Sen. Cruz: Sec. Kerry Should Disavow Offensive Remarks about Israel Being Guilty of Terrorism or Resign
Once again, John Kerry and his staff have proven themselves utterly unfit for the positions they hold
October 16, 2015
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today admonished the State Department for its recent remarks about Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israel. Yesterday, following Secretary of State John Kerry’s suggestion that Israel’s settlements provoked the most recent wave of Palestinian terrorism, his chief spokesman reaffirmed his boss’ position by declaring both the Palestinians and Israel equally guilty of terrorism in a State Department press briefing:
QUESTION: You do consider it an act of terrorism. Okay, so that would suggest then that you believe that this is – that both sides are, in fact, committing these --
MR KIRBY: Well, I would say certainly individuals on both sides of this divide are – have proven capable of and in our view guilty of acts of terror.
“The Obama Administration is the most hostile we have seen towards the nation of Israel in our nation’s history. In the last few days, this obsessive antagonism has been on full display,” Sen. Cruz said. “It is utterly unacceptable that a senior official in the U.S. government would make such an unfounded slur against Israel, which has been our invaluable ally in the fight against terrorism. We must immediately and unconditionally reject the delusion that the coordinated Palestinian frenzy of bloodlust is in any way legitimate. There is no moral equivalence here between the savagery of the Palestinian terrorists and the innocent Israelis they are trying to murder.”
Sen. Cruz continued: “Once again, Sec. Kerry and his staff have proven themselves utterly unfit for the positions they hold. Mr. Kirby should immediately retract his offensive assertion that Israel is ‘guilty of acts of terror’ or resign, and Sec. Kerry should immediately disavow these remarks or resign.”
Sen. Cruz first called for Sec. Kerry’s resignation on April 28, 2014, after the secretary threatened Israel could become an ‘apartheid state’ if Israel did not give in to his demands for concessions to the Palestinians. Sen. Cruz is one of three senators who voted against Sec. Kerry’s confirmation in January 29, 2013.
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