Donald Trump
Donald TrumpReuters

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is hesitant on the issue of a possible visit to Israel, despite reports last week that Republican Jews are laying the groundwork for such a trip in the coming weeks, The Jewish Insider reported Monday.

A trip to Israel would not be a good idea “at this moment,” Trump was quoted as having said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

“I don’t think it registers with the voters to be honest with you. What I really want to do is focus on our country and the election, but I might. I’ve been invited by numerous countries to go,” said the presumptive Republican candidate.

Trump has already canceled one trip in December after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu publicly scolded him for his proposed temporary ban on Muslims coming to the U.S. Since that tiff, however, Trump has indicated several times that he planned to go to Israel, including in an interview with the Israel Hayom newspaper last month.

Over the weekend, the British Guardian reported that Jewish Republicans are laying the groundwork for a trip by Trump to Israel in the coming weeks. The report quoted sources close to Jewish American mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, who reportedly pledged to spend more than $100 million for Trump’s election.

A political adviser to Adelson did not respond to that report, though Adelson recently published an op-ed in The Washington Post in which he officially declared his support for Trump, and warned Americans that failure to elect Trump will result in a “third term” of President Barack Obama in the form of Hillary Clinton.

He later sent an e-mail to members of the RJC, asking them to back Trump as well.

In the Wall Street Journal interview, noted Jewish Insider, Trump suggested that Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, is “incompetent” and “knows nothing about national security.

“She is grossly incompetent when it comes to national security. And ISIS sits back and laughs at her,” he said.