U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that Israel has never had a better friend in the White House than him because, unlike his predecessors, "I kept my promises."

Trump energized an audience that numbered in the hundreds at the Israeli American Council National Summit in Florida by recounting his record on issues of importance to Jews, including an extensive riff on his promise to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and relocate the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv.

Trump also highlighted his decision earlier this year to reverse more than a half-century of U.S. policy in the Middle East by recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, the strategic highlands on the border with Syria.

Trump's entourage at the event included Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, along with Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Michael Waltz, whom he described as "two warriors" defending him against "oppression" in the impeachment inquiry.

One problem, Trump told the gathering, is that some American-Jews, while being "great people, they don't love Israel enough."

"We have to get the people of our country, of this country, to love Israel more, I have to tell you that. We have to do it. We have to get them to love Israel more," Trump said, to some applause. "Because you have Jewish people that are great people — they don't love Israel enough."

'If Jared Kushner can't do it, it can't be done'

The president introduced his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, who has played a leading role in helping the administration craft its Middle East peace plan.

"A lot of people say that can't be done," Trump told the crowd on Saturday. "They say that's the toughest of all deals but if Jared Kushner can't do it, it can't be done."

The White House has said its Middle East peace plan is complete and had promised to release it after Israeli elections in September. The long-delayed plan remains under wraps, and Israel appears headed for its third round of elections this year.

The plan also is facing rejection by Palestinian officials, who object to the pro-Israel leanings of the Trump administration.

During Trump's speech, he also criticized Israel's sworn enemy, Iran, saying he withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal with other world powers because Tehran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

But Trump voiced support for Iranian citizens who have been protesting a decision by their government to withdraw fuel subsidies, which sent prices skyrocketing.

Trump said that he believes thousands of Iranians have been killed in the protests and that thousands more have been arrested.

"America will always stand with the Iranian people in their righteous struggle for freedom," he said.

Trump argued Jewish-Americans had been wrong to vote for Democrats under his predecessor Barack Obama.

"So many of you voted for people in the last administration," he said. "Someday you'll have to explain that to me because I don't think they liked Israel too much." By contrast, Trump said, "the Jewish state has never had a better friend in the White House than your president, Donald J. Trump."

Jews make up only a small portion of the electorate but in Florida they represent a crucial piece of the swing state electoral puzzle. Historically, American-Jews have voted heavily Democratic.

Trump, who is hoping to repeat his 2016 strategy next year by winning reelection through strategic accumulation of electoral college votes in key states, has worked especially hard to woo Jewish-Americans.

The Israeli-American Council is a non-profit organization whose funders include billionaire Jewish-American casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam – both of them high-profile Trump supporters.

Both Adelsons appeared on stage to introduce Trump, with Miriam Adelson asserting that Trump "has already gone down in the annals of Jewish history, and that is before he's even completed his first term in office."

The Adelsons donated 30 million U.S. dollars to Trump's campaign in the final months of the 2016 race. They followed up by donating 100 million U.S. dollars to the Republican Party for last November's congressional elections.

(With input from agencies)