Posted on 04/28/2014 3:19:15 PM PDT by servo1969
Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) demanded on the Senate floor Monday that Secretary of State John Kerry resign from his post following highly controversial remarks about the state of Israel.
Kerry came under fire from lawmakers and a variety of pro-Israel organizations after he told world leaders in a closed door meeting that Israel risks becoming “an apartheid state” if it fails to reach peace with the Palestinians.
Israel cut off peace talks late last week after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas formed a unity government with the terror group Hamas, which announced that it would not renounce violence or recognize Israel’s right to exist.
Cruz said in a speech on the Senate floor that Kerry should immediately offer his resignation to President Barack Obama.
“John Kerry should offer President Obama his resignation and the president should accept it,” Cruz said.
Cruz said that Kerry’s comments brought him “great sadness.”
“There is no place for this word in the context of the state of Israel,” Cruz said. “The term ‘apartheid,’ means ‘apart, different, isolated.’ The state of the victims of apartheid with which the Jews are tragically all too familiar.”
Cruz said that Israel has nothing in common with apartheid South Africa.
The notion that Israel would go down that path and so face the same condemnation that faced South Africa is unconscionable,” he said. “The United States should be aggressively asserting that Israel can never be made an apartheid nation while America exists and stands beside her. Because America will be with Israel regardless of the status of the diplomatic process.”
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the nation’s leading pro-Israel lobbying outfit, also condemned Kerry, referring to his comments as “inappropriate” and disturbing.
Cruz’s entire floor speech is available below:
I admit to an anti-click with Cruz. Nothing objective - just a twinge. However, he just won me with this. I’ve withheld support from any politician since Palin faded in 2012.
This just tipped my support to Cruz, should he aspire to higher office.
Pull the bolts out of Kerry’s neck. That’s where he gets his energy.
Yes, Kerry is a limp-wristed ineffective douchecanoe and I can't stand him as much as anyone here. But to lose his job over a comment? How about losing his job for being such a lousy Secretary of State?
Does J Effin Kerry even know what the SOS Mission really is! I don’t think it’s creating turmoil! I was going to say with Allies but at this rate I feel we will have none in the near future.
Kerry wants a Peace Prize like Obamma, but only knows how to use threats to get it.
This government is very bad.
it is embarrassing to be a citizen
Republicans or especially conservative Republicans making even the slightest innuendo of any bias, and the liberal long knives will come howling out of their cages.
Any bias or hypocrisy here? Naw, none at all!!!
I heard there is a petition on the White House Petition page for Kerry to resign.
Freep it
His comment is just one more of a million examples W H Y he is a lousy SOS and should be fired.
That statement went FAR beyond just a “remark”.
Not to mention that Kerry has been making bombastic statements to hurt those he doesn’t like since the Vietnam War.
Words have power.
I wish a conservative would go even further and assert the apartheid comparison to most of the Middle East and Islamic nations when it comes to Jewish people and Christian minorities. The proposed Palestinian homeland would be more than apartheid and the arab controlled areas surrounding Israel are clearly worse than any apartheid comparison. Obviously this is apparent to everyone but I would just like to see people play a little offense for once.
This is not like a baseball player being cut for having an opinion, or an insurance agent fired for tweeting abuse from his personal account.
Kerry is the official face of the United States to other countries, our head diplomat. His comments deserve far greater scrutiny and accountability than a pizza delivery boy flipping the bird on his Instagram.
Today is Holocaust Remembrance day !
Well, since Kerry is not a Republican/conservative, he will never resign.
But glad Ted is holding him accountable for his idiocy!
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