Ross Douthat (New York Times), “The Middle East’s Friendless Christians”: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/opinion/sunday/ross-douthat-the-middle-easts-friendless-christians.html
“When the long, grim history of Christianity’s disappearance from the Middle East is written, Ted Cruz’s performance last week at a conference organized to highlight the persecution of his co-religionists will merit at most a footnote. But sometimes a footnote can help illuminate a tragedy’s unhappy whole.”
“If Cruz felt that he couldn’t in good conscience address an audience of persecuted Arab Christians without including a florid, ‘no greater ally’ preamble about Israel, he could have withdrawn from the event. The fact that he preferred to do it this way instead says a lot — none of it good — about his priorities and instincts.”
“The fact that he was widely lauded says a lot about why, if 2,000 years of Christian history in the Middle East ends in blood and ash and exile, the American right no less than the left and center will deserve a share of responsibility for that fate.”
Kathryn Jean Lopez (National Review Online), “Why Was Ted Cruz Booed Last Night?”: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/387883/why-was-ted-cruz-booed-wednesday-night-kathryn-jean-lopez
“This wasn’t a foreign-policy conference, it has a very specific and critically urgent goal. From inside the ballroom Wednesday night, Cruz’s remarks were widely agreed to be unnecessarily off-topic and divisive, sabotaging the good work that was in progress. Christians are dying and we’re throwing political slogans at one another and making judgments.”
“In both the literature put out by the conference and throughout talks Thursday, it was clear that in defending Christians, leaders of this movement were seeking to defend the rights of all – explicitly naming Jews and Muslims and people of no faith, among others, in addition to the Christians in the group’s name.”
“Speakers Wednesday evening and Thursday morning were humble yet firm in response: It is not Christian to hate people. We must defend Christians because they are our brothers and sisters and because they have human rights, the rights of every one of us, made in the image and likeness of God.”
“A key goal of the summit was to bolster resolve here in the U.S., focusing people on the looming elimination of Christianity over in the Middle East. As best I could tell from that ballroom Wednesday night, they booed Ted Cruz because, instead of using his platform to help nameless, foreign, forgotten Christians targeted by Islamic extremists, he added yet another distraction to the mix.”
Robert Costa (the Washington Post), “GOP congressman calls Cruz remarks to Christian audience ‘outrageous and incendiary’”:
“Dent, whose district has a large population of Americans of Syrian and Lebanese descent, said he sympathized with those who were unhappy with Cruz, and wondered if the senator’s intent was to inflame the audience in order to gain traction with tea party activists ahead of a potential 2016 presidential run.”
“’I support Israel, but what Senator Cruz did was outrageous and incendiary,’ Dent said. ‘He showed a true lack of sensitivity for the people he was speaking to, especially the religious leaders who were there. It was a political speech, inappropriate and, overall, an uncomfortable moment.’”
Mollie Hemingway (The Federalist), “Ted Cruz is No Hero For Insulting A Room of Persecuted Christians”: http://thefederalist.com/2014/09/11/ted-cruz-is-no-hero-for-insulting-a-room-of-persecuted-christians/
“You wouldn’t know it from much of the media, but the global plight of Christians is worsening as followers of Jesus are suffering and dying at the hands of oppressive regimes. The past century has seen the eradication of Christians in former strongholds in the Middle East. And this is something that people have been working very hard to fight. Many hoped this conference would draw much-needed attention to their suffering.”
“Goodman’s piece, in vintage WFB style, is filled with alarmist language. We learn of a Maronite Christian seeking a liaison with Hezbollah and it sounds horrifically bad until you realize the purpose is to work together to fight ISIS, for instance. Her descriptive language for the various Christian leaders (e.g. “Antioch Church patriarch”) suggests a lack of intimacy with the topic.”
“The real problem, of course, is just the messiness of the situation in the Middle East vis-a-vis foreign policy interests and religious persecution. Is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad the enemy or a friend? The United States considers him an enemy. The Free Beacon really considers him an enemy. But Christians in the region view him differently because his regime is fighting the guys who are killing them and seeking their eradication.”
