Fmr. Ambassor David Friedman: Modern-day Israel is ‘the same nation of Israel referred to in the Bible’
A contentious interview between conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz exploded in a fiery exchange over theology, foreign policy and national priorities after the Texas lawmaker appeared to equate the Israel of the Bible with the modern Israeli government.
While the roughly two-hour conversation posted Wednesday explored a number of topics including Iran, the war between Russia and Ukraine, and the future of Syria, the interview took a heated turn when Carlson began pressing Cruz on campaign donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which Carlson accused of lobbying U.S. politicians on behalf of a foreign government.
“That is not only not true, that is false,” Cruz said. According to OpenSecrets.org, Cruz has received more than $1.8 million from the pro-Israel lobby through 2024.
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When Carlson pressed the senator on whether AIPAC’s “goals are shaped by the Israeli government’s,” Cruz pointed to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and said, “The law on lobbying on behalf of someone, it is I hire you and you lobby on behalf of me. … Does Israel direct AIPAC? No, they are not lobbying on behalf of them. Do they care about them? Yes.”
Cruz went on to tell Carlson, “It’s a very weird thing, the obsession with Israel. You’re not talking about Chinese, you’re not talking about Japanese, you’re not talking about the Brits, you’re not talking about the French. The question is: ‘What about the Jews? What about the Jews?’”
Carlson, visibly angered by the allegation, replied, “Oh, so I’m an antisemite now?”
“You’re asking, ‘Why are the Jews controlling our foreign policy?’ That’s what you just asked,” said Cruz.
“This has nothing to do with Jews or Judaism,” Carlson shot back. “It has to do with a foreign government.
“’Isn’t Israel controlling our foreign policy?’ That’s not about the Jews?” asked Cruz. “ … If you’re not an antisemite, give me another reason why the obsession is Israel.”
Later, the conversation returned to Israel, a topic Carlson acknowledged he dislikes because, he said, “it’s not worth being called antisemites from APAC recipients.”
After earlier stating he first ran for Congress in 2012 “with the stated intention of being the leading defender of Israel in the United States Senate,” Cruz offered a twofold explanation, rooted first in his Christian faith. “As a Christian, growing up in Sunday school, I was taught from the Bible that those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse Israel will be cursed. I want to be on the blessing side of things,” he stated, an apparent reference to Genesis 12:3.
Cruz’s biblical reference drew immediate scrutiny. “Those who bless the government of Israel?” Carlson countered.
“Those who bless Israel is what it says, it doesn’t say the government of, it says the nation of Israel,” Cruz replied.
When Cruz struggled to pinpoint the chapter and verse, Carlson questioned his theological grounding. “You’re quoting a Bible phrase you don’t have context for, you don’t know where in the Bible it is, and that’s your theology? I’m confused … I’m a Christian, I want to know what you’re talking about,” Carlson said.
Cruz explained his support for Israel is based on the Bible. “Biblically, we are commanded to support Israel. Second — ” “Hold on,” Carlson interjected. “We’re commanded as Christians to support the government of Israel?”
When pressed whether he believes “what God was talking about in Genesis” is a “political entity that’s existed for thousands of years, though it was recreated just over 70 years ago,” Cruz replied, “Yes, but most people understand that line in Genesis to refer to the Jewish people, God’s chosen people.”
“You’re saying as a Christian, if I believe in Jesus, I have to support the modern state of Israel?” Carlson asked. “No, I’m explaining my personal motivation,” said Cruz. “Not everyone I represent is a Christian, so I don’t use my faith as the reason we should support Israel.”
After the interview went viral on social media, a number of public figures weighed in on the conversation, including former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who took exception to Carlson’s claim that the “government of Benjamin Netanyahu” is not the same entity as the biblical people of Israel. “The nation of Israel today comprises a people that prays in the same language, in the same places and with the same liturgy as in ancient times,” he wrote. “Its faith is governed by the Old Testament.”
“This is the same nation of Israel referred to in the Bible,” Friedman added.
The debate over the identity of the modern-day political state comes as the number of young Evangelicals in the United States who support Israel and view it as a sign of the End Times is declining, as amillennial and postmillennial eschatology grows in popularity.
A study from The Jerusalem Post noted earlier this year that support for Israel among young Evangelicals has cratered by more than 50% over three years, as laid out in the 2023 bookChristian Zionism in the Twenty-First Century: American Evangelical Opinion on Israel, by Kirill M. Bumin, Ph.D., and Motti Inbari, who serves as professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
According to data Bumin and Inbari presented at The Center for the Study of the United States (CSUS) at Tel Aviv University in February, just over 33% of young Evangelicals under 30 expressed support for Israel in late 2021, compared to nearly 68% in 2018. In 2021, more than 24% of young Evangelicals said they supported the Palestinians, compared to only 5% in 2018.
