I was stunned yesterday watching live coverage of President Trump’s campaign rally in Murphrysboro, Illinois. He said something that may be the strongest statement ever delivered by an American president about the Jewish people.

Trump’s enemies expected him to offer some sort of boilerplate denunciation of anti-Semitism, owing to the awful slaughter in Pittsburgh. I am sure many were preparing to dismiss whatever he said, and no doubt some already have (I haven’t bothered looking because they are so predictable). But he said something that electrified me, going far beyond any ritual condemnation to make what struck me as a declaration that the United States is the guarantor of the survival of the Jewish people.

The Jews have endured terrible persecution, and you know that we've all read it: We've studied it. They've gone through a lot and those seeking their destruction…

we will seek their destruction.

Watch on the video embedded below, as the crowd erupted in cheers at this promise.

Every Jewish Democrat should watch this moment, and ponder whether the party of Keith Ellison really deserves support. This was no mere boilerplate, it was outright love and a desire to protect. A thought experiment: imagine the result if any Democrat, speaking at a Democratic National Convention, made this promise, what would the response be? No boos at all? Seriously? 

This is a message to not only neo-Nazis, it applies to the Middle East. It is a promise to destroy those who seek to destroy Judaism, and by implication, Israel. Destruction is not mere condemnation, and goes far beyond punishment. It is biblical in scope. History, ancient and modern, is littered with nations an empires that tried to destroy the Jews and which themselves passed from existence, from Egypt and Babylon to Hitler’s Germany. Trump has just promised to add America's might to the continuation of this pattern, almost as God's willing instrument in protecting His Chosen People.

This is not a small thing, in my book.

If anyone can point to a similar promise from an American president, I would be grateful.