Tale of two embassies: Ted Cruz slams Obama’s Cuba move as ‘slap in the face’ to Israel

Special to WorldTribune.com

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on July 1 blasted President Barack Obama’s decision to open a U.S. embassy in Cuba.

The Texas senator, who is running for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, said that to “have an embassy in Havana before one in Jerusalem” is a “slap in the face” to Israel, according to The Hill.

Sen. Ted Cruz.  /AP
Sen. Ted Cruz. /AP

Cruz has repeatedly called on Obama to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Obama announced on July 1 the U.S. would restore diplomatic ties and exchange ambassadors with Cuba for the first time in more than 50 years

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, also in the running for the 2016 GOP nomination, supports legislation that would eliminate the national security waiver and allow the White House to implement a 1995 law to move the embassy to Jerusalem, The Hill reported.

The Jerusalem Embassy Act also calls for the U.S. to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel but it has never been implemented as the White House sees it as a move by Congress to usurp its authority.

Cruz and Rubio, who are both of Cuban descent, have blasted communist Cuba for its laundry list of human rights abuses and contentious attitude toward the United States.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login