Sen. Ted Cruz, R.-Texas, chastised "global media elites" Thursday for what he called their anti-Israel bias, labeling the outlets as "little more than propaganda arms" for Hamas and other terrorists.
In a fiery speech on the Senate floor, Cruz held up a Monday story in The New York Times that carried the headline: "Israel Kills Dozens at Gaza Border as U.S. Embassy Opens in Jerusalem."
"We can count on global media elites acting as little more than propaganda arms for Hamas and other terrorists and no week has that been more evident than this week," Cruz charged.
The Washington Free Beacon noted that over the past seven week, thousands of Palestinians in Hamas-controlled Gaza have gathered at the border for what organizers call the "March of Return," and clashed with Israeli soldiers. But the clashes have been particularly violent ahead of the 70th anniversary of the creation of the modern state of Israel approached — and the U.S. embassy move in Israel to Jerusalem.
The death toll in the demonstrations led to international condemnations of Israel and calls for an independent investigation. Israel rejects those calls, saying its actions are necessary to stop mass infiltrations from the blockaded Palestinian enclave controlled by Hamas.
"For several weeks, we've seen riots and violent attacks at Israel's border, terrorist attacks that culminated in the attacks that led to these shootings in self-defense," Cruz said.