Cruz, Allred say Federal Authorities should protect Jewish students at universities with protests
TEXAS — Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas and U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas told CBS News Texas they believe the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Department of Education should help protect the safety of Jewish students on college campuses across the country, including Columbia University in New York City.
Both Cruz and Allred are running for U.S. Senate this fall, which is the marquee race in Texas.
Jewish students at Columbia and other universities report being targeted and feeling threatened by pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protesters.
At Columbia University, a rabbi messaged nearly 300 students to go home and not return until it was safe to do so.
Some people there chanted "death to Jews" and the same to Israel and the United States.
CBS News Texas political reporter Jack Fink spoke with Senator Cruz Wednesday evening, hours after dozens of people were arrested on UT's flagship campus in Austin because they didn't disperse when requested by police.
Travis County dropped the charges against the protesters.
Cruz said the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Department of Education should take action. "Yes, yes, yes! What is happening at our universities is disgraceful. This vicious antisemitism is utterly unacceptable. We're seeing it at Columbia, NYU, Yale, sadly we're seeing it in Texas at the University of Texas. We're seeing radical activists who are pro-Hamas who are chanting in favor of the Hamas terrorists that butchered 1200 people on October 7th, that raped women and little girls."
"This is good vs. evil. You know it was really sad this weekend when the Orthodox Rabbi at Columbia sent out an email to all the Jewish students on campus go home and stay home because Columbia won't protect your safety. That is fundamentally wrong. If anyone threatens the safety of another student, they should be arrested, they should be prosecuted, they should be expelled, and if they're not from America, they should be deported," said Cruz.
We spoke with Congressman Allred Tuesday, the day before the protests at UT in Austin.
Allred believes federal authorities should step in. "I think so, I really do. I think this has to be a local, state, and federal response, at every level to try and make sure while we're in this moment of tension, that no one is feeling in the U.S. under threat for their own physical safety or they, as a community, are being targeted in a way that's dangerous."
Allred said students have a right to protest, but that what he saw at Columbia University is unacceptable. "While folks have a right to protest, chanting things that are deeply antisemitic or that are threatening, is a line that once that's crossed, that's no longer a protest. It's now an aggressive action that's inflicting on the rights of someone else. That's what I've seen happening on these college campuses and so to me, it's gotten out of hand," said Allred.
"We have to get it back under control."
Jack Fink also spoke with both Cruz and Allred about their differing votes on the $95 billion foreign aid package to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
Their comments and comments from state lawmakers with differing views on UT's response to the protests in Austin are on Sunday's episode of Eye On Politics.
Independent Presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr. says he believes his path to victory will be this November, and why Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown and former Sheriff Lupe Valdez say they're the better candidate in next month's runoff election.
Watch Eye On Politics at 7:30 Sunday morning on CBS News Texas ON AIR and streaming.
Follow Jack on X: @cbs11jack