It was short—less than a minute—but the American Israelis who gathered in Jerusalem’s Old City to hear from the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump’s video address to the people of Israel was still pretty sweet.
“I love Israel and honor and respect the Jewish faith and tradition,” he said in the opening of his video address. “It’s important that we have a president who feels the same way.”
More than 200 Americans residing in Israel gathered for the rally on Thursday in a growing sign that Jewish voters may further swing in the direction of the GOP in the 2016 general election. Many of those in attendance still retain their U.S. citizenship—and the right to vote in the Nov. 8 election.
Republicans Overseas Israel, which hosted the rally, estimates that there are 300,000 U.S. citizens living in Israel or in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. By some estimates, if even just a third of them were to cast absentee ballots, it could have a major impact in several key battleground states.
ROI Co-chairman Marc Zell said as many as three-fourths of American Israelis support the GOP and Trump, a significantly higher margin than among Israelis in general.
