Republicans Overseas Israel chairman Marc Zell spoke with Arutz Sheva about his party's preparations for the US Presidential election next month and discussed the current polls which do not look good for the president.
"We saw this same movie four years ago when the situation was much worse and we saw what happened in the end, so I am not a big believer in the polls," Zell said.
When asked about efforts get out the vote among American citizens who live in Israel, Zell said: "We have close to three hundred thousand potential voters in Israel and we help them to register and submit the ballots. Today I worked with a large company that will pass the ballots on because the embassy is not operating."
"The reactions from the field are something I have not seen in all these years. People who did not vote for many years have decided to get up and vote to thank President Trump, and also because of the danger of the Democrats winning. Here in Israel, unlike in the US, Jews understand the interest of the Jewish people and Israel. Here they understand that there is one party that supports Israel and does not betray Israel. After the years of the Trump administration, we see that the administration has brought a long list of achievements that we only prayed for, the embassy, the recognition of sovereignty in the Golan, the status of Judea and Samaria, the cessation of aid to the Palestinians and the UN on the Palestinian issue, getting out of the agreement with Iran, the agreements with the UAE and Bahrain and who knows which other countries will join, perhaps even before the election."
When asked about American Jews, Zell stated: "75-80 percent of Jews in the United States vote for Democrats. It goes beyond logic. It's irrational. They vote that way in any election campaign and cannot renounce the Democratic Party. It is against their interests as Jews. I do not spend our time explaining to Jews in the United States who to vote for."
On the other hand, Zell noted, "there are pro-Israel evangelicals and Christians who look to us to see if we vote for Trump and the Republicans to make sure we are with them."
Zell firmly believes that a Biden victory would be disastrous for Israel and the Jewish people.
"He announced that as soon as he takes office in January he will renew the nuclear deal with Iran. He also said that immediately after entering the White House he will renew funding for the PA and the UN regarding the Palestinians, but beyond that, we see within the Democratic party congressional delegates who are really anti-Semitic. Jews see it, they understand it and just don't care. They also donate hundreds of millions of dollars to the Democratic Party. I have no words," Zell said, adding that "in New York there was a Democratic delegate, Eliot Engel, who was a friend of Israel, and they threw him in the trash in the primaries and replaced him with an anti-Semite."
On the effects of the coronavirus on the election, both in the face of severe damage to the economy and in the face of Trump himself being infected with the virus, he said: "As for the economy, before the coronavirus the president managed to bring the economy to all-time highs, and even after the coronavirus he managed to bring the economy back and lower unemployment to eight percent."
However it is also clear to Zell that the pandemic will have an impact on the election campaign. "The coronavirus is having an effect. I do not know how it will affect the public. There are those who are very proud that the president volunteered to take drugs that are still in an experimental phase and which probably succeeded. Some say he exposed the people around him to the disease and it is irresponsible. I think most of the public wants an active president who keeps his promises and is not just busy talking. This is Trump, who delivers for the people and the people benefit from it."
Regarding the polls, Zell reiterated that while there are also more flattering polls for Trump, he is careful not to take the polls too seriously. "The thing which will have the biggest effect is the enthusiasm of the public and the Republicans have that. I see, as an example, an 87-year-old man who was a Democrat his entire life and when he saw how the president conducted himself on his coronavirus issue he decided to vote for the Republicans."