Seraphim Danckaert (Orthodox Christian Network), “Sen. Ted Cruz Booed Off Stage at Middle East Christian Summit”: http://myocn.net/sen-ted-cruz-booed-off-stage-middle-eastern-christians/
“Given his comments, and his response to the people who reacted by booing, it appears Cruz has no meaningful exposure to the actual experience of Middle Eastern Christians, nor does it seem he is even aware that there are millions of Middle Eastern Christians (and Jews, for that matter) who are strongly opposed to the official political and military policies of the modern state of Israel.”
“The phrase that ignited the disagreement is particularly telling: “Christians have no greater ally than Israel.’”
“What kind of worldview or theological bias would allow for such a statement? Only one that presumes there is a definite conformity between the needs and desires of Christians everywhere and the Middle East policy of the United States of America. It seems to me, in other words, that when Ted Cruz says “Christians have no greater ally than Israel,” he really means that “America has no greater ally than Israel” — and that the subjects of those two sentences are identical in his mind.”
“Such an idea, so disconnected from the personal suffering and experiences of the actual Christians who live in the Middle East, found little sympathy in a Washington, D.C. ballroom crowded with Christians from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and surrounding lands.”
Tim Mark (The Daily Beast), “Christians Enraged With Cruz Over Pro-Israel Comments”: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/12/christians-enraged-with-cruz-over-israel.html
“He used arguably the most persecuted and powerless minority in the world, Middle Eastern Christians, who are supposed to be his brethren in Christ, as a prop for a self-aggrandizing political stunt,” said Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, a Catholic writer, in The Week. “
“New York Times columnist Ross Douthat was particularly scathing, pointing out that Cruz’s ‘co-religionists are being murdered.’”
“’[B]y making a statement at *this* event, he basically flipped the bird to people and churches that are dying right now,’ he tweeted.”
“Some conservative websites weighed in in support of Cruz, but may have overstepped in doing so—with two websites implying that the Middle Eastern Christians present at the event were not Christians at all.”
“Both Breitbart News and Townhall wrote defenses that put the word ‘Christian’ in scare quotes—as if those who heckled Cruz might not appropriately be termed so. Breitbart has since taken down the quotation marks.”
Colin Campbell (Business Insider), “Some Conservatives Are Blasting Ted Cruz For His Speech At A Christian Event”: http://www.businessinsider.com/conservatives-ted-cruz-israel-speech-booed
“Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) speech to a Middle Eastern Christian group isn’t only being panned by Democrats. Conservative Christian and other right-leaning observers are also weighing in critically.”
James Zogby (Politico), “What Ted Cruz Doesn’t Want to Hear About Arab Christians”: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/09/what-ted-cruz-doesnt-want-to-hear-about-arab-christians-110907.html#.VBOk_lYrdg0
“In fact, in this entire sad and sordid affair, the only ignorance and bigotry on display was that of the senator himself. He cared not a bit for the feelings of Arab Christians. Blinded by his own lack of understanding and concern, Cruz appeared to be more interested in scoring political points with his conservative base than in taking the time to know what Christians in Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Iraq really feel and want.
Had Cruz listened, he would have heard about their difficult relationship with Israel—its brutal occupations of Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian lands and the disproportionate violence it has used, with impunity, in its many wars against several Arab countries.”
“Had he talked to the six patriarchs of Eastern churches in attendance (as President Obama did on Thursday), he would have heard them speak of their history of coexistence with Muslims.”
“They, of course, are deeply concerned about the rise of extremism and horrified by the brutally violent excesses of those who are using a distorted Islam to create the terror they use to consolidate political power. But far from wanting to fuel a “clash of civilizations” that pits Jews and Christians against Muslims, the leaders of these Eastern churches seek the defeat of extremism and the creation of a social order that can build societies based on equal rights for all and reconciliation among all faith traditions.”
Mary Tooley (Juicy Ecumenism), “Senator Cruz, Mideast Christians & Israel”:
http://juicyecumenism.com/2014/09/11/senator-cruz-mideast-christians-israel/
“Likely Cruz, a savvy politician, knew the reaction he would provoke from some by commending Israel, and he maximized his political moment before the many cameras. Although the featured keynote speaker, he quit the podium after only a few minutes, amid boos and shouts of “go home” from a loud minority of the crowd. “If you will not stand with Israel and the Jews, then I will not stand with you,” he declared before departing.”
