Ted Cruz is billed as a Passover vacation attraction

POLITICO

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a likely Republican presidential candidate and a vocal pro-Israel hawk, is being advertised as a featured attraction at a string of ritzy resort vacation getaways catering to religious Jews.

Cruz, along with several rabbis, is listed as a speaker at four different vacation spots, including Aspen, over Passover, the spring holiday that honors the freeing of enslaved Jews in Egypt. The Prime Hospitality Group is the company behind the offers, according to an email solicitation shared with POLITICO.

“4 Questions. 4 Cups of Wine. 4 Sons. And 4 Luxurious Prime Passover Programs,” the invitation reads. “All featuring unparalleled service and The Prime Group’s legendary cuisine.”

A Cruz adviser insisted he’s speaking at only one event, although Prime Hospitality’s ads suggest he’ll be at getaways in Westlake Village and Monarch Beach in California; Aspen, Colorado; and in Vieques Island, Puerto Rico.

The first, in Westlake, promises to be “intimate and personal and will feature the inspiring Rabbi Eli Mansour, Rabbi Daniel Mechanic, Rabbi Shlomo Einhorn, Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, Malcolm Hoenlein and Senator Ted Cruz, surpassing all expectations.”

The one at the St. Regis Monarch Beach offers “some of the greatest rabbis and scholars of our time including Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Rabbi Eli Mansour, Rabbi Marvin Hier, Rabbi Abraham Cooper and Senator Ted Cruz.”

Cruz is listed on the programs for the two others, alongside a number of rabbis.

Prime Hospitality runs a string of high-end kosher restaurants, including The Prime Grill in New York, and is offering the vacations under the banner “The Prime Experience” on its website.

An adviser to the conservative senator insisted he’s appearing only at one of the vacation spots: in Monarch Beach on April 8. The adviser added that Cruz also has fundraiser scheduled there and that “well-meaning program organizers overstated his participation” at the events.

Cruz is expected to talk about foreign policy and Israel when he appears at the resort. The Republican has been aggressively trying to court prospective donors for a likely presidential run, traveling to several states, including repeatedly to New York and California.