Attends the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, speaks with Fox News and Breitbart News Tonight about the historic occasion
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), along with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Dean Heller (R-Nev.), attended the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, a historic move for which Sen. Cruz has long advocated and which underscores the United States’ recognition that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.
In 2017, Sen. Cruz joined his Senate colleagues in reintroducing the Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act, which called for recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocating the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“I have long advocated for the U.S. to relocate our Embassy to Jerusalem, where it should be, and I applaud President Trump for keeping his word and moving the embassy,” said Sen. Cruz. “Jerusalem has been Israel’s capital going back to founding of the modern state of Israel and it’s been the eternal capital of the Jewish people for over 3,000 years. Moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem recognizes this reality and sends a powerful message to those who wrongly seek to delegitimize Israel. Today, America kept her word and stood with the nation of Israel as we move the U.S. Embassy to Israel’s rightful capital.”
While in Jerusalem on Monday, Sen. Cruz spoke with Fox News’ Harris Faulkner about the historic opening of the Embassy in Jerusalem and the violence in Gaza. He condemned Hamas’s use of human shields. Watch Sen. Cruz’s full comments here.
“Jerusalem is the undivided and eternal capital of Israel. And that’s been true since 70 years ago today when Israel–the modern state of Israel–was created. And that was true 3,000 years ago,” said Sen. Cruz. “The fact that President Trump demonstrated the courage to keep his promise–that is a message heard by our friends and by our enemies. America keeps her word and we stand with the nation of Israel. That’s incredibly important.”
On Sunday, Sen. Cruz also appeared on ‘Breitbart News Tonight’ from Jerusalem. The full interview is available here.
“I am honored and thrilled to have the chance to be here,” Sen. Cruz said. “It’s on the 70th anniversary of the restoration of Israel, and it’s a momentous occasion. Presidents of both parties have promised to move the embassy, and yet consistently they failed to do so. I commend President Trump for following through on that promise and I’m honored to be here for this historic day
Sen. Cruz praised the move, saying it sends a powerful message of strength to both friends and enemies of the United States.
“The move today – to move the embassy and to acknowledge Jerusalem as the once and eternal and undivided capital of Israel – it sends a powerful message,” Sen. Cruz said. “It sends a message to Israel and our friends that America will stand by its [allies]. And equally important it sends a message to our enemies that America will not be cowed by the global media elites, it will not be cowed by pressure from radical Islamic terrorists, that we are going to stand by our friends and stand up to our enemies. I think we are seeing on the foreign policy arena dramatic improvement because the simplest proposition and the truest proposition in foreign policy is that when dealing with bullies and tyrants, weakness and appeasement does not work. The only thing that works is strength, and that is once again a return to peace through strength.”