Greg Abbott’s ongoing battle with President Joe Biden’s administration over security along the southern border has attracted the attention of Republican governors across the U.S., who are now backing Abbott’s call for Texas to “defend and protect itself.”
Abbott has received support from 25 governors after he accused Biden of violating “his oath to faithfully execute immigration laws enacted by Congress.” Abbott has been fighting with the Justice Department over his migrant deterrent tactics as he tries to secure the U.S.-Mexico border from illegal crossings.
As tensions rise between federal and state governments, what appeared to be an Associated Press report was shared on social media, suggesting the Texan governor had also received right-wing international support, from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Kobi Gideon/GPO via Getty Images
The Claim
A post on X, formerly Twitter, by user @pyrameadhead, posted on January 26, 2024, viewed 369,300 times, included a screengrab of what appeared to be an Associated Press article with the headline “‘Israel Stands With Texas’ Declares Israel P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu.”
User @pyrameadhead wrote alongside it “Bro you can’t be serious.”
The Facts
Abbott and Netanyahu are known to each other. Abbott met Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and other Israeli leaders in Jerusalem in November 2023, in a show of support toward Israel following the October 7 Hamas attacks.
“Texas has always, and will always, support Israel and the Israeli people,” said Abbott in 2023, adding “Texas will continue to help support Israel safeguard their freedom against brutal terrorist organizations like Hamas.”
Abbott also met Netanyahu in 2020 and 2016.
While the two are acquainted, the screengrab and the Netanyahu quote appear to be inauthentic.
Searching for the exact headline yields no relevant results. An unrelated story from 2017 about the Israeli Consulate in Houston, Texas, providing relief supplies for victims of Hurricane Harvey, quotes the consulate stating “Israel Stands With Texas.” There is no reference to Netanyahu or communication with the Israeli government in Israel.
There is no such article available via the Associated Press website and Newsweek could not find an archived version. While the headline was shared in the context of Abbott’s ongoing battle with federal authorities over his border security policies, the supposed article is not dated and the context is not explicitly clear.
Newsweek has contacted a media representative for the Associated Press and the Israeli prime minister’s office via email for comment.
There are other signs of its inauthenticity. Looking more closely at the picture on X, the background colors of the article are not consistent, with patches indicating someone has digitally painted or scrubbed over another headline.
The headline also does not match AP style. The headline uses full speech marks within the headline of the article, whereas AP’s style guide recommends the use of single quotation marks. The headline also dots the acronym “P.M.”, inconsistent with other content.
There are no other reports referencing this quote either, despite the clear newsworthiness of the Israeli prime minister, a figure of global scrutiny, showing support for a border security issue outside of Israel.
The Ruling
False.
Newsweek could find no evidence that Netanyahu has said “Israel Stands With Texas” nor a copy of an AP article about this. The screengrab of this article appears to have been photoshopped, while the headline is inconsistent with AP style. The same quote has not been reported elsewhere.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check team
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.