Shopping List of Support for Israel Focus of Republican Rally in Jerusalem

Not willing to overlook a populace that includes more than 200,000 expatriate Americans eligible to vote, many in battleground states, a Republican support group based in Israel held a campaign event on Wednesday night that featured Trump’s senior adviser on issues relating to Israel and a short video message from the candidate himself. An anomaly for the Jewish community, Israel-based absentee voters support the GOP over the Democratic Party by a margin of nearly 80 to 20 percent: nearly an exact reversal of the Jewish vote in the United States. Mindful of the large number of retirees voting in Florida – the state pundits tag as arguably the most important battleground – and the pivotal role Florida’s Israel-based absentees played in the 2000 George W. Bush victory, the effort by Republicans Overseas Israel was clearly a worthwhile boost for the campaign. So much so, that two senior Trump representatives attended in person: adviser on Israel issues David Friedman and David Peyman, the campaign’s liaison to the Jewish community. After the Trump video was shown, Friedman addressed the gathering stressing there would be “no daylight” between US and Israeli policy. Friedman promised that a Trump administration would deliver virtually each and every point on the pro-Israel community’s wish list, from recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem; moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem; dealing with differences privately; and allowing Israel to make its own decisions. Referring to but not citing the growing fear among Israel’s supporters that in a parting shot at Israel — and in particular Prime Minister Netanyahu — President Obama will withhold the American veto from a UN Security Council resolution that Jerusalem rejects, Friedman said in a Trump administration, President Trump will “order every resolution” hostile to Israel to vetoed.