LAS VEGAS — Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP nominee for governor of Ohio, described antisemitism as an attack on core ideals of the United States, including success and meritocracy, in a speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual conference on Monday.

“Why am I here at the Republican Jewish Coalition talking to you about success? It is because you represent the most successful demographic group in America, and the antisemitism that is now spreading across our country is not just an attack on Jewish people; it is an attack on success,” Ramaswamy said. “It is an attack on the idea of success. It is an attack on the idea of meritocracy. It is an attack on the idea of capitalism. It is an attack on the very idea of America itself.” 

He said he sees antisemitism as an expression of “envy of Jewish achievement,” and believes that is the primary driver of the current “epidemic” of antisemitism across the country.

“It is the spread of envy, and as much as it causes psychological and sadly even physical harm to the Jewish community, it causes even more psychological harm to those who harbor it, those who harbor envy, and those who harbor antisemitism reject a fundamental truth that America was built on,” Ramaswamy said.

He said that Americans should be lifting up successful Jews and other Americans, rather than villainizing them. And he emphasized that standing up against antisemitism is “about standing up for America.”

Ramaswamy is locked in a highly competitive race for governor against Democrat Amy Acton, the former director of Ohio’s Department of Health who headed the state pandemic response.