Ted Cruz Questions Whether Obama 'Launched An Economic Boycott Of Israel'
The Obama administration forcefully shot back at the charge, with State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf calling it "ridiculous and offensive." She rejected any assertion the FAA's move was at all politically motivated, saying it was only done to protect American citizens and carriers.
For its part, Cruz's office released a lengthy statement on his behalf, blasting it out to reporters with the subject line, "Did President Obama Just Launch an Economic Boycott of Israel?" He claimed, as some in the Israeli government have over the past two days, that it effectively hands the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas a victory.
"Aiding Hamas while simultaneously isolating Israel does two things. One, it helps our enemy. Two, it hurts our ally," Cruz said in the statement.
Cruz referenced comments from Kerry earlier this year - when, as he led negotiations of peace talks between Israel and Palestine, he suggested the prospect of groups boycotting Israel over its policies toward Palestinians could rise if a peace agreement was not reached.
Cruz posed five questions along with his statement, asking whether the decision was politically motivated and why, if the decision was based on airline safety, flights are still permitted to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Ukraine.
"Until these serious questions are answered, the facts suggest that President Obama has just used a federal regulatory agency to launch an economic boycott on Israel, in order to try to force our ally to comply with his foreign-policy demands," Cruz said.
"If so, Congress should demand answers."
Harf said any suggestion of a politically motivated decision by the FAA was "ridiculous and offensive, quite frankly."
"The FAA takes its responsibilities very seriously," Harf said during the State Department's daily press briefing. "They make these decisions based solely on the security and safety of Americans - period. For anyone to suggest otherwise, it's just ridiculous."
In response, Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier pointed to a Hamas spokesperson's statement that the airport's closure is a "great victory" and the "crown of Israel's failure."
"We find the Obama Administration's foreign policy to be ridiculous and offensive," Frazier said. "The American people deserve answers to these questions and Sen. Cruz will continue to press for them."