Ted Cruz accuses Obama of launching 'economic boycott on Israel'

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Wednesday suggested President Obama was deliberately punishing Israel via a Federal Aviation Administration ban on flights to and from Tel Aviv.

Tourism nets Israel $11 billion, Cruz wrote in a press release, so a blanket flight ban "may well represent a crippling blow to a key economic sector." Ergo, "The facts suggest that President Obama has just used a federal regulatory agency to launch an economic boycott on Israel, in order to try to force our ally to comply with his foreign-policy demands."

The FAA has said it imposed the travel ban for security reasons given Israel's ongoing military campaign and the reports of a rocket attack near Tel Aviv's airport on Tuesday. The ban came after major U.S. and international airlines already announced they would not fly to Tel Aviv for the same reasons.

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Cruz's press release came out the day after a Weekly Standard article made the same claim that the travel ban was perhaps aimed at cowing Israel.