Cruz: Western Wall 'part of Israel' & Jerusalem Israel's capital

Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, reiterated his position on the Western Wall and Jerusalem Tuesday, telling Conservative Review that the former is part of Israel and the latter remains its “undivided” capital.

The Texas senator’s statement follows statements from three separate Trump administration officials refusing to say whether the Western Wall in (Israel’s capital city of) Jerusalem is part of Israel. The wall is one of the holiest sites in Judaism, and it’s visited by thousands of Jews from all over the world each day.

“The Western Wall is part of Israel,” Cruz tells Conservative Review, “and Jerusalem is the eternal and undivided capital of Israel.”

On Tuesday, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer both declined to say that the Western Wall is in Israel. Separately, an administration official refused to do so in a statement to Conservative Review, declaring that Jerusalem was up for grabs as a “final status issue.”

Cruz has long pushed for the president and the past administration to make good on promises to move the American embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In January, he introduced (along with Sens. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla.) the Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act, which called for the relocation of the embassy.

“Jerusalem is the eternal and undivided capital of Israel,” Sen. Cruz said in January. “It is finally time to cut through the double-speak and broken promises and do what Congress said we should do in 1995: formally move our embassy to the capital of our great ally Israel.”

During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to move the “American embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem.” His walkback on the alliance with Israel was questioned by leaders of both parties, who were disappointed that he appears to be breaking his promise to recognize Jerusalem (and the Western Wall) as part of Israel.

Editor's note: The image for this article has been updated for clarity.