Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a rally outside Schnecksville Fire Hall, in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, April 13, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

(JTA) — WASHINGTON — Donald Trump again said he finds it “amazing” American Jews vote for Democrats and said many do not like Israel, an accusation that has infuriated Jewish groups in the past and that Trump made shortly before he is due to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Well, it’s amazing, actually, that any Jewish person or any person that believes in Israel and loves Israel can even think about voting for a Democrat,” he told the right-wing news outlet Newsmax, which is friendly to the former president and current Republican nominee. “You know, in this country, a lot of Jewish people are not big fans of Israel, which is something that they’ve never been able to explain to me.”

(Polls have consistently shown, in fact, that significant majorities of American Jews want the United States to support Israel and feel a connection to it.)

The comment came days ahead of Netanyahu’s planned meeting with Trump at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Netanyahu is addressing Congress on Wednesday and has meetings scheduled Thursday with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Netanyahu wants to mend relations with Democrats that have been frayed by months of tensions over his prosecution of Israel’s war against Hamas.

Trump’s questioning of the loyalty of a Jewish community that votes in large majorities for Democrats, despite what he believes to be his more pro-Israel actions and outlook, has in the past drawn criticism from the organized Jewish community.

Last year he wished a happy Rosh Hashanah, or Jewish new year, to “liberal Jews who voted to destroy America and Israel,” which groups including the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League said was “deeply offensive.”

Halie Soifer, the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, on Wednesday said Trump was “vilifying” U.S. Jews.

“Jewish Americans do respect Israel,” she wrote on X. “We don’t respect Donald Trump given his alignment with dangerous extremists, attacks on our democracy & rights, and repeated insults launched at 3/4 of American Jews.”

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