At the Republican convention, unconventional messaging for American Jews

WASHINGTON (JTA) — This week’s Republican convention was the first major US political confab to feature Jerusalem as a backdrop.

It may be the last. A congressional subcommittee and two citizens have taken steps to launch investigations into whether US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo broke the law by using government resources for a political campaign.

Pompeo said he filmed the message on his dime and time. His critics say he flew to Israel and got a comfy King David Hotel bed at taxpayer expense.

The showy display of support for Israel was one flank of the mixed messaging that the convention sent to American Jews. On the one hand, US President Donald Trump’s Israel policies have been touted every night. But the convention also featured speakers and guests whose language and actions have tread anti-Semitic territory, sometimes explicitly.

One of the scheduled speakers, hours before her appearance, amplified an anti-Semitic screed on Twitter; she was yanked from the program.

Another cheerfully acknowledged likening abortion to the Holocaust, a comparison that Jewish groups have called a softer form of Holocaust denial, and kept her speaking spot.

One congressional nominee who raised eyebrows by taking vacation selfies at Hitler’s retreat spoke at the convention, while another who has peddled anti-Semitic theories scored an invitation to Trump’s speech tonight accepting the nomination.

Will the mixed messages continue on the convention’s final night? I’ll be listening closely — and will post my final wrap-up once the speeches are over.

For now, here’s a scorecard of the times Israel has been invoked, so far. (This is written before the Thursday night events; my bets for the final night Israel mentions are Trump himself, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Ivanka Trump.)

Monday

Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations: “President Trump moved our embassy to Jerusalem, and when the UN tried to condemn us, I was proud to cast the American veto.”

Tuesday

Pompeo: “The president moved the US Embassy to this very City of God, Jerusalem, the rightful capital of the Jewish homeland. And just two weeks ago, the president brokered a historic peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.”

Jason Joyce, Maine lobsterman: “He nominates judges who respect the Constitution and the right to life, keeps his word, like eliminating the European tariffs and moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.”

Eric Trump: “Over and over, issue after issue, the economy, the [Mexico] wall, the military, trade deals, tax cuts, Supreme Court justices, VA hospitals, prescription drugs, school choice, right to life, moving the embassy to Jerusalem, peace in the Middle East, never-ending wars were finally ended, promises made and promises for the first time were kept.”

Wednesday

Keith Kellog, Vice President Mike Pence’s national security adviser: “He wisely wields the sword when required, but believes in peace instead of perpetual conflict. Just over a week ago, our president brokered a peace agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, the first in the Middle East in over 25 years.”

Pence: “We’ve stood with our allies, like when President Trump kept his word, and moved the American Embassy to Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel, setting the stage for the first Arab country to recognize Israel in 26 years.” (Pence, one of the few speakers to have the benefit of a live audience, got applause when he mentioned Jerusalem.)