Conservative radio persona Sid Rosenberg, a vocal critic of JD Vance’s positions towards Israel, left a gathering with the vp on Thursday giddy with optimism.
“I went in there with very low expectations,” Rosenberg informed the hosts of WABC Radio’s Cats & Cosby.
Noting that a number of folks had assured him Vance would win him over, Rosenberg confirmed that “he did.”
“I believe I charmed him extra,” he mentioned.
The extremely publicized assembly occurred amid Vance’s try and make overtures to the Jewish group following a sequence of controversial remarks about Israel, with a purpose to shore up its assist for a doable 2028 presidential run.
Rosenberg, a Jewish New Yorker and pal of President Donald Trump, has faulted Vance for not being “robust sufficient on Israel.” He has additionally known as for Vance to distance himself from Tucker Carlson, a right-wing commentator who frequently condemns U.S. army assist for Israel and has been accused of amplifying antisemitic tropes.
“Actually, I’ve been very essential of JD, very essential,” mentioned Rosenberg, who hosts his personal WABC present, Sid & Associates In The Morning.
He informed Rita Cosby and her co-host John Catsimatidis that he was “actually shocked” to obtain an invite to fulfill with the vp, after they each spoke final month at a Republican Jewish Coalition assembly in Las Vegas.
“The speak was that I used to be going to grill JD Vance on Tucker Carlson and the Israel feedback he’s been making as of late,” Rosenberg mentioned. “This was extra of a get-to-know-each-other session.”
Whereas Rosenberg defined that the majority of their dialog would stay off the document, he emphasised that “it went properly” they usually “hit it off,” including that the 2 males would doubtless have “many extra conferences about very substantial issues” sooner or later.
Although he remained outspoken about his choice for Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a 2028 presidential nominee, Rosenberg mentioned that if Vance is “going to be our man,” he left Thursday’s assembly feeling like he might work with him.
“He’s keen to pay attention,” Rosenberg mentioned. “I don’t suppose by any stretch that JD Vance hates Israel, hates the Jewish folks.”
Only a few hours earlier than Rosenberg’s assembly with the vp, i24 Information reported that Vance was additionally planning to host a Shabbat dinner this week as a technique of outreach to Jewish Republicans.
“Vice President Vance is making appreciable outreach efforts to the American Jewish group, notably with this Shabbat dinner,” Shabbos Kestenbaum, a pro-Israel campus activist who spoke on the Republican Nationwide Conference in 2024, informed The Jewish Telegraphic Company.
Kestenbaum, who filed a Title VI lawsuit towards Harvard College for ignoring antisemitism in 2024, added that he appears “ahead to working collectively on our frequent pursuits whereas additionally expressing our issues.”
Regardless of the rosier outlook shared by Jewish Republicans on Thursday, the assembly between Rosenberg and Vance got here simply two days after the vp informed contributors at a expertise convention that Trump doesn’t draw back from opposing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a purpose to advance the pursuits of the American folks.
The president “has proven a willingness to really half methods with ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu when he feels just like the pursuits of the American persons are completely different from the pursuits of the federal government of Israel,” Vance mentioned in a digital deal with on the All-In Summit.
In response to these remarks, Sam Markstein, nationwide political director for the RJC, informed JTA in an announcement that “the vp has mentioned, repeatedly, that Israel is a detailed and necessary ally of america.”
Markstein recalled how eventually month’s RJC assembly — the place each Vance and Rosenberg additionally spoke — Israel’s former minister for strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, mentioned he’d be “eternally grateful” for Vance’s function within the June 2025 battle with Iran.
“All true partnerships between proud, impartial, sovereign nations have room for disagreement — that’s the mark of the alliance’s power,” Markstein added.
Vance’s deal with on the RJC assembly was seen throughout the media as an opportunity to fix ties with Jewish conservatives, notably relating to his views towards Israel and his connection to Carlson. The vp spoke at a closed-door session, throughout which he reportedly described Israel as “extraordinarily necessary to America’s nationwide safety,” in keeping with Axios.
Concerning one other right-wing podcaster, Joe Rogan, Vance argued that “the most effective method is to really go in there, and speak to him, and make the most effective argument you may,” The Wall Avenue Journal reported. Though the vp denounced a 3rd podcaster, Nick Fuentes, as somebody who “actually does hate Jews,” he didn’t supply an opinion on Carlson, per the Journal.
After the deal with, Rosenberg slammed Vance for foregoing “an opportunity to hammer” Carlson and for blaming antisemitism on immigration, which the radio host known as “foolish.”
However following what he described as “a fantastic assembly” with the vp on Thursday, Rosenberg appeared to have modified his tune.
Requested by Cosby if he walked away optimistic about Vance’s stance on Israel, Rosenberg responded, “The reply is sure.”
Because the Yr Turns, Help the Journalism You Belief. JTA covers the tales shaping Jewish life all over the world — with the depth this second requires. As you replicate on the 12 months forward, think about a present that retains impartial Jewish journalism robust.
