"Anti-Semitism Is A Corrosive Evil, & It Reared Its Ugly Head Tonight"

"If You Will Not Stand With Israel & The Jews Then I Will Not Stand With You." 

So declared Texan Republican Senator Ted Cruz to the Arab Christians who heckled his stirring championship of Israel (see video here) in his speech at the "In Defense of Christians" dinner in Washington DC on Wednesday.

It's reported, inter alia, here:

'.... Earlier Wednesday, the conservative Washington Free Beacon had reported that the roster of speakers at the IDC summit included religious leaders allied with Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group. In a possible nod to that report, Cruz told the audience: "ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, state sponsors like Syria and Iran, are all engaged in a vicious genocidal campaign to destroy religious minorities in the Middle East."....

“Sometimes we are told not to loop these groups together ... that we have to understand their so called nuances and differences," Cruz said, as quoted by the Daily Star. “But hate is hate, and murder is murder. Our purpose here tonight is to highlight a terrible injustice, a humanitarian crisis.”

As the scene deteriorated, IDC's president, Toufic Baaklini, took the microphone and implored the crowd to listen to Cruz....

"I am saddened to see that some here, not everyone, but some here, are so consumed with hate," Cruz said. Members of the crowd shouted back at him "He should respect the Christians!" and "You will

The Lebanese ambassador to the United States, Antoine Chedid, was in attendance. Cruz's remarks prompted him to "withdraw in anger" from the room, the Daily Star reported.

Cruz released a statement after the event that accused his detractors of anti-Semitism.

"I came to this event tonight to help shine a light on the tragic persecution and slaughter of Christians by ISIS and Islamic radicals throughout the Middle East. American leaders have been far too silent as to this horrific evil," he said as quoted by Business Insider. "But bigotry and hatred have no place in this discussion. Anti-Semitism is a corrosive evil, and it reared its ugly head tonight."....' [Emphasis added] 

 Another stalwart supporter of Israel, British Colonel Richard Kemp,speaks here, and inter alia notes the world's silence regarding the persecution of Christians (hat tip: Ian):