Pro-Israel demonstrator shows support for Trump ahead of Republican debate in Tuscaloosa

Pro-Israel demonstrator shows support for Trump ahead of Republican debate in Tuscaloosa

Bob Kunst has been to plenty of protests and rallies over his time. He felt it was worth the shot of showing up in Tuscaloosa Wednesday to show support for Israel ahead of the fourth presidential primary debate at the University of Alabama.

He was the only demonstrator to show up on campus hours before the debate was scheduled to start at the Frank Moody Music Hall.

“I wanted to show support to Israel and expose Qatar, the government, that supports terrorism and Hamas,” said Kunst, president at Shalom International in Miami, Fla.

“And we want to know where these candidates will go,” he added.

Kunst seems to have his candidate of choice – former President Donald Trump, who is not expected to be on the debate stage tonight. The debate will be broadcast on NewsNation from 7-9 p.m.

“I’m supporting Trump because he has a big mouth,” Kunst said. “When Trump united Jerusalem (by recognizing it as Israel’s capital in 2017), it was the most radical thing any candidate could have done. It’s the right thing to do. He will fight the fight.”

Kunst said he has concerns with the Republicans who will be on the debate stage — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

“I’m here to support Israel,” Kunst said. “I’m not happy with (President Joe) Biden talking about two states. What kind of insanity is that? My faith is 2,000 years older than Christianity.”

Biden has said, since the onset of the Israel-Hama war, that finding agreement on a long-sought, two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict should be a priority.

“Who do you make peace with?” Kunst said, referring to a poll he said that showed Palestinian support for Hamas.

He said that DeSantis should do more to take a stand in support of Israel. He accused the U.N. of moving too slowly to respond to accounts that Hamas carried out widespread sexual violence against women during its Oct. 7 attack on the country, echoing Israel’s ambassador on Monday.

Kunst originally set up to demonstrate across the media entrance to the Music Hall. He was moved by campus police to a gated area, approximately two blocks away from the building on University Boulevard.

“My message to Republicans is get off your behinds and fight back,” Kunst said. “The country is in grave danger. How can you play games with this? It’s not just Jews against Hamas. We have a movement going after Jews, Christians, and even killing each other if they don’t agree. They want to take over the planet when none of us are alive. We need to talk the reality of the crisis.”