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March 18, 2024

In Las Vegas, Pence praises Jewish voters, promises ‘unwavering’ ties with Israel

Mike Pence in Las Vegas

John Locher / AP

Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition annual leadership meeting, Friday, Feb. 24, 2017, in Las Vegas.

Updated Friday, Feb. 24, 2017 | 10 p.m.

Mike Pence in Las Vegas

Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition annual leadership meeting, Friday, Feb. 24, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) Launch slideshow »

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence thanked Jewish voters and promised action to strengthen relations with Israel during a 30-minute speech to some of the Republican Party’s wealthiest Jewish donors in Las Vegas.

Pence also affirmed President Donald Trump’s assertion that the U.S. would not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons, earning applause on several occasions and multiple standing ovations from the crowd of about 500 members of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

“Because of all of you, my friend Donald Trump is the 45th president of the United States,” Pence said to roaring applause from the crowd.

Pence said Israel’s strength would be benefitted by a weaker Iran, whose government officials “continue to support” terrorism across the Middle East.

“We will stand strong against Iran’s efforts to destabilize the region,” Pence said. “We told the ayatollahs to check the calendar, because there’s a new president leading the United States.”

He added that with a stronger military, the U.S. would “hunt down and destroy ISIS, so they will no longer threaten our people and our nations.”

The vice president also appeared to respond to a recent rift between the coalition and the Trump administration amid growing concerns of anti-Semitism across the United States. In a Jan. 31 statement, the RJC expressed dismay that the president did not mention the Jewish people by name during a speech on Holocaust Memorial Day days before. In condemning the vandalism of a St. Louis-based Jewish cemetery in which over 100 gravestones were overturned on Monday, Pence said this evening that the “appalling, horrible acts” were “on our hearts.”

“We condemn these vile acts of vandalism and those who perpetrated them in the strongest possible terms,” Pence said. “Anti-Semitism has no place in America and the Jewish community is a beautiful thread in our national fabric.”

Pence affirmed that Trump administration will repeal Obamacare “once and for all,” and replace it with “something that actually works, based on freedom and responsibility.” He added the administration will roll back the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and reduce government spending, and also praised recent Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

“When it comes to the highest court in the land, we will keep faith with the Constitution in the tradition of the late, great justice Antonin Scalia,” Pence said.

Pence was introduced by former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who said the role of the vice president in the United States was “increasing.”

“(Pence) has the experience to handle the duty and responsibilities of the position," Cheney said to applause.

Marilyn Appelbaum, a Trump Republican Jewish Coalition voter from Sugar Land, Texas, said she never thought she’d see her preferred candidate in the White House after eight years of Democratic control of the presidency. Appelbaum said she hoped Trump’s relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “improved” from the relationship between Netanyahu and former U.S. President Barack Obama, and that the Feb. 15 meeting between Trump and Netanyahu at the White House “went great.”

“I think he’s dramatic, but his spirit is the right place,” Appelbaum said of Trump. “I have never in my life seen an opportunity like this for both nations.”

Another attendee, Ben Rothstein of Newark, N.J., applauded the vice president for being sensitive to Jewish values. Rothstein said Pence’s mere presence at the event, and strong focus on Israel during his speech, showed Pence was “in touch with what Jews across the world are hoping for.”

The coalition is funded by Sheldon Adelson and was staged at the billionaire’s Venetian resort. Adelson attended Pence’s speech after meeting privately with the vice president on Friday afternoon before Pence’s address to the entire RJC Friday evening.

Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands who also owns the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Israel Hayom, the largest newspaper by circulation in Israel, disclosed nearly $80 million in donations to conservative groups during the 2016 election cycle, making him the country's most prolific Republican donor last year.

Coalition spokesman Fred Brown said this year’s event, which runs through Sunday, was not specifically intended as a fundraiser. Last year, presidential hopeful and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz spoke to the coalition amid a heated battle with Trump for the Republican nomination to earn both political support and financial backing.

Brown added that nearly all in attendance already supported Pence and Trump.

“We’re here to do business for the coalition,” Brown said. “And we’re pleased the vice president could be a part of it.”

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