Ramaswamy addresses Israel policy criticism at Jewish forum in Las Vegas

Vivek Ramaswamy on Saturday addressed criticism of his Israel stance before a Jewish audience in Las Vegas, drawing both boos and applause for his various policy positions amid an escalating war in Gaza.

Ramaswamy leaned into the backlash as the first candidate to take the stage at the Republican Jewish Coalition Conference’s convening of 2024 candidates and Jewish Republican donors in Nevada.

“Let me relieve some of the tension in the room this morning by calling out the elephant in the room: Many of you have heard my policy views described by the press as unfriendly to Israel. Some have even called me anti-Israel. That’s dead wrong,” Ramaswamy told the crowd.

“We have enough antisemitism in this country that we don’t need to artificially manufacture more of it. My message to you this morning will be, I believe, the most pro-Israel vision that you will hear today, but it’s not going to take the form of standard GOP-approved talking points,” he added.

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel, Ramaswamy has increasingly generated controversy over his remarks about the U.S.’s role in the conflict, and his suggestion that the U.S. should not provide military aid to Israel until the government clearly outlines its steps after a Gaza invasion.

In an interview earlier this month with Tucker Carlson on X, Ramaswamy talked about the “selective nature of ignoring certain other conflicts” and U.S. interests, noting that he believes “there are, frankly, financial and corrupting influences that lead [politicians in both parties] to speak the way they do.”

A number of Republicans have lambasted Ramaswamy for what they perceived to be antisemitic tropes about Jewish power — adding fuel to longstanding GOP concerns about Ramaswamy’s policies on Israel. The GOP contender has made headlines this month for confrontations with former U.N. ambassador and 2024 candidate Nikki Haley, Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst and Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

He repeatedly referenced David Ben-Gurion, the primary national founder of the state of Israel and its first prime minister, noting that he is to Israel as George Washington is to the United States.

“[George Washington] reminded us that our job here is to be strong at home, to mind our own affairs, to avoid foreign military entanglements that do not relate directly to our homeland here in the United States of America,” Ramaswamy said, with some in the audience then booing. “It’s OK. I’m sharing my honest view, and we have to have open debate to find a path forward.”

“I am a George Washington, America-first conservative, and I believe the U.S.-Israel relationship is strongest when it is grounded in American self interest, as I believe it is and will be strongest when it is. Not in fleeting sympathy. That is better for America. That is better for Israel,” he added.