HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - Vice President Mike Pence made a stop in South Florida to attend the Israeli American Council conference.
Pence was among the many speakers at the event, which is being held at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Friday.
Organizers said anti-Semitism is sure to be one of the main talking points during the four-day event.
“America stands with Israel,” Pence said at the conference. “You have a champion in President Donald Trump. In May of this year, the United States of America opened our embassy in Jerusalem — the capital of the State of Israel.”
Pence also made bold promises during his speech.
“The United States of America will never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon,” he said.
A cloud was hanging over the conference after the Anti-Defamation League reported a 57 percent increase in anti-Semitic attacks.
Most recently there was the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue near Pittsburgh.
“This anti-Semitic attack was an assault, not just on the Jewish community, it was an assault on all of us in America,” Pence said.
Just last year, protesters in Charlottesville were heard chanting, “Jews will not replace us.” President Trump later called the protesters “fine people on both sides.”
“I’m not going over his language with a microscope,” former Israeli United Nations ambassador said. “I think he is a man who is committed to many minorities.”
“Without getting into that, I could say that the vice president’s words today were very encouraging,” Israeli American Councilman Kfir Gavrieli said. “I see this as a problem on the left and the right.”
However, not everybody was holding back from responding to the president’s remarks.
“I do wish his language was a little bit more tame and a little less course,” attendee and activist Sloan Rachmuth said. “I will say I support the president. We all need to come together as Americans.”
Many other political figures, including Democrats Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Debbie Wasserman Schultz are expected to also attend.
The conference runs through Sunday.
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