Jerusalem Post Quotes Sen. Ted Cruz During JINSA Conference Call

Senator Ted Cruz: ‘Israel’s enemies are America’s enemies’
By Zachary Keyser

The Jewish Institute of National Security for America (JINSA) held a phone conference with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Wednesday to discuss further US-Israel cooperation in fighting the coronavirus pandemic in their respective countries together.

In order to strengthen the partnership between the United States and Israel, and to limit the dependence the US has on China, Cruz introduced new legislation that will appropriate $12 million “for investments in joint medical research with the United States and Israel… with an emphasis on collaboratively advancing the use of technology in the fight against COVID-19.”

The coronavirus pandemic has displayed “the malevolent behavior of the communist government of China and the incredible dependence the United States has for our supply chain on China,” Cruz said during the briefing.

The Chinese government has been branded for their lack of transparency throughout the pandemic, beginning with the onset of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan. The government initially downplayed the extent of the spread within their country in order to stave off the negative economic effects and travel bans that were to come with the viral spread – allegedly reporting false figures purposefully to the World Health Organization in the process – apathetic to worldwide public health implications.

With regard to US foreign policy concerning the Islamic Republic of Iran, Cruz is recommending that the United States government keep their foots on the necks of the Iranian regime and continue to implement the “maximum economic and diplomatic pressure” strategy on Iran even throughout the coronavirus pandemic, to hopefully lead to a regime change within the country.

“It should be maximum pressure hopefully that results in regime change, that results in this regime collapsing,” the the Senator stated. “[The US must be] unequivocally clear that under no circumstances will Iran be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons and the United States will do whatever is necessary to prevent that. [This] is the single most important thing we can do to continue to strengthen our friendship and alliance with Israel.”

Additionally, the Senator supported the notion to create a US-Israel mutual defense treaty. JINSA previously compiled a rough draft in 2019 as to what that treaty would look like, garnering support for the pact from both the Trump Administration as well as the Israeli government.

“Standing with Israel is critical not only to Israel, but to America’s national defense, and Israel’s enemies are America’s enemies,” Cruz said.

Originally published in The Jerusalem Post