Jewish groups slammed Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz for welcoming the backing of an evangelical pastor who has made controversial comments about Jews.

Pastor Mike Bickle, the leader of the International House of Prayer — a network of evangelical Christian missions, has previously described Hitler as a "hunter" of the Jews sent by God to punish them for not believing in Jesus.

He has also said that Jews will have to endure concentration camps once again in the future, as a precursor to the second coming of the messiah.

Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign defended an endorsement from a controversial pastor who has called Adolf Hitler a hunter “raised up” by God and actively seeks to convert Jews.

In a sermon in 2011, Bickle said God would give Jews a chance to convert to Christianity and “raise up the hunters” against Jews who refuse.

In 2005, Bickle said in a sermon that before Jesus’ coming, “a significant number of Jews will be in work camps, prison camps or death camps.”

Nick Muzin, a senior adviser to the Texas senator’s campaign, said Bickle was referring to biblical passages.

“Our campaign welcomes support from faith leaders across the country,” Muzin said in a statement. ‘’Mike Bickle is one of the hundreds who have endorsed us. My understanding is that he was paraphrasing the words of the prophets Jeremiah and Zechariah.’’

But the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and National Jewish Democratic Council both called on Ted Cruz to clarify his opinion on Bickle’s views.

“Mike Bickle’s views about why God allowed Jews to be killed in the Holocaust, as expressed in a 2011 speech, are abhorrent, intolerant and unacceptable,” the ADL said in a statement.

‘’We assume that Senator Cruz accepted Bickle’s endorsement without knowing about these comments. We hope that when these comments are called to the Senator’s attention, he will clearly and forcefully reject Bickle’s hateful ideas.”

Muzin said Cruz has 70 rabbis endorsing him.

“No one has a better record than Senator Cruz when it comes to standing with Israel, fighting against radical Islamic terror, and combating global anti-Semitism,” he said.

Cruz has come under fire for what some have seen as dog-whistling anti-Semitic stereotypes. In a primary debate, he criticized Republican frontrunner Donald Trump for having “New York values.” In February, he called the Yiddish word “chutzpah” a “New York term,” leading some to connect the two statements and impugn Cruz for viewing Jews negatively.