraordinary measures and extensive mobilization of law enforcement officers.

The gathering, which included last-minute additions such as recently elected Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, also served to honor the Israeli victims of the conflict.

In addition to the more than 1,400 fatalities reported by Israel, Israeli authorities claim the Islamist group is holding 230 hostages kidnapped in the Gaza Strip, the majority of whom are Israelis.

Meanwhile, the Hamas Health Ministry reported in its latest bulletin last Saturday that 7,703 people, most of them civilians, had been killed in the Israeli bombing of Gaza.