Wearing a suit and tie and having donned a white “Make America Great Again” ballcap, Republicans Overseas Israel co-chairman Marc Zell—the man who led the Israeli effort in President-Elect Donald Trump’s victory—wanted to celebrate his party’s upset win in the general election.
According to The Times of Israel, he went to the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City the afternoon following the election to give thanks to God. He put on phylacteries, danced with ultra-Orthodox worshippers, and recited verses of thanksgiving from the book of Psalms. He also wrote a prayer to place into the stones of the wall.
“I came here simply because I wanted to express my feeling of gratitude to the Holy One, Blessed be He, for what He gave us, for what He gave Donald Trump and [vice-president-elect] Mike Pence and the entire team, also in Israel and across the world,” he said. “I am in the clouds, really. I believed it would happen, but when it actually came true, I didn’t understand what’s going on here. It’s something supernatural.”
Zell, who was born and raised in Washington, D.C., told the newspaper he’s never met the president-elect face-to-face, but he is looking forward to doing so soon. He said Trump had pledged to make Israel a stop on his first foreign visit.
He added that he believes Trump should make moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing it as the Israeli capital a top priority of his new administration.
