Published on: November 3, 2025, 12:55h.
Updated on: November 3, 2025, 01:00h.
- The Republican Jewish Coalition celebrated its 40th anniversary in Las Vegas this weekend.
- The late Sheldon Adelson was a key supporter of the RJC.
- Adelson was the founder and leader of Las Vegas Sands for many years.
The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), significantly influenced by the late Sheldon Adelson, founder of Las Vegas Sands, has evolved into one of the leading Republican-aligned political organizations in the U.S. This past weekend, the RJC marked its 40th anniversary at The Venetian in Las Vegas.
The RJC’s Annual Leadership Summit took place at Sands’ first ground-up Strip development from Friday, October 31, to Sunday, November 2. The concluding event on Sunday served to refresh the RJC’s grassroots initiatives, advocacy goals, and efforts to combat antisemitism while bolstering the State of Israel. During the summit, President Donald Trump addressed the assembly via a White House connection.
“Importantly, the RJC has ensured that we achieved the highest percentage of the Jewish vote for any Republican since 1988. We are dedicated to defending our Jewish citizens here in America,” he stated.
“As I promised, we are swiftly removing foreign jihadist sympathizers and Hamas affiliates from our nation. Upon taking office, I enacted a groundbreaking executive order mandating that every federal department and agency act against the spread of antisemitism in America,” Trump emphasized.
“My administration has initiated significant civil rights lawsuits and cut funding to educational institutions that fail to protect their Jewish students from abhorrent acts of antisemitism, achieving some of the largest discrimination settlements in recent history. Nothing like this has been witnessed before,” the President proclaimed.
Trump: A Key Benefactor of the RJC
Following her husband’s passing, Dr. Miriam Adelson has continued her late husband’s tradition of backing Republican and Israeli initiatives. She emerged as Trump’s foremost campaign contributor last year, nearly three years after her husband’s death in January 2021 from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Sheldon Adelson serves as an RJC board member posthumously, with the “zichrono livracha” designation, meaning “may his memory be a blessing” in Hebrew. The Adelson family stands out as one of Trump’s principal financial supporters and among the RJC’s major benefactors.
Over time, the RJC’s power and influence in Washington and the Republican Party have surged dramatically. The nonprofit’s annual assemblies consistently draw some of the GOP’s most prominent figures, with this past Leadership Summit featuring House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders, and conservative commentator Mark Levin.
Controversies Surrounding the RJC
The Republican Jewish Coalition has encountered backlash for its association with certain far-right ideologies, particularly its firm stance against Palestine and its connection with Trump. Some members of the Jewish community have criticized the organization for not sufficiently confronting specific antisemitic events within the GOP.
During the Leadership Summit, RJC representatives voiced discontent over Tucker Carlson’s recent invitation to antisemite Nick Fuentes, who champions Christian nationalism and white supremacy while denying the Holocaust. Carlson’s interaction with Fuentes has drawn support from the Heritage Foundation, a right-leaning think tank based in D.C.
At the RJC event, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) remarked that he has observed more antisemitism on the right in the past six months than in his entire lifetime.
“If you sit quietly with someone who declares Adolf Hitler was ‘very, very cool’ and claims their goal is to combat and defeat global Jewry, remaining silent makes you a coward and complicit in that wrongdoing,” Cruz asserted.
Conversely, RJC CEO Matt Brooks asserted that antisemitism in the Republican Party is “a very minor and isolated issue.” Attendees at the RJC waved banners reading “TUCKER IS NOT MAGA” during the weekend’s events.