LAS VEGAS, Oct 28, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Top US Republican Jewish leaders started 
meeting in Las Vegas Friday for a key annual convention, with Israel's war 
against Hamas set to dominate the gathering.

The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), which traditionally welcomes White 
House hopefuls looking for donors, is expected to be an opportunity for 
candidates to demonstrate their support of Israel.

"The world will be watching," the RJC wrote on social media as it announced a 
countdown to the event.

The eight main candidates for the Republican Party nomination are all 
expected to speak at the meeting, including frontrunner Donald Trump, and his 
nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Trump sparked fury in recent weeks by describing Lebanon-based Islamist group 
Hezbollah as "very smart" and criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 
Netanyahu.

At a rally earlier this month Trump said that in January 2020 Israel decided 
at the last minute to pull out of a joint operation with the United States to 
kill a top Iranian security commander.

"I'll never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down. That was a very terrible 
thing," Trump told supporters.

The remarks drew criticism from rivals across the board, with DeSantis saying 
the Republican Party needed to present a united front in support of Israel.

"Now is not the time to air personal grievances about an Israeli prime 
minister," he said. "Now is the time to support their right to defend 
themselves to the hilt." 

Candidates will be expected to offer unequivocal support for Israel as it 
continues its bombardment of Gaza in response to a brutal Hamas raid that 
killed 1,400 people on October 7.

The Hamas-run health ministry said Friday that Israeli strikes had now killed 
7,326 people, more than 3,000 of them children.

- 'Solidarity with Israel' -

The only woman in the race, Nikki Haley, Trump's former US ambassador to the 
United Nations, has evoked fears of anti-Semitic attacks on US soil, and said 
she would tighten the law in response to what some see as support on college 
campuses for anti-Israel views.

"As president I will change the official federal definition of anti-semitism 
to include denying Israel's right to exist," said Haley, adding that she will 
strip of tax breaks schools that do not combat anti-Semitism.

"College campuses are allowed to have free speech, but they are not free to 
spread hate that supports terrorism," she said. "Federal law requires schools 
to combat anti-semitism. We will give this law teeth and we will enforce it."

The organizers said the newly installed Republican speaker of the House of 
Representatives, Mike Johnson, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise would 
address the gathering on Saturday night. 

"Their participation underscores their commitment to standing in solidarity 
with the people of Israel and the American Jewish community," the RJC wrote 
on social media. 

Security around the weekend convention has been tightened, with a larger-
than-usual number of people expected to attend.

In addition to the strong rhetoric expected from key players, participants 
are also set to take part in prayers and tributes to Israeli victims of the 
Hamas attacks.

"It's interesting that all of the presidential candidates feel that they want 
to be here and talk to this group. It speaks a lot," said Marty Flasher, one 
of the convention participants.

Support for Israel is a huge issue for both political parties in the United 
States, and a rare instance of foreign policy that matters at the ballot box, 
thanks in part to the large number of Jewish voters.

It is also a significant issue for evangelical Christians for whom the 
existence of a Jewish state is a key precondition for the hoped-for "second 
coming" of Jesus Christ.