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Cruz Visits Matzo Bakery in Bklyn; Pledges ‘Unalterable Support’ for Israel

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Senator Cruz said, “I say this as an American, G-d bless Prime Minister Netanyahu. He was a voice of clarity in a time of confusion, in a time of foolishness, in a time when the United States is sending $100 billion dollars to the Ayatollah Khamenei.“ Photo Credit – Fern Sidman

Making his way to the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn last Thursday afternoon, GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz hoped to score some votes on this campaign stop with the borough’s Jewish community. Looking towards the April 19th New York primary, the Texas senator spent some time at the Chabad Neshoma Center on Ocean Parkway where be bantered with religious leaders and baked some matzo for the upcoming holiday of Passover with the 3 and 4 year old children gathered there in their paper baking hats.

Cruz said that he had been “privileged to be at many a Seder table,” recalling an encounter last year with a 99-year old Holocaust survivor who had escaped Nazi Europe to the Gulag of Russia.

He then went down the street to the Jewish Center of Brighton Beach where he was greeted by a packed audience of several hundred exuberant supporters. Despite the polls in the Empire State indicating that Cruz would have an uphill battle in winning and garnering a substantial number of the 95 delegates at stake, he face shone as he radiated with a palpable sense of enthusiasm and optimism.

Known as a stalwart supporter of Israel, a determined fighter against the scourge of anti-Semitism and a fierce detractor of the Iran nuclear deal in congress, Senator Cruz told his effusive audience, “Many people ask, why is this Texas Cuban southern Baptist one of the leading defenders of Israel in the Senate? A lot of it has to do with being the son of an immigrant who fled Cuba, who was imprisoned and tortured. There may be some here today who may have experienced the same thing before you came to America.”

He drew a parallel between the foundational principles of America and Israel. “America has been a beacon of freedom throughout the world just as the nation of Israel has been; welcoming Jews from across the globe. We are here to celebrate the strong and unshakable friendship between America and Israel.”

He said that because of the persecution that Jews have been subjected to over the millenia, Israel has come to represent “a Jewish homeland for the Jewish people.”

“As we get ready to celebrate Passover, we acknowledge G-d’s grace, G-d’s love, saving the people of Israel,” he said to thunderous applause.

As the crowd broke out in chants of “Jews for Cruz” the Texas senator said, “There is a power to speaking the truth with a smile.”

Recalling the last war in Israel when the terrorist Hamas organization in Gaza was raining down rockets on the Jewish state, Senator Cruz said, “I say this as an American, G-d bless Prime Minister Netanyahu. He was a voice of clarity in a time of confusion, in a time of foolishness, in a time when the United States is sending $100 billion dollars to the Ayatollah Khamenei.”

He slammed the Obama administration for “shamefully boycotting the prime minister’s speech before a joint session of Congress.”

In describing the historic address which focused on the dangers of signing a nuclear deal with Iran, Senator Cruz said that it was “Churchillian” in that it had “a gravity, a moral seriousness, a weight, as he stood up against the face of evil as he called for America and the world to stand in unity.”

He also repeated Prime Minister Netanyahu’s words about the war with Hamas: “He said, they use their citizens to defend their missiles, and we use our missiles to defend our citizens.”

He said that Israel benefits America as our “strong and implacable” ally in the often tumultuous region and spoke of the fact that both countries share cherished values.

“Israel fights for freedom, it fights for human rights,” he intoned.

He assured his audience that the visceral animus directed at Israel by the Obama administration will “come to an end in January of 2017.”

Upon taking leave of this supporters at the Jewish Center of Brighton Beach, Senator Cruz raised his voice with cheer when he said, “L’Chaim” (to life). He then graciously posed for photos with those in attendance. Outside the synagogue, a massive crowd of onlookers gathered as they waited for the senator to exit the building to cheer him after completing interviews with local Jewish media outlets.

“I think Senator Cruz is one of the greatest champions of US support for Israel. I firmly believe that for all Jews living in New York, we must come out and cast our vote for the one person who truly cares about the survival of the Jewish people, and that is undoubtedly Ted Cruz,” said Martin Kryvansky of Brighton Beach, who stood outside for a glimpse of the GOP candidate for president.

“Many think that Senator Cruz does not stand a chance of winning in New York during the upcoming primary, but I definitely feel that he can take delegates away from Trump and that is what really matters,” said Sandra Kleinbart of the Kensington section of Brooklyn.

Fern Sidman

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