DALLAS, TEXAS-While stumping for GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz on Monday, Congressman Louie Gohmert made a point of questioning Donald Trump’s credentials on the important issue of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is considered the single most important issue in Middle Eastern politics and is often used as an excuse for Islamic terrorism. Gohmert’s criticism of Trump was well received by the Dallas Cruz supporters, a group that presumably consisted of many evangelical Christians; an important part of Ted Cruz’s conservative base.
An exclusive interview with Breitbart News after the event, Congressman Gohmert reiterated his concerns about Israel and Donald Trump:
I heard Donald Trump say during the debate basically that he understands both sides in the problems between Israel and the Palestinians and he would be a broker the deal.
The problem is in that situation you have people on one side people who want to kill all the children of Israel, and on the other side they just want to live free.
For those of use who believe in God and the Bible, on one side you have the children of Israel who occupy the land that they were given by God over 3,000 years ago.
On the other side, you have people who want to wipe out the children of Israel. They’re teaching their children to wipe Israel off the map and kill every Jew. They name holidays after murderers who have killed innocent Israelis.
So if you’re gonna broker a deal then the only place for compromise is “okay, you get to kill half of the Jews. You go ahead and wipe half of Israel off the map.”
If Donald Trump really understood both sides he would understand what the Palestinians are saying. They’ve never backed off. There’s no negotiating people want to kill all Jews.
It’s a scary thought that we would have a president that sees moral equivalence between one group that wants to kill all the other group and one group that just wants to live. There is no moral equivalence and that is the problem.
Rep. Gohmert has no doubts that Ted Cruz would be a staunch supporter of Israel.
Ted Cruz and I have talked about Israel many times, and we share the same feelings about Israel. I’ve shared with Ted that I’ve looked in the Bible for a verse that says “Those who betray Israel will be blessed” and it’s not in there.
We’re both very concerned since the current administration is not only not blessing Israel, but that they are betraying Israel right and left, putting them in a terrible situation for their very existence.
Breitbart News editor Joel Pollak says he believes both Trump and Cruz’s positions are defensible, pointing out that “Trump specifically acknowledged that the Palestinians are teaching their children to kill Jews.”
However, Pollak also makes a distinction that’s crucial to understanding the dividing line between the two candidates, saying “Trump has a mainstream view; Cruz has a conservative view.”
The two candidates measure themselves with different yardsticks. Cruz correctly bills himself as a proven, principled conservative politician, while Trump presents himself as a deal-making political outsider.
For Congressman Gohmert, it’s a no-brainer:
Ted and I are the biggest supporters you could ever have for the state of Israel. We want them to live, we want them to live free and they’re the best friend we could possibly have in the Middle East or North Africa.
The choice is pretty clear.
On Super Tuesday, voters will have a say.
Follow Breitbart News investigative reporter and Citizen Journalism School founder Lee Stranahan on Twitter at @Stranahan.
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