The American right is at risk of repeating the left's mistake of staying silent while antisemitism spreads, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said on his "Verdict With Ted Cruz" podcast Friday.
Cruz said silence from Christian conservatives is allowing antisemitism to take root on the right — a development he described as a moral failure that reflects what he considers the left's neglect of the same threat a decade ago.
Cruz urged pastors and conservative leaders to intervene before the trend deepens further.
"Well, and that's where it's spreading, and that's where it’s dangerous," he said.
"And I don't want us to make the mistake that the left made a decade ago of sitting there silently.
"My call was to church leaders: Wake up," Cruz said.
He warned that the movement is not driven primarily by foreign manipulation.
"We support Israel because it is in America's national security interest to do so," Cruz said, rejecting narratives accusing pro-Israel conservatives of acting against the United States.
He added that the acceleration of online antisemitism is "real."
"It is organic. These are real human beings, and it is spreading."
Cruz delivered a similar warning days earlier at John Hagee's Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, addressing Christians United for Israel's 45th annual "Night to Honor Israel," a flagship event for pro-Israel evangelicals.
"I'm here to tell you: In the last six months, I have seen antisemitism rising on the right in a way I have never seen in my entire life," Cruz said from the pulpit.
"The church is asleep right now."
He also warned of a revival of what he called "replacement theology," describing it as "a lie that the promises God made to Israel and the people of Israel are somehow no longer good, they are no longer valid."
Cruz said he recently spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and pushed back on the idea that antisemitism was primarily being amplified by foreign actors or automated networks.
"Yes, Qatar and Iran are clearly paying for it ... but I am telling you, this is real," he said in San Antonio.
Cruz's warning comes as conservatives debate how to respond to increasingly open antisemitic rhetoric in online Republican environments.
Leaked messages this month from a Young Republicans Telegram chat showed participants joking about gas chambers and praising Adolf Hitler, prompting multiple chapter shutdowns, firings, and national pushback.
Cruz did not name specific influencers in his Friday podcast, but his message was direct: Silence is complicity.
"This is not bots. It is real," he said.
"And it is spreading."
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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