Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and the White House traded barbs this week over the Biden administration’s response to the Hamas attacks in Israel.
It started after Cruz said in a Fox News interview that the Biden administration had been sympathetic to calls for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
Former U.S. State Department Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller told FactCheck.org Cruz was “wrong” to make the claims and that the administration had been “nothing other than completely supportive” of Israel.
In a lengthy post Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter, Cruz said the fact check “admits I was right that Biden immediately called on Israel not to retaliate against Hamas, because they have to, because it’s true.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, talks with reporters Nov. 1, 2023. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, also appears. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
BIDEN ADMIN REACTS TO TEMPORARY CEASE-FIRE DEAL BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS, RELEASE OF HOSTAGES
“But, so they can defend Biden, they quote ‘experts’ anyway saying he’s been 100% supportive of Israel,” he wrote.
“Washington DC experts say that Biden has been 100% supportive of Israel. These are the people who have been in charge of Middle East diplomacy for decades — which also explains how we got to a place where Iranian terrorists were able to launch the worst one day mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust,” the post continued.
In a statement to Fox News Digital in response to Cruz’s post, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said, “Obviously, Senator Cruz hasn’t asked anyone in Israel about this,” and referenced a link to a New York Times article, “Israeli Billboards Thanking the U.S. Have a New Face on Them: Biden’s.”
The Times article said Biden is “suddenly finding warm embraces” in Israel after former President Donald Trump’s politics “drove a wedge between the Democratic Party and the Jews who have long called it their political home.”
“The Hamas attacks — and the Biden administration’s response — have so far not only united a fractured Israeli society but also buried animosities between the world’s two largest Jewish communities, in Israel and the United States,” the article continued.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, talks with reporters Nov. 15, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The article didn’t mention the Biden administration’s initial social media responses to the Oct. 7 attacks condemned by conservatives, including Cruz.
Cruz’s comments referenced an Oct. 7 post on X in which the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs called for “all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks,” which was quickly deleted.
On Oct. 8, the day Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a phone call with the Turkish foreign minister, Blinken posted on X, urging, “Türkiye’s advocacy for a cease-fire and the release of all hostages held by Hamas immediately.”
That post was also deleted, according to the FactCheck.org website.
ISRAEL, HAMAS AGREE TO TEMPORARY CEASE-FIRE, HOSTAGE RELEASE DEAL INCLUDING FREEING 3 AMERICANS
“Even that is a lie,” Cruz continued on X. “In reality, the Biden administration immediately called on Israel not to retaliate on Oct 7, deleted the tweet, supported a ceasefire again the next day, then deleted that tweet too.”
Nonetheless, the Biden administration has since publicly rejected a cease-fire. On Oct. 10, FactCheck.org reported that Biden said in a speech: “So, in this moment, we must be crystal clear,” he said. “We stand with Israel. We stand with Israel. And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself and respond to this attack.”
Cars are on fire after they were hit by rockets from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, Oct. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
But, earlier this month, State Department staffers wrote a scathing internal memo urging the Biden administration to change its public stance toward Israel and support a cease-fire, Politico reported.
The leaked memo was submitted to the department’s Dissent Channel, where employees are invited to express policy disagreements, the outlet said. It is the latest incident showing internal strife within the department over the U.S. support for its closest ally in the Middle East.
The message reportedly demands the U.S. support a cease-fire and be willing to publicly criticize “Israeli military tactics and treatments of Palestinians,” the outlet reported.
Cruz said in a Fox News interview the Biden administration has been sympathetic to calls for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas terrorists. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
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Politico reported that two mid-level staffers wrote this particular memo, but there were several other dissent memos over the Israel-Hamas war being shared within the department. The message “reflects the sentiments of many U.S. diplomats,” the report said.
A State Department spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital the department does “not comment on reports of internal department communications,” as a general rule.
Fox News Digital has reached out to FactCheck.org for comment.
Fox News’ Kristine Parks contributed to this report.