Sen. Cruz Files Legislation to Pursue Justice for U.S. Teen Kidnapped in Israel

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today filed legislation to offer a reward of up to $5 million for information on or the capture of the Hamas terrorists who kidnapped and murdered Naftali Fraenkel, an Israeli-U.S. citizen, on June 12, 2014. Rep. Doug Lamborn, CO-05, has filed bipartisan companion legislation in the House, co-sponsored by Rep. Brad Sherman, CA-30, lead Democrat on the bill. Naftali was one of three Jewish teens who was killed by Hamas terrorists, along with Gilad Shaer and Eyal Yifrach.
“The Israeli government’s recent action against Hamas is a just and appropriate mission to both bring the terrorists responsible to justice, and to degrade their capability to launch further attacks,” Sen. Cruz said. “No one doubts Israel’s ability to carry out this mission, but given Naftali’s citizenship, I believe the United States should demonstrate our clear support for Israel by offering a reward as we traditionally have in terrorist attacks involving Americans. This support should be understood in the context of our partnership with the nation of Israel in the fight against radical Islamic terrorism, which is our fight as well. I’m proud to work with Congressman Lamborn on this legislation.”

“It is an honor to once again partner with Sen. Cruz on anti-terrorism legislation,” said Congressman Lamborn. ‘This bill will require the Secretary of State to use the Rewards for Justice program to offer a five million dollar reward for information that leads to the capture of the terrorists responsible for the death an American citizen, ensuring that they will never again be allowed to murder innocent teenagers. The silence from the Obama Administration is truly appalling. Doing nothing in the face of such a heinous action is not an option. That’s why Senator Cruz and I are working on moving this solution forward in a bipartisan manner.”

Text of the bill may be viewed here.

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is the oldest and one of the largest pro-Israel organizations in the United States. With offices around the country and in Israel, the ZOA educates the public, elected officials, the media, and college/high school students about the truth of the ongoing Arab war against Israel. The ZOA works to strengthen U.S.-Israel relations through educational activities, public affairs programs and our work on Capitol Hill, and to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias in the media, in textbooks, in schools and on college campuses. Under the leadership of such presidents as Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, Rabbis Abba Hillel Silver and Stephen Wise, and current President Morton A. Klein, the ZOA has been – and continues to be – on the front lines of Jewish activism. www.zoa.org.