Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to speak Monday at the annual gathering of the Republican Jewish Coalition, giving him an opportunity to address concerns among conservative Jewish activists over his views on Israel and his association with controversial figures such as Tucker Carlson.

The appearance, which is closed to the news media, comes at an exceptionally sensitive time for Jewish Americans and US-Israel relations. Concerns over antisemitism have risen across the political spectrum ahead of the midterm elections. Republicans are eager to portray Democrats as hostile to Jews and Israel, but they are also grappling with their own internal divisions.

Vance suggested last month that some Israeli officials had sought to manipulate US public opinion to prolong the war with Iran. Concerns also persist over his failure to disavow Carlson, a conservative commentator who last year hosted antisemite Nick Fuentes for a friendly conversation.

“There's a sentiment here of some discomfort over the vice president speaking. Some people are disappointed,” said Terry Platt, a Republican Jewish Coalition member from New York. “We're confused about his true sentiments.”

Vance is widely considered a frontrunner for the Republican nomination to succeed President Donald Trump in 2028. While he has expressed support for Israel, he has been viewed as more equivocal or sceptical towards the longtime US ally than Trump.

In June, Vance sharply criticised members of Israel's government for opposing Trump's efforts to resolve the war with Iran.

“If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,” Vance said.

In July, Vance said elements of the Israeli government had attempted to influence American public opinion to derail negotiations.

“There are some people within their system that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely,” he told podcaster Joe Rogan.

Support for Israel has declined in the United States, although the shift has been more pronounced among Democrats. Roughly half of Democrats believe Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians, according to an AP-NORC poll released in July. The accusation has been made by some human rights organisations and vehemently rejected by Israel and the US government.

Republicans remain more likely to support Israel, but a generational divide has emerged. Younger Republicans are more likely than older Republicans to say the United States is too supportive of Israel.

The divide has unsettled some influential Jewish conservatives, who have used the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual summits to push back against antisemitism.

“We need a country where elected officials stand proudly with the Jewish community,” US Rep Lisa McClain of Michigan said Sunday. “That is the work, and it begins before we leave this room.”

A year ago, the coalition's annual summit was planned as a celebration of the Trump administration's efforts to secure the return of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the war began. Instead, it became a days-long condemnation of antisemitism within conservative ranks after Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts refused to distance the think tank from Carlson following his interview with Fuentes.

At one point during the summit, college students waved red signs reading, “Tucker is not MAGA.”

Bruce Pearl, the Auburn University men's basketball coach who has emerged as a prominent pro-Israel conservative, previously said Vance would need to reject Carlson to earn his support.

“If he maintains that connection to that antisemite,” Pearl said in June, “I think that's going to be bad for antisemitism, because he will bring a lot of Tucker Carlsons with him. He'll uplift them.”