Short answer: Yes. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a sitting U.S. Senator, has one of the most consistent pro-Israel voting and rhetorical records in the Senate. He sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism subcommittee), has visited Israel and met Prime Minister Netanyahu, has publicly defended AIPAC by name against "foreign agent" accusations from Tucker Carlson, and in 2026 has been warning fellow Republicans against rising antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment on the American right. As of August 2026.
What Ted Cruz has actually said and done
June 2021: Cruz visited Israel with Sen. Bill Hagerty during the Israel-Hamas conflict, touring damaged homes in Ashkelon and viewing the Iron Dome missile defense system. Meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, he said Israel "not only has a right, but a responsibility to defend yourselves" and that "the United States stands with Israel." He also criticized the Biden administration's posture, saying "the longer Joe Biden shows weakness to Hamas or Hezbollah or Iran, the more you're going to see terrorist attacks escalating," according to the Christian Coalition of America.
June 2025: In a nearly two-hour interview with Tucker Carlson, Cruz vehemently defended AIPAC after Carlson argued the group should register as a foreign agent under FARA. Cruz pushed back hard, accusing that line of argument of veering into antisemitism. The exchange became a widely covered flashpoint over Israel's standing within the American right, as reported by The Algemeiner and The Forward.
May 2026: Speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, Cruz warned about antisemitism rising among younger, populist "America First" conservatives: "I don't want to wake up in five years and find ourselves in a country where both major political parties are unequivocally anti-Israel and unapologetically antisemitic." When asked directly to defend Vice President JD Vance's record on Israel, he declined, saying only "You got my answer," per Jewish Insider.
2026, ongoing: Cruz continues to serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including its Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism subcommittee, giving him a formal institutional role in shaping U.S. policy toward Israel and the Middle East, according to Congress.gov.
Where his support for Israel comes from
Ted Cruz is a Southern Baptist Christian of Cuban and Irish-American descent. He has no personal Jewish-identity connection, but he frames his pro-Israel position partly in Christian Zionist terms, having cited Genesis 12:3, "I will bless those who bless you." His record spans more than a decade in the Senate: repeated floor statements backing Israel's right to self-defense against Hamas and Hezbollah, a 2021 wartime visit to Israel, and public recognition from AIPAC as a longtime supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
What has shifted in 2025 and 2026 is the political terrain around him. Cruz has become a leading Republican voice pushing back on a newer isolationist, Israel-skeptical current inside his own party, most visibly in his public break with Tucker Carlson over AIPAC. He has also worried aloud that antisemitism is creeping into GOP ranks, going so far as to decline to vouch for Vice President JD Vance's record on Israel when asked directly.
The bottom line
Ted Cruz supports Israel clearly and consistently, through his committee work, statements defending Israel's right to self-defense, a wartime visit to Israel, public defense of AIPAC, and recent warnings to his own party about rising antisemitism and anti-Israel drift. There is no credible record of him opposing Israel, boycotting Israeli institutions, or aligning with anti-Israel positions.
Wear your own support for Israel
Whatever side of the aisle a public figure sits on, showing up for Israel is something anyone can do every day. Our I Stand With Israel collection is a simple way to carry that support with you.
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Last updated August 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
