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<\/a><\/p>\nSid Rosenberg is seen during a press conference outside of Columbia University on April 22, 2024 in New York City. (David Dee Delgado\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Noting that multiple people had assured him Vance would win him over, Rosenberg confirmed that \u201che did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I charmed him more,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The highly publicized meeting occurred amid Vance\u2019s attempt to make overtures to the Jewish community following a series of controversial remarks about Israel, in order to shore up its support for a possible 2028 presidential run.<\/p>\n
Rosenberg, a Jewish New Yorker and friend of President Donald Trump, has faulted Vance for not being \u201cstrong enough on Israel.\u201d He has also called for Vance to distance himself from Tucker Carlson, a right-wing commentator who regularly condemns U.S. military support for Israel and has been accused of amplifying antisemitic tropes. <\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, I\u2019ve been very critical of JD, very critical,\u201d said Rosenberg, who hosts his own WABC show, Sid & Friends In The Morning.<\/p>\n
He told Rita Cosby and her co-host John Catsimatidis that he was \u201creally surprised\u201d to receive an invitation to meet with the vice president, after they both spoke last month at a Republican Jewish Coalition meeting in Las Vegas. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe talk was that I was going to grill JD Vance on Tucker Carlson and the Israel comments he\u2019s been making as of late,\u201d Rosenberg said. \u201cThis was more of a get-to-know-each-other session.\u201d <\/p>\n
While Rosenberg explained that most of their conversation would remain off the record, he emphasized that \u201cit went well\u201d and they \u201chit it off,\u201d adding that the two men would likely have \u201cmany more meetings about very substantial things\u201d in the future. <\/p>\n
Though he remained outspoken about his preference for Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a 2028 presidential nominee, Rosenberg said that if Vance is \u201cgoing to be our guy,\u201d he left Thursday\u2019s meeting feeling like he could work with him. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe is willing to listen,\u201d Rosenberg said. \u201cI don\u2019t think by any stretch that JD Vance hates Israel, hates the Jewish people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just a few hours before Rosenberg\u2019s meeting with the vice president, i24 News reported that Vance was also planning to host a Shabbat dinner this week as a method of outreach to Jewish Republicans. <\/p>\n
\u201cVice President Vance is making considerable outreach efforts to the American Jewish community, particularly with this Shabbat dinner,\u201d Shabbos Kestenbaum, a pro-Israel campus activist who spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2024, told The Jewish Telegraphic Agency. <\/p>\n
Kestenbaum, who filed a Title VI lawsuit against Harvard University for ignoring antisemitism in 2024, added that he looks \u201cforward to working together on our common interests while also expressing our concerns.\u201d <\/p>\n
Despite the rosier outlook shared by Jewish Republicans on Thursday, the meeting between Rosenberg and Vance came just two days after the vice president told participants at a technology conference that Trump does not shy away from opposing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in order to advance the interests of the American people.<\/p>\n
The president \u201chas shown a willingness to actually part ways with \u2018Bibi\u2019 Netanyahu when he feels like the interests of the American people are different from the interests of the government of Israel,\u201d Vance said in a virtual address at the All-In Summit.<\/p>\n
In response to those remarks, Sam Markstein, national political director for the RJC, told JTA in a statement that \u201cthe vice president has said, time and again, that Israel is a close and important ally of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
Markstein recalled how at last month\u2019s RJC meeting \u2014 where both Vance and Rosenberg also spoke \u2014 Israel\u2019s former minister for strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, said he\u2019d be \u201cforever grateful\u201d for Vance\u2019s role in the June 2025 conflict with Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll true partnerships between proud, independent, sovereign nations have room for disagreement \u2014 that is the mark of the alliance\u2019s strength,\u201d Markstein added. <\/p>\n
Vance\u2019s address at the RJC meeting was seen across the media as a chance to mend ties with Jewish conservatives, particularly regarding his views toward Israel and his connection to Carlson. The vice president spoke at a closed-door session, during which he reportedly described Israel as \u201cextremely important to America\u2019s national security,\u201d according to Axios. <\/p>\n
Regarding another right-wing podcaster, Joe Rogan, Vance argued that \u201cthe best approach is to actually go in there, and talk to him, and make the best argument you can,\u201d The Wall Street Journal reported. Although the vice president denounced a third podcaster, Nick Fuentes, as someone who \u201creally does hate Jews,\u201d he did not offer an opinion on Carlson, per the Journal. <\/p>\n
After the address, Rosenberg slammed Vance for foregoing \u201ca chance to hammer\u201d Carlson and for blaming antisemitism on immigration, which the radio host called \u201csilly.\u201d<\/p>\n
But following what he described as \u201ca great meeting\u201d with the vice president on Thursday, Rosenberg appeared to have changed his tune. <\/p>\n
Asked by Cosby if he walked away optimistic about Vance\u2019s stance on Israel, Rosenberg responded, \u201cThe answer is yes.\u201d <\/p>\n