A lifelong Jewish Democrat speaking Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention believes there will be a wave of support for former President Trump from Jewish Democrats this November.
“I know very few Orthodox Jews who have voted for President Biden in 2020 and are planning to do so again in 2024,” Shabbos Kestenbaum told Fox News Digital. “We will, I believe, see a tremendous amount of Jewish support towards Donald Trump in a way that we haven’t seen before.”
Kestenbaum is one of several “everyday Americans” who will be speaking at the GOP convention in Milwaukee this week. He is one of six Jewish students who are suing their alma mater, Harvard University, for discrimination, after antisemitic protests rocked the campus following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
The Democratic voter said that he and other Jews are “angry” with how Biden has handled the Israel-Hamas conflict and it would hurt him in the election.
President Biden has faced criticism from Jewish Democratic voters over his handling of the anti-Israel protests. (Fox News Digital / Getty Images)
“He is bleeding both left and right. I think it’s critical for his advisers, those who are surrounding him, to make it clear to him that there are constituencies outside of Dearborn, Michigan,” he said, referring to the significant Muslim population there.
“There are constituencies across this country who are disillusioned and angry at his, for example, delay of critical ammunition to the state of Israel, his inability to crack down on illegal protests that harass Jewish Americans and his inability to secure the release of eight American citizens,” he continued.
At the convention, Kestenbaum said he plans to address how universities have let down Jewish students amid these protests, appeal for the U.S. hostages still being held by Hamas, and call on reforms to higher education to “instill patriotism and the ideals of Western civilization once again in the classroom.”
Kestenbaum said that if the Democratic Party had invited him to speak at their convention he would’ve gladly accepted, but they are “not interested in this issue.”
“Unfortunately, the Republican Party seems to be the only party that’s interested in these relatively obvious policy solutions,” he continued. “I’m a registered Democrat … and I don’t understand why my party has been unable to adopt policies that are pro-Jewish, pro-America. I’m really disillusioned with my party right now.”
Harvard University graduate Shabbos Kestenbaum will be speaking at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday. (Shabbos Kestenbaum/ Getty Images)
Kestenbaum declined to state whom he would be voting for in November, but said that he was supportive of Trump’s policies on these matters.
“I am supporting Donald Trump’s policies to instill patriotism in our school system. I’m supporting Donald Trump’s policies to expel foreign students who break our laws. I’m supporting Donald Trump’s policies to tax university endowments and remove their tax-exempt status. These are things that Donald Trump has championed, and I’m proud to support him in that fight. And as I said, I just don’t understand why my liberal allies have abandoned the American people in this regard.”
The Democrat said his party had become “almost unrecognizable” because of the Israel issue, citing notable exceptions of pro-Israel lawmakers like Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and New York congressional candidate George Latimer.
“There needs to be some type of reform within my party because they’re failing way too many Jewish Americans and Americans,” he added.
On Saturday, Biden touted that Hamas and Israel have agreed to his proposed framework for a cease-fire deal and bringing U.S. hostages home.
However, Biden continues to face criticism from both the left and right over his administration’s handling of the war. Vice President Kamala Harris also angered some Jewish Democrats after she expressed sympathy for protesters in a recent interview with The Nation.
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The Biden campaign did not return a request for comment.