Washington, D.C. — Republican candidate Ted Cruz addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference today, stressing to delegates how he believes America’s recent nuclear deal with Iran was tantamount to Munich in 1938, effectively arming a despotic regime with the tools to kill millions.
Sen. Cruz opened with an attack on his Republican opponent Donald Trump who spoke before him. Mr Trump had used the word ‘Palestine’ in his speech, to which Cruz responded: “Palestine has not existed since 1948.”
His speech began by reflecting on the upcoming Jewish festival of Purim, before going to mentioning radical Islamic terrorism.
But while there were no walkouts during Mr Trump’s speech, many had left by the time Cruz took to the stage at 7pm, leaving patches of empty seats dotted around the Verizon Center in downtown D.C.
And Mr. Cruz went on to stress how his former opponent in the Republican race, Sen. Lindsay Graham had hosted an event for him at AIPAC.
“The God of Abraham,” he joked, “can still do miracles.”
Sen. Cruz urged the audience to remember Taylor Force, the West Point graduate and American citizen who recently fell victim to a Palestinian terrorist attack in Israel.
And then he turned his attention to Hamas, citing his record in proposing a resolution to condemn Hamas rocket attacks. He highlighted how the Gaza-based terror group uses children as human shields by secreting missiles in citizen centres and near schools.
Sen. Cruz stressed how he put his money where his mouth was for Israel, by refusing to confirm State Department appointees until the Obama administration clarified whether a halt on flights to Israel was an economic boycott of the country.
He slammed the Obama administration for effectively boycotting the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, before highlighting how Donald Trump has proclaimed “neutrality” in any Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
“America will stand unapologetically with the nation of Israel,” he proclaimed, stating that he would have no neutrality on the issue.
Then he turned to the Iran deal, asserting: “I will rip this catastrophic Iranian deal to shreds”, once again taking aim at Donald Trump, stating that the latter would seek a better deal, rather than reimposing sanctions, as Mr Cruz promises to.
“Either you [Iran] will shut down your nuclear programme,” he threatened, “Or we will shut it down for you.”
Sen. Cruz promised to move “the American embassy to Jerusalem, the once and eternal capital of Israel” — a promise made by many a Presidential candidate over the years.
He promised to scrap access to federal funding and even prosecute, where appropriate, schools and universities who attempt to boycott the State of Israel.
Cruz spoke of his Cuban-American background, claiming that his father’s experiences of fighting in the Cuban revolution informed his views on Israel. He said that while America serves as a place for people facing oppression to flee, that Israel, a “beacon of light in the world” serves the same purpose.
“I believe this Iranian deal is Munich in 1938,” he bellowed, demanding that America stands up to the Iranian “bully.”
He finished: “God bless America and Am Israel Chai.”
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