Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Tuesday expressed his long-held support for Israel and what he said was its biblically rooted right to its historic homeland in Judea and Samaria
Addressing the Sovereignty Conference 2025 in Jerusalem on Tuesday via video, Cruz reiterated his long-held position that Israel has an “absolute right to determine what happens in Judea and Samaria.”
That right “starts in the Bible and extends through modern times,” he added.
Thanking Yesha Council chairman Israel Gantz for his work to strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance, Cruz said, “As you meet today, have confidence that the American people stand with you. And under President Trump and our new Republican Congress, the American government stands with you as well.”
The Yesha Council is an umbrella group of local and regional councils in Judea and Samaria.
“As for your enemies, who are also the enemies of America, we know that they seek to weaken you and to weaken us. And then to destroy you. And then to destroy us,” continued Cruz.
He expressed sympathy for the “unfathomable trauma” Israel and the Jewish people endure as “Palestinian savages make the return of every hostage, living or murdered, an ongoing nightmare.”
Cruz quoted remarks by Menachem Begin, part of a famous exchange the former Israeli prime minister had with then-Senator Joe Biden in June 1982.
Biden reportedly banged on the table with his fist, to which Begin replied, “This desk is designed for writing, not for fists. Don’t threaten us with slashing aid.”
Quoting Begin, Cruz said: “Don’t threaten us with cutting off your aid. It will not work. I am not a Jew with trembling knees. I am a proud Jew with 3,700 years of civilized history. Nobody came to our aid when we were dying in the gas chambers and ovens. Nobody came to our aid when we were striving to create our country.
“We paid for it. We fought for it. We died for it. We will stand by our principles. We will defend them. And when necessary, we will die for them again. With or without your aid.”
The Texas senator concluded: “Every person in this room has paid for the Land of Israel, has fought for the Land of Israel, and far too many have died for the Land of Israel. I am proud to stand with you unshakably as you determine the future of Judea and Samaria.”
The Sovereignty Conference brings together prominent leaders and activists on the Israeli right. The event spotlighted expectations for Israel’s government to change the status quo in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, with support from the U.S. administration.
Co-produced by the Yesha Council of Judea and Samaria communities, the event has served for over two decades as a platform to advocate making Judea, Samaria and Gaza, or areas therein, part of Israel.
