Influential Republican Senator Ted Cruz justifies his support for Israel’s war against Iran by referring to the Bible and what he learned in Sunday school as a child.
During a heated conversation with former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, Cruz revealed that his stance on the conflict is based more on religious dogma than on political analysis and judgment.
– Growing up in Sunday school I was taught from the Bible, those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse Israel will be cursed, and from my perspective, I want to be on the blessing side of things, Cruz explained.
The senator emphasized that his support for Israel is rooted in the belief that the US is commanded by God to stand behind the country.
– Where does my support for Israel come from? Number one, because biblically we are commanded to support Israel… It doesn’t say the government of Israel, it says the nation of Israel. So that’s in the Bible. As a Christian, I believe that, he emphasized.
But Carlson questioned Cruz’s knowledge of the Bible and asked him to specify where in the Bible the verse can be found.
– I don’t have the scripture off the tip of my… pull out your phone, Cruz replied, to which Carlson quickly pointed out:
– It’s in Genesis. You’re quoting a Bible phrase you don’t have context for, you don’t know where in the Bible it is… that’s your theology?’
Must Christians support Netanyahu?
The conversation quickly became more heated when Carlson continued to demand an answer as to why Christians must support Israel:
– We’re commanded as Christians to support the government of Israel? Define Israel. This is important. Are you kidding? This is a majority Christian country.
Cruz responded irritably:
– Define Israel? Do you not know what Israel is? That would be the country you’ve asked like 49 questions about.
Carlson pressed on:
– So that’s what Genesis—that’s what God is talking about? Is that the current borders, the current leadership, he’s talking about the political entity of Israel? Is the nation God is referring to in Genesis the same country Benjamin Netanyahu is running now?
Is the US at war or not?
Carlson, who had previously criticized Trump for abandoning his “America First” policy in connection with the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, then put Cruz under further pressure. The senator had previously made a surprising statement about the US’s role in the conflict.
– I’ve said we. Israel is leading them, but we’re supporting them, Cruz said when Carlson pointed out that he had previously said that the US was carrying out attacks against Iran.
Carlson reacted strongly to the fact that the US position in the conflict seems to vary depending on which politician you ask:
– You’re breaking news here. The US government last night denied… on behalf of Trump, that we’re acting on Israel’s behalf in any offensive capacity.
Cruz tried to backtrack:
– No, we’re not bombing them. Israel is bombing them.
– You just said we were. This is high stakes. You’re a senator. If you’re saying the United States is at war with Iran right now, people are listening, Carlson pointed out.
No deeper knowledge of Iran
The host also took the opportunity to reveal Cruz’s ignorance about Iran when he asked the Republican politician how many people live in Iran.
– I don’t know the population, Cruz admitted, prompting Carlson to exclaim:
– Not at all? You don’t know the population of the people you’re trying to topple?
Cruz tried to turn the question back on Carlson, who quickly replied, “92 million”.
– How could you not know that? It’s kind of relevant because you’re calling for the overthrow of the government.
Cruz also admitted that he had no deeper knowledge of Iran’s ethnic composition and conceded that he was no expert on the country whose government he wants to overthrow. He also argued that this type of detailed knowledge was irrelevant in this context.
