Donald Trump waded into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and
chose the side of neutrality.
The Hill reported:
“If I
win, I don’t want to be in a position where I’m saying to you [my choice] and
the other side now says, ‘We don’t want Trump involved,'" the real estyate
mogul said of potentially winning the presidency and then brokering a lasting
peace deal.
“Let me
be sort of a neutral guy,” the billionaire added. "I have friends of mine
that are tremendous businesspeople, that are really great negotiators, [and]
they say it’s not doable.
“You
understand a lot of people have gone down in flames trying to make that
deal. So I don’t want to say whose fault it is — I don’t think that helps.”
Ted Cruz replied, via the Daily Caller:
“I am not neutral,” Cruz declared to cheers and applause from rally goers, “between murderers and the innocent citizens murderers are targeting. I am not neutral at home or abroad between radical Islamic terrorists and the targets of their terror.”
He
continued:
“Let me
tell you this: As president, I have no intention of being neutral. As
president, I will be unapologetically alongside the nation of Israel,” he
stated….
“There is a difference between right and
wrong. There is a difference between terrorists who strap nails around their
chests and go into a mall to murder women and children and the armed forces
protecting the innocents in Israel,” he explained.
Cruz was being consistent. At a 2014 dinner with a group called In Defense of Christians, Cruz was booed when he declared that Israel is a great ally of Christians. Buzzpo reported on what happened next:
According to The Daily Caller, Cruz said that “Christians
have no greater ally than Israel.” Some audience members reacted negatively,
booing and yelling, “stop it!”
Interruptions
intensified as Cruz continued:
“Those who hate Jews hate Christians. If those
in this room will not recognize that, then my heart weeps. If you hate the
Jewish people you are not reflecting the teachings of Christ. And the very
same people who persecute and murder Christians right now, who crucify
Christians, who behead children, are the very same people who target Jews for
their faith, for the same reason.”
As the crowd continued to boo,
Cruz walked out:
The
booing continued, prompting IDC president Toufic Baaklini to come to the stage
to ask for the crowd to listen to Cruz. The senator, never known to be shy, had
had enough. Cruz concluded:
“If you will not stand with Israel and the Jews,
then I will not stand with you. Good night, and God bless.”
[For those who prefer reason to passion, here's Caroline Glick in the Jerusalem Post:
Since arriving in Washington four years ago, Cruz has
arguably been Israel’s most avid defender in the Senate. During Operation
Protective Edge in July 2014, Cruz used his authority as a member of the Senate
Foreign Affairs Committee to force the Obama administration to end the Federal
Aviation Commission’s ban on US flights to Ben-Gurion Airport. Cruz announced
at the time that he would put a hold on all State Department appointments until
the administration justified the flight ban.
Rather than defend its position, the administration restored flights to Israel after 36 hours.
Last summer Cruz led the national opposition to US President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. He brought thousands of activists to the Capitol to participate in a rally he organized calling for Congress to vote down the deal. Rather than use the rally as a means to promote himself, Cruz invited Republican front-runner real estate developer Donald Trump to join him at the rally. Trump’s participation ensured that the event received wide coverage from the national media.]
Rather than defend its position, the administration restored flights to Israel after 36 hours.
Last summer Cruz led the national opposition to US President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. He brought thousands of activists to the Capitol to participate in a rally he organized calling for Congress to vote down the deal. Rather than use the rally as a means to promote himself, Cruz invited Republican front-runner real estate developer Donald Trump to join him at the rally. Trump’s participation ensured that the event received wide coverage from the national media.]
What's your point, Stuart? That Ted Cruz is a show boat politician? That he took something Donald Trump out of context and tried to capitalize on it? Again.
ReplyDeleteTrump doesn't want to walk into any negotiating room having already staked out a postion favoring one side or the other. And Cruz does. Which one do you think has the better chance of actually making a deal?
W/ regards to that little stunt Cruz pulled back in 2014, w/ that group In Defense of Christians, he knew there were plenty of Israel haters there and could count on getting booed by them saying what he did. THAT'S what he wanted.
But, when the chips were down and he could have stopped the Iran deal that would actually threaten Israel's security, he voted in favor of the Corker Bill. THAT was the exact moment when I stopped being a Cruz fan.
“If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed;
ReplyDeleteif you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may
come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.”
― Winston S. Churchill
Cruz has blocked Obama's ambassador appointments over the Iran deal. He has done something, which is more than the others running can say. I don't think Trump had an answer that was clear. I was switching between MSNBC and CNN and caught the young man ask the question. Trump was rambling and did not have a clear answer. We started laughing. Trump reminds me of Cartman.
" Cruz has blocked Obama's ambassador appointments over the Iran deal. He has done something."
ReplyDeleteYou've got to be kidding. Americans didn't want to let Obama use his pen and phone style executive order to wield his foreign policy insanity! Congress could have stopped him from doing so! Instead of doing what we wanted, Cruz actually helped to write the Corker Bill and then vote for it! It was such a betrayal.
And yet, he was a prominent speaker at the Stop Iran Rally, and has continued to speak out against Obama's terrible Iran deal. The man is such a lying POS, he makes my skin crawl.
Yes, Trump, the master dealmaker, is for once holding his cards close - if he confesses that he'll give Israel everything but the kitchen sink, what's left to negotiate? He might as well then just call up Bibi and ask him for instructions how the President of the United States becomes a faithful servant of Israel.
ReplyDeleteBut Cruz will have nothing to do with that fence sitting - he wants to see the sands glow from laser-focused carpet bombs against the bad guys, using ground intelligence to make sure innocent people are not harmed.
President Carter is right - Trump is malleable, definite NOT a true conservative.
Ted Cruz is the only true Conservative vote.
Of course.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Leo, but it seems that every President gives it the old college try anyway.
ReplyDeleteHey, unlike Trump, Billary is willing to be Israel's BFF. It has nothing to do with gaining critical votes in Florida, but simple recognition that Israel is the only democracy of the Middle East, and deserves our undying support.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.timesofisrael.com/bill-clinton-tells-florida-jews-hillary-will-prioritize-israel-ties/
--------
At the press-closed meeting with community leaders, rabbis, elected officials and general supporters, President Clinton stressed the close bond that he and his wife have with the State of Israel and the deep connection they have to the Jewish community, The Times of Israel was told. He vowed that, if elected, Hillary Clinton would make it one of her top priorities to strengthen the US-Israel alliance.
The Florida primary, where the Jewish vote is seen as critical, does not come until March 15. South Florida has approximately 500,000 Jewish residents, according to the Sun-Sentinel newspaper.
During his presidency from 1993-2001 and since, Clinton has been highly popular with Israelis and the American Jewish community, making him an effective campaign surrogate for Monday’s event.
“For decades, President Clinton and Hillary have maintained strong ties to South Florida’s Jewish community — and today’s conversation was an opportunity to build upon years of friendship and shared values,” said Sarah Bard, director of Jewish outreach for Hillary for America, in a statement. “From lowering prescription drug costs to providing paid family leave to reaffirming our unbreakable bond with Israel, they understand deeply the issues that matter most to our community.”
...
At the large rally before his meeting with members of the Jewish community, Clinton took subtle jabs at Sanders, never mentioning him by name but indicating his wife’s rival doesn’t know how to work with others who hold different views and have different agendas.
“If you don’t deal with the fact that we are too politically polarized and we keep rewarding people who tell us things we know we can’t do because it pushes their hot buttons, we can’t go forward together,” Clinton told the crowd of more than 800, as he also likened supporters of Sanders campaign to the Tea Party faction within the Republican party.
-------