Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Tuesday told 2,000 leaders at the Jewish Federations’ annual General Assembly he’s worried about rising antisemitism and declining support for Israel among young Republicans.

 

“That is dangerous,” Cruz said. “I'll say this as a Republican. It's easy to criticize the other party and their extreme positions, but I'm here to tell you, in the last six months, I've seen more antisemitism rising on the right than I ever have in my life.”

 

"My hope is that we see other Republicans willing to stand up and to be clear and draw a line," he added.

 

Cruz made his comments during the final day of Jewish Federations General Assembly in Washington, DC, where thousands of leaders from across North America gathered. 

 

A day earlier, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) issued a similar warning to his party at the event, saying, “We are losing parts of the entire party, especially the young people. And if you are getting your history degree from the Tiktok machine, you are going to emerge with a deep, deep distaste, or worse, for Israel, and that's heartbreaking, and how cynical and effective it is.”

 

Rahm Emanuel said the problem was generational. “If you haven't seen the data of where Israel stands with kids under 30...these are the voters of the future with a major, major political statement. So, we have our work cut out for us,” he said Sunday evening.

 

Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly is the premier gathering of the North American Jewish community’s leadership, representing the work of 141 local Federations. 

 

This year’s conference focused on confronting the monumental challenges the Jewish community faces and how to leverage its powerful resilience to build a stronger and safer Jewish future.

 

For photos from the General Assembly, click here.
Photo credit: Jewish Federations of North America

For more information about the General Assembly, visit our website.