“Nearly everyone seemed stunned by the brief, dramatic exchange.”
Jonathan Bernstein (Bloomberg View), “Ted Cruz’s Empty ‘Sister Souljah’ Moment”: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-09-11/ted-cruz-s-empty-sister-souljah-moment
“Ted Cruz isn’t going to do anything like that. He’s the one who responsible Republicans need to distance themselves from, and the one attempting to enforce ideological correctness on the party (and inventing new tests as quickly as possible, the better to have more perfectly conservative Republicans fail them).”
Elias Isquith (Salon), “Watch Ted Cruz slam his haters before getting booed off stage”: http://www.salon.com/2014/09/11/watch_ted_cruz_slam_his_haters_before_getting_booed_off_stage/
“Cruz was delivering the keynote address of an event held by In Defense of Christians, a group dedicated to raising awareness of the plight of besieged Christians in the Middle East, when he somewhat unexpectedly changed the topic from vulnerable Christian minorities to the importance of supporting the State of Israel.”
Lincoln Mitchell (New York Observer), “Cruz and the Jews”: http://observer.com/2014/09/cruz-and-the-jews/
“Mr. Cruz’s remark were aimed not at Jews considering supporting the Republican Party, but at fundamentalist Christians for whom support for Israel and philo-Semitism are now important parts of their political ethos. Thus, in a confusing twist on what was almost his Sistah Souljah moment, Cruz sought to demonstrate his pro-Jewish credentials to win stronger support among fundamentalist Christians by being booed off the stage at a multi-faith event.”
Rebecca Ryskind Teti (Catholic Vote), “What I Saw At The ‘In Defense Of Christians’ Summit”:
http://www.catholicvote.org/what-i-saw-at-the-in-defense-of-christians-summit/
“I speak as an eyewitness, not an expert on the politics of the Middle East. Here is how the scene appeared to me.”
“To lay my cards on the table, my father is Jewish and I think I am about as pro-Israel as one gets. Yet Senator Cruz appeared to me to behave boorishly — totally out of tone, with apparently no understanding of the actual conditions under which half the people in front of him live on a daily basis, and squandering a great opportunity to make the American view point more understandable for a room full of religious leaders in the Middle East who don’t “get” us any more than we “get” them.”
Elisabeth Dias (TIME), “Why Ted Cruz Was Booed Off Stage at a Christian Event”: http://time.com/3328063/ted-cruz-booed-israel-christian-middle-east/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+timeblogs%2Fswampland+%28TIME%3A+Swampland%29
“At its core, Cruz’s problem was one of context. First, he pinned his remarks to the conflict between Israel and Hamas when one of the group’s primary agenda points was actually the plight of Iraqi Christians. Second, Christians are far from a monolithic group, especially when it comes to views on policy on Israel and the Middle East. The American evangelicals Cruz typically addresses tend to be worlds apart historically, culturally, theologically, and politically from the Christian leaders in attendance.”
Daniel Larison (The American Conservative), “Cruz, Israel, and In Defense of Christians” at The American Conservative: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/cruz-israel-and-in-defense-of-christians/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cruz-israel-and-in-defense-of-christians
“The issue should be important enough that it transcends other policy and political disagreements. The fact that Cruz could not recognize this, but instead chose to emphasize and dwell on those disagreements to the point of accusing members of the audience of being “consumed with hatred” reflects very poorly on him. Cruz chose to abuse his place at this gathering for cynical and self-promoting reasons, which unfortunately has become part of a recurring pattern for the junior senator from Texas. The good news is that his shameless behavior may have unintentionally helped to bring more attention to the suffering of Christians throughout the region.”
Penny Starr (CNS NES): “Organizer: Cruz ‘Derailed’ Conversation about Christian Persecution in Middle East”: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/penny-starr/organizer-cruz-derailed-conversation-about-christian-persecution-middle
“An organizer for the In Defense of Christians’ (IDC) summit held this week in Washington, D.C., said Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) keynote speech on Wednesday “derailed” the summit’s goal of unifying Christians around the globe to take a stand against the persecution and killing of Christians and other religious minorities at the hands of Islamic extremists in the Middle East, specifically the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or Levant (ISIL).”
Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, “Ted Cruz and the Most Cyncial Despicable Political Stunt of the Year” at the Week: http://theweek.com/article/index/267993/ted-cruz-and-the-most-cynical-despicable-political-stunt-of-the-year
“This much, however, is absolutely clear: Cruz tarred and attacked one of the most powerless and beleaguered minorities in the world, solely for personal political gain. He was speaking truth to the powerless. He was strong against the weak.”
“In the end, what was most striking about Cruz’s tirade was the last phrase: “If you will not stand with Israel and the Jews, then I will not stand with you.” Cruz was literally standing in a room with his fellow Christians. In the Bible, the idea of the fellowship of Christian believers is a very important one, and to break fellowship is to put oneself outside the community. What Cruz was saying was that agreeing to his views on Israel was more important as a badge of fellowship than believing in Jesus Christ.”
Mark Movsesian (First Things), “A Sad Episode”: http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2014/09/a-sad-episode
“People will move on from this sad episode, and the good work of the conference in raising the plight of Mideast Christians will no doubt bear fruit. But what are we to make of such a man, who hijacks an event focused on the suffering of a mostly forgotten group of people, sandbags his hosts, preens self-righteously, and deliberately provokes an ugly reaction to score political points? No doubt, Cruz and his staff will trumpet his brave conduct in standing up to bullies. In fact, what he did was humiliate the powerless, and there’s another word for that than brave.”
Seth Mandel (Commentary), “Ted Cruz, IDC, and the Politics of Solidarity”: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2014/09/12/ted-cruz-idc-and-the-politics-of-solidarity/
“And there is also something encouraging in the way Christians (on the right, anyway) have responded in fellowship and solidarity with their oppressed brothers and sisters elsewhere, with Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry even calling on American Christians to rethink casting a vote for Cruz. Many of these Christian thinkers and writers are reliably pro-Israel and certainly consistent in their philosophical, political, and ideological outlook. (Gobry is a contributor to COMMENTARY.)”
“But for some of them this is far more interesting. One clearinghouse of pro-IDC anti-Cruz reaction has been the American Conservative magazine’s website. That’s appropriate, and it’s been quite heartening to watch the magazine’s writers call for putting Christian unity above American politics and to prioritize the fate of Christians in the Middle East.”
“So the discovery that faithful solidarity and American loyalty are not mutually exclusive is a revelation (no pun intended) of common ground to some writers. The controversy surrounding Cruz’s speech might be divisive, but it’s also a reminder that Christian Americans and Jewish Americans are on the same side here.”
Rod Dreher (The American Conservative), “U.S. Conservative Contempt for Arab Christians”: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/us-conservative-contempt-for-arab-christians/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=us-conservative-contempt-for-arab-christians
“Anti-Semitism among Christians, Arab and otherwise, is appalling, but it doesn’t sound like that’s what was at issue here. Ted Cruz came to this event apparently seeking to score points with a domestic US political constituencies at the expense of the desperate need for international Christian solidarity in the face of horrendous persecution by ISIS and other radical Islamic groups. To add to the insult, now Breitbart, a leading website of movement conservatism, questions the Christianity of these Arab men and women in that Washington room.”
“This is beyond infuriating. Arab Christians in the Middle East face persecution and death every day, simply because they are Christian. And this Dr. Susan Berry person on Breitbart distorts the truth — saying that Cruz was booed because he supported Israel, when in fact he was booed because he turned his speech into a pro-Israel lecture to a hostile audience — and then writes as if the only thing worth knowing about the Christians in that audience is that some of them had met with Hezbollah.”
“It was a disgusting smear by Berry and Breitbart, same as Alana Goodman’s smear in the WFB. I say that as someone who in no way shares the antipathy of these Christians for Israel. Five Christian patriarchs of persecuted Christian peoples came to the United States to meet and to talk about what their people are suffering, and these right-wing jackals, including Sen. Cruz, jumped them and tried to trash and exploit them for American political purposes.”
