Ramaswamy responds to criticism of Israeli policies at Jewish forum in Las Vegas

“There is enough anti-Semitism in this country that we don’t need to artificially manufacture more of it. My message this morning will be, I believe, the most pro-Israel view you will hear today, but it will not take the form of standard GOP-endorsed talking points,” he added.

Since the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, Ramaswamy has attracted increasing controversy over his remarks about the United States’ role in the conflict and his suggestion that the United States should not provide military aid to Israel until the government clearly sets out the measures it will take following an invasion of Gaza. .

In an interview earlier this month with Tucker Carlson on , financial and corrupting influences that lead (politicians of both parties) to speak as they do.

A number of Republicans lambasted Ramaswamy for what they perceived as anti-Semitic tropes about Jewish power – fueling long-standing concerns in the Republican Party about Ramaswamy’s policies toward Israel. The GOP candidate has made headlines this month for his confrontations with former U.N. ambassador and 2024 candidate Nikki Haley, Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst and Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

He repeatedly referred to David Ben-Gurion, the principal national founder of the State of Israel and its first prime minister, emphasizing that he is to Israel as George Washington is to the United States.

“(George Washington) reminded us that our job here is to be strong at home, to mind our own business, to avoid foreign military entanglements that do not directly concern our homeland here in the United States of America ” Ramaswamy said, with some in the audience then booing. “It’s okay. I’m sharing my honest point of view and we need to have an open debate to find a way forward.

“I am a George Washington, an American conservative first, and I believe that the relationship between the United States and Israel is strongest when it is based on American self-interest, just as I believe it is and will be stronger when it is. Not out of passing sympathy. It’s better for America. It’s better for Israel,” he added.