Vice President JD Vance’s charm offensive failed to completely win over skeptical GOP donors who gathered this week in Las Vegas at the Republican Jewish Coalition National Leadership Summit, Haaretz’s Washington D.C. correspondent Arno Rosenfeld told the Haaretz Podcast. 

There were mixed reactions to Vance’s speech to the crowd of 1,000, meant to be off the record, but leaked publicly, in which the vice president attempted to reassure those attending that, despite his isolationist leanings and association with media figures who regularly peddle antisemitic tropes, that he believed in the “mutually beneficial” relationship between the U.S. and Israel, that he was not “abandoning” the Jewish state and appreciated “American Jewish contributions to the United States.” 

Vance’s words were a bit more “weird and convoluted” in a strange discussion of “blood guilt” – a term popularized by right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson, as a variation of the term “blood libel” with a slightly different meaning. 

“It was quite telling that Vance was using a framework that Carlson has come up with to talk about antisemitism,” Rosenfeld said, at a moment in which even the most conservative Jews have been disturbed by Carlson’s conspiratorial theories. 

On the podcast, Rosenfeld, who covered the three-day event, also spoke with host Allison Kaplan Sommer about the “anxiety” among some present over the dramatic drop in support for Israel among young conservatives, but the lack of any genuine strategy to address it, as well as the primary targets of the attack lines of the speeches: Muslims and socialists.  

Rosenfeld said he was particularly “struck by the degree of just sort of open animosity toward Muslims and Islam” at the gathering, “because of how much of a focus there was on antisemitism and on extremism and on radicalism and on hate. You would get that in one breath, and then in the next breath, there would be talk about how we need to defeat ‘Islamo-fascism’ and the ‘red-green alliance’ between socialism and Islam.” 

Read more:

JD Vance Seeks to Assuage Republican Jews Worried About His Views Toward Israel

GOP Jews Rail Against Democrats at Vegas Confab, but Worry About Their Own Party's Israel Drift

Israel's U.S. Envoy Yechiel Leiter Says Government Is Failing to Stop Jewish Terrorism in West Bank

Michigan Jews Help Form 'Democrats for Mike Rogers,' With Little Talk of Israel

JD Vance's 'Communion' Gives Readers a Chronicle of Unconvincing Conversions

Vice President JD Vance&rsquo;s charm offensive failed to completely win over skeptical GOP donors who gathered this week in Las Vegas at the Republican Jewish Coalition National Leadership Summit, Haaretz&rsquo;s Washington D.C. correspondent Arno Rosenfeld told the Haaretz Podcast.&nbsp;
There were mixed reactions to Vance&rsquo;s speech to the crowd of 1,000, meant to be off the record, but leaked publicly, in which the vice president attempted to reassure those attending that, despite his isolationist leanings and association with media figures who regularly peddle antisemitic tropes, that he believed in the &ldquo;mutually beneficial&rdquo; relationship between the U.S. and Israel, that he was not &ldquo;abandoning&rdquo; the Jewish state and appreciated &ldquo;American Jewish contributions to the United States.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Vance&rsquo;s words were a bit more &ldquo;weird and convoluted&rdquo; in a strange discussion of &ldquo;blood guilt&rdquo; &ndash; a term popularized by right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson, as a variation of the term &ldquo;blood libel&rdquo; with a slightly different meaning.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It was quite telling that Vance was using a framework that Carlson has come up with to talk about antisemitism,&rdquo; Rosenfeld said, at a moment in which even the most conservative Jews have been disturbed by Carlson&rsquo;s conspiratorial theories.&nbsp;
On the podcast, Rosenfeld, who covered the three-day event, also spoke with host Allison Kaplan Sommer about the &ldquo;anxiety&rdquo; among some present over the dramatic drop in support for Israel among young conservatives, but the lack of any genuine strategy to address it, as well as the primary targets of the attack lines of the speeches: Muslims and socialists.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Rosenfeld said he was particularly &ldquo;struck by the degree of just sort of open animosity toward Muslims and Islam&rdquo; at the gathering, &ldquo;because of how much of a focus there was on antisemitism and on extremism and on radicalism and on hate. You would get that in one breath, and then in the next breath, there would be talk about how we need to defeat &lsquo;Islamo-fascism&rsquo; and the &lsquo;red-green alliance&rsquo; between socialism and Islam.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Read more:
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2026-09-01/ty-article/.premium/jd-vance-seeks-to-assuage-republican-jews-worried-about-his-views-toward-israel/000001a0-5c15-d64c-a9a3-7c1f15780000">JD Vance Seeks to Assuage Republican Jews Worried About His Views Toward Israel</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2026-08-31/ty-article/.premium/gop-jews-bash-democrats-at-vegas-but-worry-about-their-partys-israel-drift/000001a0-563d-d692-a5e3-f67d6ea70000">GOP Jews Rail Against Democrats at Vegas Confab, but Worry About Their Own Party's Israel Drift</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2026-09-01/ty-article/.premium/israels-u-s-envoy-government-is-failing-to-stop-jewish-terror-in-west-bank/000001a0-5abf-d9b7-abaf-faff74990000">Israel's U.S. Envoy Yechiel Leiter Says Government Is Failing to Stop Jewish Terrorism in West Bank</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2026-08-22/ty-article/.premium/michigan-jews-help-form-democrats-for-mike-rogers-with-little-talk-of-israel/000001a0-26ea-dc38-a7f1-3fef44fa0000">Michigan Jews Help Form 'Democrats for Mike Rogers,' With Little Talk of Israel</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/life/books/2026-08-14/ty-article-magazine/.premium/jd-vances-communion-gives-readers-a-chronicle-of-unconvincing-conversions/0000019f-f5cb-d569-a5ff-f5ef77720000">JD Vance's 'Communion' Gives Readers a&nbsp;Chronicle of Unconvincing Conversions</a>

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

Your audio guide to Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

Haaretz Podcast

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer. 

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.