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Former President Donald Trump is casting himself as Israel’s "protector" and warning Jewish voters against supporting his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump addressed the Israeli-American Council summit in Washington, D.C, on Thursday, during an evening focused on commemorating the October 7 attacks that sparked Israel’s war with Hamas.

Speaking to a mostly friendly crowd, Trump touted his past support for Israel and, without providing evidence, claimed that the Jewish state will soon cease to exist unless he’s elected.

“It’s total annihilation — that’s what you’re talking about,” Trump said. “You have a big protector in me. You don’t have a protector on the other side.”

Trump also accused Harris of “pandering” to Hamas supporters and said "Jewish people have no excuse" for supporting his Democratic rival. Trump has a long history of 

Harris has said that she will support Israel’s right to defend itself while also calling the suffering in Gaza “devastating.”

The Hamas attack on October 7 killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 

, including some American citizens. Since then, 

 say more than 40,000 Palestinians have died. 

Trump's address to the Israeli-American Council comes just weeks after a 23-year-old Israeli-American, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was found shot dead in a Hamas tunnel in Gaza, along with the bodies of five other hostages.

Other featured speakers Thursday night included Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York and Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson.

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Sarah McCammon

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In a speech to the Israeli-American Council, Trump described himself as Israel's "protector" and warned Jewish voters against voting for Vice President Harris.

Trump tells Jewish voters they have 'no excuse' for supporting Harris

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