By Joseph Strauss
Vice President JC Vance has lost the confidence of many Jewish Republicans, who have taken issue with his rep- rimanding Israeli officials, indulgence of anti-Israel stances and silence on Tucker Carlson, the prominent pundit who has turned against Israel.
“The overwhelming majority of American Jewish MAGA voters, donors, and policymakers are enthusiastically supporting a Marco Rubio presidential run,” says Shabbos Kestenbaum, whose high-profile activism against campus anti-Semitism has made him something of a hero among Jewish conservatives.
Rubio, who is Trump’s secretary of state and national security adviser, was a US senator from Florida for 14 years. He has won the support of a number of Jewish Republicans with his staunch support of Israel and opposition to Iran.
He has vowed to dismantle the International Criminal Court, which has an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israelis.
Some, including Laura Loomer, also point to Rubio’s hardline stance on ani-Israel protesters; he celebrated revoking hundreds of student visas in connection with such protests last year.
Rubio’s ties to the pro-Israel community predate his national profile. His main benefactor during his career in the Florida legislature was Norman Braman, a major donor to Jewish causes.
Rubio’s support for Israel is typical of Cuban-American politicians who see Israel as a bulwark against communism. His closest ally in the Florida legislature was Adam Hasner, who is Jewish.
Jewish conservative commentators have also praised Rubio for his fiery rhetoric about his hope for the future of the US, including in a speech at the Munich Security Conference.
GOP megadonor Ken Griffin said last week that he would support Rubio over Vance in a 2028 presidential primary, Axios reported.
Trump himself has floated a Vance-Rubio ticket, without saying which of the two he thinks should be president.
The president asked a room of donors at Mar-a-Lago in late February, as he joined Israel in launching a war against Iran, which candidate they preferred, and Rubio carried the room, NBC News reported at the time.
The RJC is struggling with how it should deal with figures like Carlson, Nick Fuentes and Candace Owens, made anti-Semitic remarks to their large online followings.
Trump drew the RJC’s effusive praise when he disavowed Carlson. Vance, on the other hand, has remained mum.
The State Department did not respond to a request for Rubio to comment on Carlson and whether he believes there is rising antiSemitism on the right.
Other possible 2028 presidential candidates — chief among them Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — have been outspoken in warning about the threat of right-wing anti-Semitism.
Vance’s role in seeking to broker a deal with Iran has only further alienated pro-Israel Republicans. He drew backlash from Republican Jews — both from the rank-and-file and from a sitting member of Congress — when he warned Israeli critics of the Iran deal, which has since fallen apart:
“If I was in the Cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.”
Valerie Greenfeld, an RJC member and former senatorial staffer who now lives in Jerusalem, said “it was incredibly arrogant of him to say such a thing, because we’re partners.”
She said that Rubio is currently the most popular choice for president in 2028 among her circle of American voters in Israel.
“The more JD Vance speaks about Israel and anti-Semitism and teams up with Tucker Carlson and his ilk, the worse it is for him in terms of the Jewish vote.”
A growing number of Jewish Democrats say they feel unwelcome in their party amid tensions over Israel and the pro-Israel lobby.
George Mason University law professor David Bernstein predicted on X that there will be “a significant shift in Jewish behavior” if Rubio wins the nomination.
“The vote change will be relatively modest, but the energy and money will shift dramatically.”
He added, “If it’s Vance, nope.”
Criticism of Vance has grown in response to the terms of the Iran deal last month which delivered multiple concessions to the Islamic Republic.
Trump this week resumed the war with Iran and said the deal was history.
Rubio, meanwhile, came out of the deal with positive reviews from the pro-Israel crowd, who viewed his silence as disapproving of the concessions made in the deal.
Rubio brokered a parallel framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon that undercuts a key objectionable element of the Vance-brokered deal, which codified Iran’s role in Lebanon.
Israel critics on both the left and right have been quick to call out the burgeoning support for the secretary of state.
Cenk Uygur, the host of The Young Turks, wrote that “half the officials” in Trump’s administration “work for Israel,” including Rubio.
Michael Rectenwald, who heads the Anti-Zionist America Political Action Committee, blasted Rubio’s plan to dismantle the ICC and said the “US is ‘Israel’s’ [obscenity].”
Clint Russell, host of the “Liberty Lockdown” podcast, accused Israel of launching a propaganda campaign and paying influencers to “tank Vance and boost Marco Rubio for 2028.”
