Trump says Harris wants to 'destroy Israel' at 'antisemitism' event

Donald Trump spoke at an event dealing with "antisemitism" in the US state of New Jersey on Thursday, as part of his ongoing presidential campaign, where he was seen posing with Israeli flags and attacking his opponent, Kamala Harris.

Trump threw multiple jabs at his rival during the event hosted by the Republican-aligned Stop Antisemitism group, saying she is "always demanding a ceasefire" in reference to the ongoing negotiations to bring a halt to Israel’s deadly war in Gaza.

Trump claimed that the Biden-Harris administration’s "weakness and indulgence of Israel’s enemies directly enabled" Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7.

"Kamala Harris is the candidate of the forces who want to destroy Western civilisation, but most particularly Israel and Jewish people," Trump said. "And I’m the candidate of those who want to defend Western civilisation, defend Israel and defend the United States of America."

He also criticised the Biden-Harris administration for restoring funding to the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA, claiming they both "funnel money to Hamas", and went to call the Democrat presidential candidate and current Vice President a "radical-left lunatic".

During his speech, Trump called for "rejecting" antisemitism and urged Jewish-Americans not to vote for Democrats "by habit", claiming that Biden and Harris's party is "absolutely against them".

Trump also claimed that "toxic poison of antisemitism now courses through the veins of the radical Democrat party", to which "Kamala Harris is pandering to", prompting cheers from the audience.

The presidential candidate also claimed that people in the US "are denying" that the October 7 attacks ever took place, in a similar fashion to those who deny the events of the Holocaust.

Expecting a win in the November elections despite polls suggesting otherwise, Trump said he will "support Israel’s right to win its war on terror". He also said "wouldn’t it be nice if Israel wins the war fast?".

Israel’s war in the enclave has killed over 40,000 Palestinians in since October 7, with thousands of uncounted casualties likely buried under rubble. Israel’s actions in Gaza have labelled a genocide and war crimes by experts, UN agencies and NGOs.

"As your president I will stand with the State of Israel. I will protect Jewish American communities and I will put America first and keep America safe, and I will defend Judeo-Christian civilisation from the barbarian savages and left-wing extremists who want to destroy it," he pledged.

"Together we will confront the forces of antisemitism and we will win, win win."

Trump also took a swipe at Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Democrats’ left-wing ‘squad’ for "hating Israel and Jewish people", and at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, saying he has "become like a Palestinian" over his criticism of Israel's leadership.

The event was hosted by the controversial Stop Antisemitism group, a privately-funded US-based organisation which claims to highlight antisemitic incidents.

The group, however, has come under fire for conflating criticism of Israel and Zionism as antisemitic, and for employing methods such as doxing when accusing individuals of espousing "antisemitic" beliefs.

In 2023, the organisation infamously named critics of Israel as "Antisemites of the Year" including Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, British-Albanian singer Dua Lipa and Mohamed Hadid, the Palestinian-American real estate developer and father of models Bella and Gigi.

The event was also attended by Miriam Adelson, the Israeli-American widow of casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who donated millions of dollars over the years to the Republican Party and pro-Israel organisations.

Adelson has donated millions to the Trump campaign over the years following her husband’s death in 2021, and is expected to donate more to try to ensure Trump enters the White House.

The billionaire, whose family owns the pro-Netanyahu Israel Hayom newspaper, also spoke at the event.

In her speech, Adelson claimed that it was "open season against Jews" and that "antisemitism has become acceptable" in reference to pro-Palestinian support in response to Israel's atrocities.

"There’s a president in our lifetime, just one, who fully shares [Jewish] values, and act on them, and that is Donald Trump," she said. She also praised him for "recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moving the US embassy and recognising the Golan Heights" during his previous tenure as president.

She said this was "why President Trump deserves the full support of the Jewish people. This is our pledge to him, that the White House will be his again come January."

Also on Thursday, Trump said that he told Netanyahu during their last meeting in July to quickly end Israel's war in Gaza, Reuters reported.

"He knows what he's doing, I did encourage him to get this over with," Trump told reporters at a press conference. "It has to get over with fast, but have victory, get your victory and get it over with. It has to stop, the killing has to stop."

Trump has reportedly urged Netanyahu to halt the war in Gaza on multiple occasions, stressing that the country was "losing the PR war".