Last Updated on April 10, 2024
Bravery is not the word for Tucker Carlson’s latest show. He expounded upon the treatment of Christians in light of the war in Gaza, asking the simple question, how are Christians being treated when America enters these foreign conflicts?
To Carlson, the sacrifices of Christians aren’t very much acknowledged or even mentioned — which appears to be true. But why is that? He asks while the Christian churches and their leaders remain silent.
“Standing up for Christians is not allowed in the US media,” said Carlson. He then resoundingly noted that Christians in Gaza aren’t afforded the same courtesy as the Israeli Jews, as their churches are blown to bits along with their people.
Ep. 91 How does the government of Israel treat Christians? In the West, Christian leaders don’t seem interested in knowing the answer. They should be. Here’s the view of a pastor from Bethlehem. pic.twitter.com/Gvo116ojnf
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) April 9, 2024
Carlson mentions Evangelicals who, in overwhelming numbers, tend to be staunch Zionists and seem not to mind the sacrificing of Christians for their supposed Jewish friends. He begins the discourse referencing former pastor and now-Rep. Tim Walberg, R-MI, who stated:
We shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid. It should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick. The same should be in Ukraine. Defeat Putin quick. Instead of 80% of our funding for Ukraine being used for humanitarian purposes, it should be 80%-100% to wipe out Russian forces if that’s what we want to do.
“There is no excuse for that from a Christian perspective,” responded Carlson. “And we have a former pastor calling for it.”
Rev. Munther Issac, the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, spoke to Carlson. He said life is hard to bear for a lot of his parishioners under the IDF control:
We’ve always had a problem with American foreign policy when it comes to Palestine, Israel and the Middle East in general. I traveled to DC in December to advocate for a ceasefire. I don’t think war solves anything. We continued to be horrified by what we hear from Congress, well, of course, there are some exceptions on the Democratic side.
The pastor went on to say the “Religious Right” provides no sympathy whatsoever, claiming their knowledge of what is occurring in Gaza appears “very, very shallow,” and yet “they hold very strong opinions.” Rev. Issac said these perceptions are shaped by political parties’ positions and not based on “facts, being here.” He also said pastors, even here, preach the Zionist ideology as supreme.
Rev. Issac told Carlson the war machine has a damaging impact on the Christian community in the Middle East:
This is political and financial support from our sibling in Christ, rather than that support helping us or helping humanitarian causes or peace causes or attempts to bring Israelis and Palestinians together — its supporting initiatives that are causing our lives as a Christian community more and more difficult and causing many of us to leave because its as if there’s no future for us in this land.
Evangelicals (majority of Christian Zionists) are the most disliked by Jews, according to Pew Research.https://t.co/AWlioHhiEy pic.twitter.com/mEGEoUQN5g
— Brian J. Pfail (@brian_pfail) April 2, 2024
Carlson goes on to note that Evangelical leaders care much more about the “highly secular government of Israel” than they care about Christian communities in the Middle East. Carlson asked the reverend why that is, and he responded:
Some of it is the theology of Christian Zionism that teaches, for example Christians must support Israel because the Bible teaches that, and often times that is part of a larger theology of the end times in which they view the presence of Jews in the land as preparing for the second coming of Christ.
The reverend warned that we are putting Jews into a sort of “object” that we are using for our own religion. He then went on to say the US ignores the crimes against humanity committed by Israel for the sake of religion. He told Carlson the US supports Israel unconditionally and without accountability. Rev. Issac hopes the Church will resolve the problem but admits the rocky road ahead.
He then remarked on the 18 Christians killed by a bomb that hit their Orthodox Church. Rev. Issac said they all thought the church was safe, which was a big surprise. He added:
Many Christian media outlets did not give it [attention] … American support for Christians is actually conditioned by where you stand on the political spectrum … Because Israel is an ally to America, no one cares about Christians being targeted; in fact, in the Catholic Church two elderly women were killed by Israeli snipers, and the Catholic Church talked about it.
