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Sen. Ted Cruz sharply attacked commentator Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, accusing him of adopting extreme views amid an ongoing dispute over President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and the broader Iran conflict, turning into a “deranged, Leftist psycho” who “loves Sharia” law.

The clash intensified after a post circulated by Carlson’s media network on X stating, “Muslims love [Yoshka].”

Responding to that message, the Tucker Carlson Network added, “That’s why Donald Trump’s painting depicting himself as the Son of God offended the president of Iran. It was an attack on his religion as well as Christianity,” referencing controversy surrounding a recent post by Trump.

The uproar began after the president shared an AI-generated image on Truth Social that appeared to portray him as Jesus, following a disagreement with Pope Leo XIV regarding the war with Iran. The image drew criticism from some of Trump’s supporters, including Joe Rogan and Marjorie Taylor Greene, and was later removed.

Trump maintained that he viewed the image differently, saying he believed it depicted him as a doctor, and denied that its removal was due to backlash.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also weighed in, criticizing the post in a message on X. “His Holiness Pope Leo XIV … I condemn the insult to Your Excellency on behalf of the great nation of Iran, and declare that the desecration of Jesus, the prophet of peace and brotherhood, is not acceptable to any free person,” he said.

Cruz’s criticism of Carlson escalated in a separate social media post, where the Texas senator accused the commentator of going too far in his positions, calling him a “deranged, Leftist psycho” who “loves Sharia” law.

The dispute between the two figures is not new. Carlson has become increasingly critical of Trump since the outbreak of the Iran war, drawing repeated responses from Cruz.

After Carlson objected to Trump’s demand for Iran to accept an “unconditional surrender” last month, Cruz pushed back forcefully, saying the position was “to the left of [Sen.] Chris Murphy.”

“That is more anti-American rhetoric than anything I’ve ever heard Bernie Sanders say,” Cruz said on his podcast. “Tucker continues to go to new lows and new lows. The more Tucker Carlson attacks Donald Trump the more fringe he gets.”

Carlson has also faced criticism directly from Trump. In a recent podcast, Carlson accused the president of crossing a line in his rhetoric toward Iran.

“The message of all faith at the biggest picture level is the message in our Bible, which is you are not God. And only if you think you are, do you talk this way,” Carlson said. “But it’s not just mockery of Islam. And no president should mock Islam. That’s not your job. This is not a theocracy.”

Trump responded to Carlson in an interview, dismissing him outright. “Tucker’s a low IQ person that has absolutely no idea what’s going on,” the president said. “He calls me all the time; I don’t respond to his calls. I don’t deal with him. I like dealing with smart people, not fools.”

A newly released report by Israeli State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman sharply criticizes Israel’s preparedness in maintaining civil aviation services during extended wartime conditions, concluding that both government authorities and the aviation sector were not adequately equipped for a prolonged emergency.

The report states that the recent conflict revealed significant gaps in readiness, particularly regarding long-term disruptions. Englman emphasized, “The wars illustrated the need for a complementary airport — the government’s delays have continued and the airport has still not been established.” He further warned, “The missile fire from Iran and Lebanon during the war illustrated that state authorities must ensure that the aviation system operates properly even in emergencies.”

Among the findings, the report notes that despite government financial support to Israeli airlines from the onset of the COVID-19 crisis through the conclusion of Operation “Am KeLavi,” no binding framework was established to ensure state influence over airline operations during future emergencies. It states that “although the government supported Israeli airlines from the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis until the end of Operation ‘Am KeLavi,’ it did not require the establishment of arrangements that would allow it to influence their activity in future emergencies.”

The review examined aviation services during the Swords of Iron war and the performance of aviation authorities and the Transportation Ministry in addressing passenger needs. It identified a series of failures in how authorities managed the continued fighting across multiple fronts and its impact on the aviation sector. According to the report, the public’s ability to travel by air was “severely impaired” because the state failed to regulate its relationship with airlines “in a way that would allow it to instruct them to carry out certain actions during an emergency.”

Focusing specifically on El Al, the report found that although the state holds a “golden share” in the airline, it made no attempt to activate the so-called “interests order.” While the mechanism was intended to ensure the airline would act in line with national interests even after privatization, in practice it does not give the government authority to direct El Al’s operations during emergencies.

The report details that the state lacks the ability to require the airline to add flights during emergencies, determine destinations, intervene in pricing for consumers, or mandate flights on Shabbos.

It also highlights the lack of effective safeguards against potential price increases during crises. Despite concerns raised by the Consumer Protection Authority, the report notes that only in September 2024 — nearly a year after the war began — did authorities begin reviewing pricing practices in the aviation sector.

