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JEWISH OUTREACH

Trump to meet Jewish leaders in D.C. ahead of Thursday IAC speech

The former president will be speaking about fighting antisemitism to a group of prominent supporters, including Dr. Miriam Adelson

BEDMINSTER, NEW JERSEY - AUGUST 15: Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump embraces Miriam Adelson at a fighting anti-semitism event, at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster on August 15, 2024 in Bedminster, New Jersey. Trump's campaign leaders announced they were expanding his staff as the reelection campaign heads into its final few months. (Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump is slated to give remarks on countering antisemitism to a group of prominent Jewish supporters on Thursday during an exclusive event in Washington, D.C., according to a person involved with the gathering.

The event, whose participants are expected to include the GOP megadonor Dr. Miriam Adelson, will be held in advance of Trump’s planned speech later this week at the Israeli American Council’s national summit in D.C. to mark the first anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks.

Both events are set to occur as the Trump campaign has been courting disaffected Jewish voters turned off by the far-left wing of the Democratic Party over its approach to the Israel-Hamas war — even as the former president’s hostile rhetoric toward Jewish Democrats and his associations with antisemitic figures have threatened to jeopardize that outreach.

The Jewish gathering on Thursday, which is not a fundraiser, will be hosted by Yehuda Kaploun, an Orthodox businessman, and his business partner Ed Russo, according to the person familiar with the event who shared details with Jewish Insider on the condition of anonymity.

The two Jewish activists also helped organize a similar event last month at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J., where the former president spoke out against what he called a “vicious outbreak of militant antisemitism” and accused Vice President Kamala Harris of enabling anti-Jewish prejudice in the Democratic Party.

“This event will allow the president to speak directly to” a broad denominational cross section of Jewish leadership “about his plans to combat the wave of antisemitism and antisemitic behavior and enforce the laws for religious liberty to all,” according to a description of the D.C. gathering shared with JI on Monday.

Adelson — who is among the Trump campaign’s top benefactors this election cycle — also spoke at the event last month in Bedminster, where she declared that the former president “deserves the full support of the entire Jewish people” and voiced hope “that the White House will be his again come January.”

During the gathering later this week, whose exact time and location remain undisclosed, Adelson “will be discussing how all Jews are one nation” and “the dangers of” ignoring “antisemitic behavior,” the event description states.

While Adelson rarely speaks publicly, the pro-Israel champion — whose is reportedly planning to spend about $100 million to help elect Trump — has been increasingly vocal in recent weeks. The billionaire donor also delivered remarks earlier this month at the Republican Jewish Coaltion’s annual summit in Las Vegas — held at the Venetian Resort built by her late husband, the casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.

Trump, for his part, spoke virtually at the RJC summit in early September, where he invoked familiar lines targeting Jewish Democrats and reiterated his claim that Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks “would never have happened” if he were president.

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