There were plenty of people Morton Klein was eager to praise as he ascended the stage at Cipriani 42nd Street on Sunday night to address a room dense with black ties, cocktail dresses and kippot, some red and emblazoned with the word “TRUMP.”
Over the course of a 30-minute speech, Klein lavished compliments not only on the president-elect — “the greatest friend we Jews have ever had in the White House” — or his incoming foreign policy team, which he called “the most pro-Israel Cabinet in the history of the United States.”
Klein also praised some of Trump’s most controversial appointees, including his designated attorney general, Matt Gaetz, who has drawn backlash for, among other things, inviting a Holocaust denier to the State of the Union address in 2018.
While Klein did express reservations about Gaetz following the dinner, his address was unequivocally supportive.
“I find it remarkable that Jewish leaders are now condemning Gaetz, potential Attorney General Gaetz, for being antisemitic, for being hostile to Jews,” Klein declared. “Nonsense, I know him, he is very pro-Israel.”
The event was the annual gala of the Zionist Organization of America, which Klein has led for decades, and the mood was festive. Unlike in many other Jewish spaces, where attendees have mourned the election result or fretted over what the next four years might bring, the gala felt like a deferred victory party for Nov. 5’s result.
The crowd at Cipriani radiated joy about both Trump and the crew he is assembling.
“It’s really an incredible miracle,” said Joe Frager, a physician and former senior official at the National Council of Young Israel, an Orthodox synagogue association that is also vocally pro-Trump.
Regarding the president-elect, Frager added, “I’m sure he feels that God saved him a number of times from assassination, and I think he felt that He was going to help him in the election – and I think He did.”
Barbara Fix, an attendee who lives in New York and has an apartment in Jerusalem, said, “I’m a trillion percent optimistic that the world will be a better place for these elections.”
The lavish neo-Renaissance venue next to Grand Central Station was filled with hundreds of attendees for the dinner, and each table held a centerpiece with blue sequins, an American flag and an Israeli flag printed with the words “We stand with Israel.” Most of the guests came in formalwear, but one man’s jacket was lined with buttons featuring photos of Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and other Trump allies, in addition to the famous photo of the candidate raising his fist in the air after his assassination attempt.
One man’s jacket was lined with buttons featuring photos of J.D. Vance, other Trump allies and the president-elect himself. (Joseph Strauss)
ZOA has been a home for pro-Trump Jews for years — it once honored Trump adviser Steve Bannon and in 2022 it awarded Trump a rare honor, the Theodor Herzl Medal, for his contributions on behalf of Israel — and on Sunday night, speakers presented his return to office as a chance to turn some of the Israeli right’s dreams into reality.
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Gilad Erdan, the former Israel ambassador to the United Nations, declared to roaring applause, “Friends, the U.N. must be defunded!”
Retired IDF brigadier general Amir Avivi likewise drew loud applause when he said, “We need to finish something that started when President Trump was in office, but we didn’t finish — we need to bring [Israeli] sovereignty to Judea and Samaria,” the Israeli government’s term for the West Bank.
Mike Huckabee, whom Trump has tapped as his ambassador to Israel, also supports West Bank annexation. “Mike Huckabee is the only person more pro-Israel than me,” Klein said in an interview.
And Klein lauded another Trump pick, Defense Secretary-designate Pete Hegseth, for wanting to rebuild the Jewish Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Klein brushed off the myriad of concerns that have surrounded Hegseth, a Fox News host.
“‘We must establish a Temple, a Jewish Temple and Temple Mount,’ said Peter Hegseth!” Klein said in his speech. “So don’t tell me about, ‘He’s a problem,’ in any way, shape or form — we Jews love Peter Hegseth. We want him to be defense secretary.”
Despite praising Gaetz from the podium, following the dinner Klein said in an interview that he “[doesn’t] know what is true” regarding the then-congressman’s invitation of a Holocaust denier to the State of the Union. Although the man, Charles Johnson, had suggested falsely that only 250,000 Jews had died of illness during World War II, Gaetz had claimed at the time that Johnson was not a Holocaust denier — though he said he regretted not vetting Johnson better.
Klein, who noted that he was the child of Holocaust survivors, said Gaetz’s office told him the congressman “didn’t know, and he doesn’t believe it’s true about this guy,” Johnson.
Klein added, “So I don’t know what’s true. But if in fact he knowingly brought a Holocaust denier, this would be so deeply concerning that it would make him unqualified to be attorney general. But they assured me it wasn’t true.”
Klein downplayed concerns about Gaetz’s opposition to a bill that would codify a definition of antisemitism. Gaetz had opposed the bill because it said the view that Jews killed Jesus — which Gaetz endorsed — was antisemitic. Klein said Gaetz wasn’t the only pro-Israel politician to oppose the bill, and that Gaetz only did so “because of his religious beliefs, which are different from mine.”
Some attendees did express reservations about Gaetz. But Aaron, 26, who attended the gala with his family and declined to give his last name due to concerns about privacy, said that Klein’s endorsement of Gaetz during his speech made him feel more comfortable.
“The only thing I’ve heard about Gaetz over the years has been pretty negative coverage,” he said. “I was a bit concerned about that, but honestly, I have to look into it.”
He added, “Morton Klein vouched for Gaetz — I value his word, so that’s a good sign.”
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Jackie, a law student who attended the gala with Students Supporting Israel and likewise declined to share her last name, said she’s hopeful that Trump’s pro-Israel policies would help reduce antisemitism in America.
“I know that antisemitism in our country is not just because of the current administration, it’s also foreign events and everything all together,” Jackie said. “But I’m hoping there’s a change.”
The only disruption at the gala came when three protesters, who’d gotten through security and had been sitting quietly at a table, got up during Erdan’s speech and yelled “Free Palestine,” drawing loud boos. They were swiftly removed by security.
Dozens of pro-Palestinian protestors gathered outside the gala. (Joseph Strauss)
Dozens more protesters had gathered outside the gala, chanting “Miriam Adelson’s inside, billionares for genocide” and holding a banner with a caricature of Adelson, the Republican pro-Israel megadonor who was on the event program but did not attend. Next to the cartoon of her face were the words “Zionism = Nazis.”
“We are opposed to genocide,” one protester, who refused to give their name, said by way of explanation. “And Miriam Adelson is a big proponent of Zionism. So we’re protesting.”
But the attendees did not seem too disturbed.
“They’re yelling at me, calling me names — who cares, right? Who cares?” said David Friedman, Trump’s former ambassador to Israel, during his speech. “We know that what we’re doing is right. We’re on the side of God.”
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