Additionally, the report reveals that at the outset of the Swords of Iron war, neither the Transportation Ministry nor the National Security Council had procedures in place to prioritize the return of Israeli citizens stranded abroad “according to their importance to the economy.” As a result, those who were able to return first on commercial flights were primarily individuals who could afford the high ticket prices at the time.

{Matzav.com}

A Senate effort led by Bernie Sanders to block U.S. arms sales to Israel failed on Wednesday. Sanders, an independent who aligns with Senate Democrats, has now brought forward four separate resolutions seeking to halt U.S. military aid to Israel. Each attempt has been rejected, with opposition from Republicans and a number of Democrats.

Still, Wednesday’s vote reflected a shift. Forty senators supported a measure to stop a $295 million sale of bulldozers, while 36 backed a separate resolution to block the transfer of 12,000 1,000-pound bombs valued at $151.8 million.

“That shift reflects where the American people are,” Sanders said in a statement late on Wednesday. “Americans, whether they are Democrats, Republicans or independents, want to see our tax money invested in improving lives here at home – not used to kill innocent women and children in the Middle East and put American troops in harm’s way as part of Netanyahu’s illegal wars of expansion.

“What’s astonishing is that, despite overwhelming opposition across this country, Republicans continue to side with Netanyahu and Trump,” Sanders added.

Support for such measures has steadily increased during the current Congress. In April, only 15 of the 47 Democratic-aligned senators backed similar proposals. That number rose to 27 in July, and climbed further in Wednesday’s vote. The trend reflects growing discomfort among Democratic voters over Israeli policy under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, particularly regarding military operations in Gaza and southern Lebanon, as well as coordination with President Donald Trump during tensions involving Iran.

“Being a stalwart friend of Israel, however, does not mean agreeing with all decisions of the Israeli Government or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just like being a patriot of the United States does not require unquestioning agreement with the policy decisions of President Donald Trump and his administration,” California senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla said in a joint statement, after voting in favor of the resolutions. Both had previously opposed similar measures.

Ahead of the vote, Sanders framed the resolutions as a challenge to the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), which has spent heavily on political campaigns in recent election cycles and continues to invest in upcoming races.

“Let us be clear: given the horrific and illegal behavior of the Netanyahu government over the last three years, the American people have had enough. Support for Israel in this country has plummeted,” he said, citing a Pew Research Center survey released this month finding that 80% of Democrats and 41% of Republicans view the country negatively.

“Maybe, just maybe, the Senate should start listening to their constituents and not just to the wealthy individuals who fund Aipac,” he continued. “And that is what today’s vote is all about.”

In the House of Representatives, some progressive lawmakers have gone further, calling for a complete halt to U.S. military aid to Israel, including funding for defensive systems such as Iron Dome.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez earlier this month said she would “not support Congress sending more taxpayer dollars and military aid to a government that consistently ignores international law and US law”. Representative Ro Khanna expressed a similar position in an interview with Zeteo, saying: “I do believe Iron Dome is important in terms of saving lives. Israel can buy it with their own money.”

Advocacy groups critical of Israeli policies have also intensified pressure on Democratic lawmakers. Earlier this week, dozens of protesters were arrested outside the New York City offices of Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, urging them to support Sanders’s resolutions.

Despite the demonstrations, both Gillibrand and Schumer voted against the measures, consistent with their prior positions.

Separately, a coalition of progressive organizations—including Indivisible, MoveOn, J Street, and Jewish Voice for Peace—sent a letter urging senators to back the effort to halt weapons transfers, describing it as “an opportunity send a clear message that senators oppose any continuation of the war with Iran.”

The groups raised concerns about the weapons involved, saying the 1,000-pound bombs present “urgent legal and moral concerns” and have been used “in densely populated areas in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, with significant documented civilian casualties”. They also argued that the bulldozers “have been widely used in operations involving large-scale demolition of homes, civilian infrastructure, and entire neighborhoods in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, contributing to forced displacement and de facto annexation”.

In a separate but related development, Senate Democrats forced a vote on a war powers resolution aimed at limiting President Trump’s ability to continue military action against Iran. That measure also failed after being voted down by Republicans, though Democrats have increasingly used such votes to pressure the administration amid public opposition to the conflict.

Following his vote against Sanders’s proposals, Senator Chris Coons of Delaware explained that while he supported efforts “to end president Trump’s war of choice with Iran”, he could not “abandon our steadfast ally, Israel, and the Americans who live within its borders”.

“My votes should be taken neither as an endorsement of the actions of the Netanyahu government nor as an abandonment of the state of Israel, the Jewish people, or the US-Israel relationship,” he said.