JTA: “President Donald Trump spent much of his 20-minute call with American Jewish leaders making the case for more American Jews to vote for him. He closed by repeating a line that has raised their eyebrows before. ‘We really appreciate you,’ Trump said as he signed off the call, an annual pre-Rosh Hashanah presidential tradition. ‘We love your country also.'”
“Earlier, introducing his Jewish son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who brokered the historic deals with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain that were signed Tuesday at the White House, Trump called him ‘an unbelievable leader for Israel.’ The comments echoed others he has made in the past that suggest that American Jews think of themselves as Israelis, including at a White House Hanukkah party two years ago. He pressed listeners to campaign for him and suggested that Israel would suffer if he is not reelected this fall. ‘I have to say this, whatever you can do in terms of Nov. 3 is going to be very important because if we don’t win, Israel is in big trouble,’ Trump said.”