Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, April 2, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

Former US President Donald Trump vowed to deport foreign supporters of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas if he’s re-elected to the White House during an event centered on anti-Jewish hate on Thursday.

While speaking at the “Stop Antisemitism” event in New Jersey, the Republican presidential nominee vowed to remove pro-Hamas activists from the United States. 

“We will deport the foreign jihad sympathizers, and we will deport them very quickly. And Hamas supporters will be gone,” Trump said. “If you hate America, if you want to eliminate Israel, then we don’t want you in our country. We really don’t want you in our country.”

Trump also promised to ban refugees from Hamas-ruled Gaza, arguing that they would pose a terror threat to the US. He also vowed to arrest anti-Israel agitators who engage in vandalism or violent acts. 

“I will ban refugee settlements from terror-infested areas like the Gaza Strip, and we will arrest the pro-Hamas thugs who vandalize federal property and make life very difficult in this country for a lot of people,” Trump continued. 

Republican lawmakers have raised alarm bells at the prospect of resettling refugees from Gaza, the Palestinian enclave bordering Israel to the south. Last month, six Republican senators sent a letter to US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, requesting an increase of security measures along the northern border in response to Canada accepting an influx of refugees from Gaza. The senators wrote that they were “deeply concerned” that Gazan refugees could sneak into the United States. 

In the months following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 people throughout southern Israel, Republicans have scrambled to secure more support from Jewish voters, sensing growing tensions between Democrats and the traditionally-liberal voting bloc. 

In an attempt to lure more Jewish voters, Trump’s campaign announced the launch of “Jewish Voices for Trump” this week. The Republican nominee’s campaign described the initiative as “a coalition of thought leaders, business trailblazers, former administration officials, authors, influencers, and those within the Jewish community.”

“While the world has fallen into chaos with [US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala] Harris, President Trump’s Abraham Accords chartered new territory in regional stability, not just for Israel, but for the world. With President Trump we knew we had a White House that stood with Israel, and a president who defended the Jewish people,” the group’s mission statement read. 

Though Democrats largely voiced support for Israel’s defensive military operations against Hamas in the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, high-profile liberal politicians have gradually expressed more criticism against the Jewish state. Prominent Democratic lawmakers such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) suggested that Israel’s war in Gaza could be tantamount to a “genocide.” A group of 30 House Democrats sent a letter to US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urging them to “reconsider” arms shipments to Israel and arguing that the Jewish state has not taken proper precautions to preserve civilian life while targeting Hamas. 

Recent polling indicates that Jewish voters may be shifting to Trump in record-breaking numbers, suggesting that the former president’s overtures could be working. Jewish voters prefer Harris over Trump by a margin of 52.7 percent to 45.9 percent, according to the survey conducted by pollster Richard Baris.