Rod Dreher (The American Conservative), “Lift High the Cruz”: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/lift-high-the-cruz-ted-christian/
“I think this despicable event could end up being bad for Israel. Why? For all the reasons you’ve read above. Nobody likes a bully. Ted Cruz behaved as a bully to some of the most defenseless people in the world. So did these others. It’s going to make a lot of American Christians, I think, reconsider their political views.”
“The controversy coming out of this was so unnecessary, and so regrettable. What did the Beacon stand to gain from this stunt (publishing an incendiary smear of the conference before Cruz appeared)? What do they imagine Israel gains? It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that this Washington newspaper cares more about discrediting Arab Christian leaders who came to America to rally support for their communities facing genocide, but some of whom hold offensive opinions about Israel, than it does about the fact that these people are facing mass murder and the extermination of their communities.”
Michael Brendan Dougherty (The Week), “The demagoguery of Ted Cruz and his cheerleaders in the conservative media”: http://theweek.com/article/index/268031/the-demagoguery-of-ted-cruz-and-his-cheerleaders-in-the-conservative-media
“This week, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) slandered a group of Middle Eastern Christians who were trying to raise awareness of their struggle to avoid a genocide in the Middle East. His cynical grandstanding was rightly condemned — but he was hardly alone.”
“Cruz agreed to speak to this group, which included bishops of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, ostensibly out of solidarity, but took the occasion to antagonize them over their insufficient praise for Israel, then smeared them as anti-Semites before dropping the mic.”
“The Washington Free Beacon publicized this flameout — their publisher said the room was ‘full of anti-Semites’ — while other conservative outlets sensationalized it in a way to drastically reduce sympathy for persecuted Christians in the region. By the middle of Thursday night, Breitbart was putting the word ‘Christian’ in quotes.”
“This was a shameless exercise in punching down at some of the most powerless people in the Middle East. It’s doubly a shame because the conference, dubbed “In Defense of Christians,” was the rarest of rare events, featuring all the major religious leaders of Arab Christians who are at the mercy of fanatics like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.”
The Patriot Post, “Boos for Cruz Shouldn’t Overshadow Christian Persecution”: http://patriotpost.us/articles/29069
“IDC president Toufic Baaklini said the goal of the summit was to ‘empower the Middle Eastern Christian Diaspora and energize the American people to stand in solidarity [with] the ancient Christian communities of the Middle East. Their survival is vital to stability in the region, and their ability to flourish in their countries of origin has national security implications for the United States.’
Unfortunately, that laudable goal will be eclipsed by click-bait headlines focused only on the brief altercation with Cruz. Meanwhile, the intolerant drum of radical Islam beats stronger and stronger in the dissolving states of the Middle East.”
“Thus was the IDC summit reduced to another sound byte in the Beltway political machine. But its purpose remains paramount: Christians are being threatened in the Middle East – Christians with complex and nuanced geopolitical views based on interests sometimes not aligned with the U.S. If they fall, the region – and the world – will be far worse for it.”
Steve Benen (MSNBC), “Ted Cruz booed off the stage at Christian event in D.C.”: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/ted-cruz-booed-the-stage-christian-event-dc
“Just to flesh this out further, politicians usually don’t want to be seen getting booed off a stage, but from Cruz’s perspective, his reception is a plus. As he readies a national campaign, the right-wing senator now has a new talking point. ‘See how pro-Israel I am?’ Cruz can now boast. ‘I tried to tell those Middle Easterners the truth, they booed me, and I didn’t back down an inch.’”
“It was an ugly scene, but for Cruz, it’s quite possible this was a deliberately ugly scene, instigated on purpose to advance the senator’s ambitions.”
“We’re learning quite a bit about who Ted Cruz really is.”
Assyrian International News Agency, “Senator Ted Cruz Booed Off Stage At In Defense of Christians Summit”: http://www.aina.org/news/20140911022600.htm
“AINA interviewed several conference attendees after the event and most said that they were there to discuss the plight of the Christians in Iraq, not the Israel-Hamas conflict, and they resented the senator’s attempt to ‘hijack’ the summit.”
Mark Stricherz (Aleteia), “Cruz, Jews, and Boos”: http://www.aleteia.org/en/politics/article/cruz-jews-and-boos-5857377152663552
“Did Christians hound Ted Cruz off the stage? Not exactly.”
