Cruz, who is now chairman of the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the airline industry, said airlines' decision not to fly to Israel appears to be a politically motivated boycott ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

CRUZ CONTROL

Sen. Ted Cruz: ‘It is time for American airlines to resume flights to and from Israel’

MUHAMMAD HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Cruz, who is now chairman of the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the airline industry, said airlines’ decision not to fly to Israel appears to be a politically motivated boycott

By Emily Jacobs

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, is calling on U.S. airlines to resume flights to and from Israel after they suspended service last summer amid an escalation in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Cruz, who has been tracking this issue since Oct. 7 in his capacity as the top Republican on the committee, made the comments during an appearance on the “Nothing But The Truth” podcast, hosted by NORPAC New York’s co-president, Trudy Stern.

“I think it is time for American airlines to resume flights to and from Israel. At this point with every day that goes on, it appears more and more to be a politically motivated boycott instead of a genuine safety concern. It was one thing right at the outset of the war when it was unclear what was going to happen,” Cruz told Stern. “It was one thing to take a step potentially in terms of preserving safety.”

“It’s another thing now. Right now today, El Al is flying every day. You have regional airlines in Europe that are flying regularly to Israel. The UAE’s airline flies three times a day to Israel. And I got to say, every indication is that this is, this is a politically motivated boycott. One example is if you look at the largest of the flight attendant unions, they have been vigorously anti-Israel, calling for boycotts of Israel, and sadly, speaking out in support of the antisemitic protests on college campuses here in the United States. I think it’s time for the American airlines to return to flying to and from Israel,” he continued.

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