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New GOP platform references support for Israel, fighting antisemitism

But the 16-page document offers fewer specifics than the party’s last platform

CHARLOTTE, NC - AUGUST 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) In this screenshot from the RNC’s livestream of the 2020 Republican National Convention, U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the virtual convention as he prepares to grant clemency to Jon Ponder, a convicted bank robber and founder of Hope for Prisoners, on August 25, 2020. The convention is being held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic but will include speeches from various locations including Charlotte, North Carolina and Washington, DC. (Photo Courtesy of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images)

The Republican Party passed a new platform on Monday indicating that the Trump campaign is seeking to highlight its support for Israel and opposition to antisemitism in the final months of the election, even as the draft document, at just 16 pages, remained short on specific policy proposals.

The newly adopted document, overwhelmingly approved by a Republican platform committee ahead of next week’s convention in Milwaukee, includes just one reference to Israel as well as a brief line about combating antisemitism, otherwise embracing an “America First” foreign policy vision “centered on the most essential American interests, starting with protecting the American homeland.”

Heavily influenced by former President Donald Trump and his allies on the committee, the platform, which will be finalized in a full vote at the convention, vows to “stand with Israel, and seek peace in the Middle East” amid the ongoing war in Gaza, while pledging to “deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again.”

“Republicans condemn antisemitism, and support revoking Visas of Foreign Nationals who support terrorism and jihadism,” the document states in a section addressing rising instances of anti-Jewish activity in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks. “We will hold accountable those who perpetrate violence against Jewish people.”

By comparison, the last GOP platform — adopted in 2016 and recycled in 2020 during Trump’s second campaign — was more detailed in outlining what it called its “unequivocal” commitment to Israel, “an exceptional country that shares our most essential values.”

During the recent debate in Atlanta, Trump provided little clarity on his approach toward Israel while answering a question about the Middle East, raising questions about the direction his administration would take if he is elected to a second term.

Despite its short length, the new platform suggests that the party is now leaning into its longstanding support for the U.S.-Israel relationship, even as some of the most hawkish Republican leaders have promoted a more isolationist foreign policy outlook that is skeptical of American engagement abroad.

The document, in a reference to Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system, declares that the party will “prevent World War Three, restore peace in Europe and in the Middle East, and build a great Iron Dome missile defense shield over our entire country — all made in America.”

In a statement shared on Monday, Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said the new GOP platform “articulates” the former president’s “vision to Make America Great Again in a way that is concise and digestible for every voter.”

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