He told Carlson the incident happened again, too. He said the Palestinians have had their home bombed and really won’t have a place to go once the war ends. The reverend said many of the people are starving. Many have also died due to lack of medical care. Rev. Issac told Carlson that this is “collective punishment against all Palestinians.” He then added that Israel looks at Christians as if their Palestinians.
Jerusalem: Jews spitting on Christian nuns. pic.twitter.com/GKtSZ0i1V3
— Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis (@DrLoupis) April 7, 2024
Rev. Issac said he wishes for political advocacy for peace and a solution when it comes to aid:
We will not survive as a Christian community if the situation of Palestinians is not solved. And since the creation of Israel, we’ve been under occupation, under different phases of that occupation, and the current status quo, as this Gaza War has proven, is not sustainable at all.
Rev. Issac is calling upon Christian leaders who understand the situation on the ground and can lobby for peace where Palestinians and Israelis live together. He said their perspective is never taken seriously, though. America never attempts at its proclaimed goal of a two-state solution.
Tucker then asked the reverend how free Christians are to practice their religion in Israel. Rev. Issac then responds:
It’s not a free as people think … Did you know Evangelical Christian churches are not recognized in Israel? By the government of Israel? Evangelism is illegal in Israel … It’s against the law to Evangelize in Israel.
He said Jewish converts to Evangelism go through many legal challenges. Evangelical Christianity is not officially recognized as a denomination in Israel. The reverend added that many politicians attempted to limit Christians from sharing their faith.
Rev. Issac said that in East Jerusalem, Christians are constantly targeted by “radical Jewish groups.” He said that once a church was set aflame. Christians are even usually spat upon. Rev. Issac told Carlson there are all these “incitements against Christians, especially in Jerusalem.” He also added that these radical Jewish supremacist groups are never held accountable.
Rev. Issac mentioned some of the laws of Israel that promote Jews over everyone else. He said Israel isn’t the democracy that the US establishment would want us to believe.
Is House Speaker Mike Johnson compromised by foreign lobbyists?
Well, after he pushed the $14 billion Israel aid package through, AIPAC rolled in the cash, donating $95,000 to Johnson.
Besides that payment, $250k was donated to him by pro-Israel groups between 2023-24. https://t.co/Wx98c427WL
— Brian J. Pfail (@brian_pfail) April 7, 2024
Carlson then brought up the Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, an Evangelical Christian and a staunch supporter of Israel for “theological reasons.” The reverend responded:
The problem is when you equate the modern secular State of Israel with the Israel of the Bible. The Israel of the Bible was a faith community in a covenant-relationship with God that was given the laws and asked to be alined to the nations and through that nation we as Christians believe Jesus came as a savior to the world.
The problem begins when you compare or when you equate the modern secular State of Israel, a political entity birthed in the 20th century with the people of Israel in the Bible.
He said the “chosen people” have become the “chosen state.” The Bible never talks about a chosen state. The reverend then remarked on the special treatment and privileges afforded to Jews in Israel. Rev. Issac said “chosenness” is about responsibility not about “entitlement.” He added that the problem here appears to be from the Christians.
“The solution to antisemitism should not be a blind support for Zionism,” said Rev. Issac. “Especially when this support of Zionism has come at the expense of Palestinians.”
"Losing 600 Israelis is the equivalent of losing about 20,000 Americans." – Rep. Ritchie Torres pic.twitter.com/GDJkoaycBT
— Brian J. Pfail (@brian_pfail) April 9, 2024
Rev. Issac left Carlson by saying Israel was created on land that hosted millions of Palestinians, including Christians. Israel was created upon a sacrifice, and he urges the West and the Church to listen to his voice and perspective for our fellow Christians.
Matt Walsh: ‘Bow Before Israel (unless you’re an anti-Semite)!’
“When will we take Jesus’s word seriously about being peacemakers, about being merciful,” closed the reverend. “There must be other ways … Come and listen.”
