Philip Klein writes for National Review Online about one US senator’s latest campaign outside electoral politics.
Senator Ted Cruz is trying to wake people up to what he sees as a growing crisis on the right. He has taken to saying that if he were to post “Good morning” on the social media platform X, within minutes he would be deluged by hundreds of blatantly antisemitic replies. It’s not much of an exaggeration. On Veterans Day, like most elected officials, the Texas Republican posted a graphic with an accompanying note expressing gratitude for the brave service members who fought for our nation. The message was totally uncontroversial, but the replies would have fit in the letters section of Der Stürmer.
“To hell with you and the rest of traitors to the Republic who are selling our country to this genocidal, apocalyptic death cult of Zionists!” read one comment. Others blasted “Jewish terrorists” and “the evil political zionist takeover.” The worst of the comments were directed at Cruz himself, accusing him of being a “shill for Israel” or being controlled by “Israeli masters.” …
… Cruz is no stranger to being an object of derision, dating back to his days as a rookie senator leading a lonely crusade to defund Obamacare. But the vitriol directed at him now is for another reason: He is a Christian who has been a leading advocate for strong U.S.-Israeli ties and an indefatigable fighter against the scourge of antisemitism.
Other political leaders have spoken up in recent years against this worrisome trend, but Cruz has distinguished himself. At every opportunity, he raises the issue without being specifically asked. Unlike politicians who are willing to attack antisemitism only on the other political side, Cruz has been fighting it on all fronts.
Cruz recently told the Republican Jewish Coalition that he considered antisemitism a “poison,” ominously observing, “In the last six months, I’ve seen more antisemitism on the right than I have in my entire life.”
