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Spurred by Israel-Hamas war, GOP makes Republican Jewish Coalition a partner in the next presidential debate
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Republican Jewish Coalition will cosponsor the next Republican presidential debate, a sign that Hamas’ invasion of Israel, and the ensuing war, will take center-stage when the candidates meet in Miami in November.
The announcement on Monday marks the first time a major party has brought in a Jewish group as a cosponsor of a presidential debate. The RJC will be able to put questions directly to the candidates, and CEO Matt Brooks told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that its questions will focus on the war, but may also address domestic issues such as the recent reported spike in antisemitism.
“As the horrific events of the last week have unfolded in Israel, the issue of American foreign policy has taken on an even greater role,” Norm Coleman, the former Minnesota senator and longtime RJC chairman, said in a statement. The debate will come just over a week after the major presidential candidates are due to appear at the RJC’s annual conference in Las Vegas. That venue allows for speeches, but not sparring between candidates.
The RJC’s inclusion in the debate comes at a time of divisions on Israel among Republicans, who had become known for near-uniform support of the country and the policies of its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Some leading figures in the party, including the former U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, have praised the Biden administration’s robust backing for Israel. Others, like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, have accused the Biden administration of undermining Israel. Some, like presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, have questioned the extent of U.S. defense assistance for Israel.
Complicating the party’s pro-Israel calculus, the frontrunner in the field, former President Donald Trump, last week mocked Netanyahu’s handling of the war. That spurred sharp criticism from other candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Additionally, conspiracy theories are circulating on the far right asserting that Netanyahu ignored intelligence ahead of the war as a means to a political end. Those claims have been embraced by figures close to Trump such as Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative youth movement.
Republicans’ ongoing struggle to elect a speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives has meant that efforts to advance pro-Israel legislation and aid have stalled. The speaker seat has been vacant since a group of far-right Republicans engineered the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.
Brooks said in an interview that it was not yet clear how his group would participate in the debate. In previous debates, moderators occasionally cut away to representatives of interest groups to ask one or more questions.
“I don’t know who it will be that represents the RJC yet, we haven’t made that determination,” he said. “But whoever is there as the representative of the RJC either in person, live or via taped remarks will ask the questions.”
The other two co-sponsors of the Nov. 8 debate are Salem Media, a conservative broadcaster, and Rumble, an online video platform for right-wing views.
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The post Spurred by Israel-Hamas war, GOP makes Republican Jewish Coalition a partner in the next presidential debate appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.