Daily KOS, “In Defense of Christianity”: http://m.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/12/1329318/-In-Defense-of-Christianity
“I hope the fallacious reasoning here jumps out at you now. Equating Israel and Jews: fallacious. They are not the same. Israel exists in an irreligious international setting necessitating secular policies and actions. For that reason alone, the two are not the same. Implicitly requiring a binary response: you only stand for Israel and the Jews if you do it MY way. It’s my way or the Long Island Expressway. Saying he will not stand with us: fallacious. Will you sit with us? What does it mean not to stand with us? Not represent us? Not try to understand us? Ignore our needs and hopes? For such a logical and Biblical position, he seems to have let his emotions get the best of him. THAT RESPONSE IS NOT IN LINE WITH THE TEACHINGS OF CHRIST. Also, I’d like to see a picture of his heart weeping. That’s a phenomenon I’ve yet to see.”
Napp Nazworth (Christian Post), “In Defense of Christians Speakers Address Ted Cruz Getting Heckled”: http://m.christianpost.com/news/in-defense-of-christians-speakers-address-ted-cruz-getting-heckled–126346/
“James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, sounded critical of Cruz for his mention of Israel and the event sponsors for the lack of Palestinian Christian voices. Nina Shea, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, appeared to be more critical of those who disrupted the speech while calling for greater unity around the issues that they agree on. They were both on a Thursday morning panel, “Changing Policy Through Awareness and Advocacy,” for the In Defense of Christians Inaugural Summit.”
Catherine Harmon (Catholic World Report), “Eastern Christians meet with Obama, call for solidarity in the face of persecution”: http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/3365/eastern_christians_meet_with_obama_call_for_solidarity_in_the_face_of_persecution.aspx
“In its own statement, IDC expressed regret that ‘few politically motivated opportunists chose to divide a room that for more than 48 hours sought unity in opposing the shared threat of genocide, faced not only by our Christian brothers and sisters, but our Jewish brothers and sisters and people of all other faiths and all people of good will. Tonight’s injection of politics when the focus should have been on unity and faith, momentarily played into the hands of a few who do not adhere to IDC’s principles. They were made no longer welcome.’”
“Maronite Bishop Gregory J. Mansour, speaking to Catholic News Service, criticized Sen. Cruz for making support for Israel a ‘litmus test’ for standing with his fellow Christians.”
Barb Fraze (Catholic News Service), “Bishop criticizes senator for politicizing summit on Mideast Christians”: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1403799.htm
“’We’ve been very careful, all the organizers and everybody involved,’ said Bishop Mansour. ‘The only one who was not very careful was Sen. Cruz.’”
“’He made it very clear about defense of Jews and defense of Christians, but he did not mention defense of Muslims,’ said Bishop Mansour. He said everyone at the conference had been very careful to defend the best of the Muslim tradition and to condemn the worst in it.’”
“The bishop noted that 18 congressmen and senators had had talks with the Christian leaders on Capitol Hill without any kind of animosity.”
Jonathan Coppage (The American Conservative), “Ted Cruz Crashes Defense of Christians Summit”: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/coppage/ted-cruz-crashes-defense-of-christians-summit/
“While the Cruz incident was a low-light for the summit, the Christian leaders gathered at the dinner continued to make vigorous defenses of the separation of church and state and the importance of inculcating pluralism in the Middle East. I sat next to an Iraqi man whose family had been turned out of their homes and had to flee the area their people had settled for thousands of years. Those sufferers should be the focus in discussing IDC and its summit, and they should not be made into pawns or proxies for other conflicts.”
David Benkof (The Times of Israel), “I would have booed Ted Cruz, too”: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/i-would-have-booed-ted-cruz-too/
“The persecution and murder of Christians is an affront to good people everywhere. Communities of Christians numbering in the hundreds of thousands in places like Lebanon and Iraq have been decimated. Huge numbers of Christians have become refugees. ISIS is a constant, terrifying threat.”
“Folks, if there is ever a ‘V’im ani l’atzmi mah ani?’ moment (“If I am only for myself, what am I?”) this is it. As a people that suffered terribly during the last century from persecutions in tsarist Russia, Germany, Poland, the Soviet Union, and Arab lands (among other places), we cannot focus only on our own problems – important as they are.”
