Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas criticized President Obama’s relationship with Israel while announcing his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

“Instead of a president who boycotts Prime Minister Netanyahu, imagine a president who stands unapologetically with Israel,” Cruz said during his announcement March 23 at Liberty University, an evangelical Christian school in Virginia.

The first announced candidate for 2016, Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother and a Cuban father. He renounced his Canadian citizenship last year, according to reports.

Cruz, whose father is an evangelical pastor, invoked God and conservatives in his announcement. In September, Cruz walked out of a conference on Middle East Christians after being booed for saying Christians “have no greater ally than Israel.” — jta