Ted Cruz, who led the fight to restore commercial flights to Israel when the Obama Administration halted them during Israel's most recent war against Hamas terrorists, once walked off the stage at a gathering of anti-Israel Middle Eastern Christian groups announcing: "If you will not stand with Israel and the Jews, then I will not stand with you." Last week, he introduced legislation to restore American recognition that the PLO/PA is a terrorist organization rather than a partner for peace, and shut down its Washington office.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, notoriously told the Republican Jewish Coalition that he wondered whether Israel was willing to make sacrifices for peace. Last week, he pitched himself as neutral in the fight between Israel and the terrorist organizations arrayed against it. Numerous pundits have noted that when it comes to Israel, Donald Trump sounds more like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton than he does like a Republican. In fact, on the Israel issue, Trump sounds positively PC.

Trump's suspicions about Muslim immigration may win him points with this key demographic, but his moral confusion about Israel should create an opening for other candidates. If Cruz and/or Rubio want to win the evangelical vote, they must convince those voters that their defense against the PC onslaught will be as strong as Trump's; and they must highlight their differences with Trump on the morality of supporting Israel at a time when so much is on the line.

Commentary by Bruce Abramson, Ph.D., J.D. and Jeff Ballabon. Abramson is a senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research, and director of policy at the Iron Dome Alliance. Ballabon is CEO of B2 Strategic where he advises and represents corporate and political clients on interacting with the government and media. He previously headed the communications and public policy departments of major media corporations including CBS News and Court TV. Follow them on Twitter @bdabramson and @ballabon.



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