“So for Cruz to ignore the agenda of the gathering and harp on a pet issue of his – knowing that it would resound beyond his immediate audience – was shameful. Politicians simply don’t lecture anti-Obamacare rallies about capital punishment. If I were there, I probably would have booed, too.”
David Benkof (The Daily Caller), “Demagogue Ted Cruz Is A Danger To The GOP”: http://dailycaller.com/2014/09/12/demagogue-ted-cruz-is-a-danger-to-the-gop/
The event where Cruz received his jeers was a gathering of mostly Middle Eastern Christians trying to build unity on a crucial issue – the persecution and murder of their co-religionists in the Levant. But the Senator’s remarks overwhelmingly focused on his devotion to the State of Israel. Extravagantly, he declared that ISIS, al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Hamas are all equivalent manifestations of the ‘cancer’ of religious bigotry. ‘Murder is murder,’ he said.”
“The rise and growth of ISIS is probably the greatest moral challenge of our generation, as I’ve written elsewhere. Its mode of operation displays a barbarism and brutality rare in world history, even among rogue nations and peoples. If every group is a cancer, then no group is a cancer – and right now Western civilization cannot afford to take its eye off the ball of stopping the worst of the worst.”
“But that doesn’t matter to the junior Senator from Texas, who was trying to appeal well beyond his immediate audience to the millions of Christian and Jewish voters who, like I do, strongly support the Jewish State. Few actions could be more glorious for an ambitious politician than storming off a stage in mock disgust as he champions a position that’s popular within his party.”
“The boos condemned the Senator hijacking the assembly’s agenda by calling attention to a pet issue of his. Politicians simply don’t harp on capital punishment at anti-Obamacare rallies. If I were there, I might have booed, too.”
Matt K. Lewis (The Daily Caller), “American Christians Are Booing Ted Cruz, Too”: http://dailycaller.com/2014/09/11/american-christians-are-booing-ted-cruz-too/
“Remember that Republican debate where the crowd booed a gay soldier? The optics were horrible, but here’s what I always suspected. I always suspected that they weren’t booing the soldier so much as they were booing the media for setting them up.”
“They were booing the media for the unseemly way they were using this soldier to advance the notion that conservatives are anti-gay. They were booing the media for focusing on this one wedge issue when there are so many important issues. They were booing the media for framing the debate when it should really be up to Republicans to select their nominee. They were booing because they were being used as a pawn — as a backdrop — to make a larger point (at their expense, no less).”
“Likewise, it sounds like Douthat (and others) believe that’s essentially why they were booing Cruz.”
“I’m reminded of the late comedian Dennis Wolfberg, who had this joke about how his dad would comfort him during Little League baseball games. “They’re not yelling ‘boo,’ his dad said — they’re yelling ‘Jew.’”
“In other words: You’re not a bad baseball player — they’re anti-Semites!
I think they were yelling ‘boo.’”
Allahpundit (Hot Air): http://hotair.com/archives/2014/09/12/quotes-of-the-day-1850/comment-page-2/
“Hopefully we can all recognize the importance of dealing with this huge problem of Christians being killed and oppressed even if our politics aren’t all the same, right? Perhaps especially if our politics aren’t aligned?”
“Maybe not. When Cruz was supposed to give the keynote address and discuss the deadly serious topic of persecution of Christians, he instead insulted a largely immigrant and foreign crowd as a group that didn’t understand their own political situation and stomped out of the room after calling them a bunch of haters…”
Dr. Joel McDurmon (The American Vision), “Cruzifiction”: http://americanvision.org/11314/cruzifiction/
“Shame on you Ted Cruz: what you did is exemplify how the worst of the left and liberals speak. Conservatives, and especially Christians, are supposed to rise far above this abysmal standard.”
Bishop Angelaeos (FOX News), “Christian conference leader responds to Cruz’ Israel stance”: http://video.foxnews.com/v/3782216831001/christian-conference-leader-responds-to-cruzs-israel-stance/#sp=show-clips
“His Grace Bishop Angaelos gives his take on the controversy over the Texas senator’s comments and his push to raise awareness for Christian persecution.”