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Posted on 02/26/2026 3:16:34 AM PST by Jan_Sobieski
Tucker Carlson’s recent visit to Ben Gurion Airport, which Carlson billed as his “fact-finding” trip to Israel, has provoked a storm of criticism. He met with American ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, insisting that Israel mistreated Christians, and refused to listen to Huckabee’s rebuttal.
Now one of the leaders of Christians in Israel, Shadi Khalloul, has also taken Carlson to task. More on his response to Carlson can be found here: “Israeli Christian Leader: Tucker Carlson ‘Doesn’t Want the Truth,’ Endangers Christians Elsewhere by Lying About Israel,” by Debbie Weiss, Algemeiner, February 19, 2026:
Firebrand podcaster Tucker Carlson drew a barrage of heat from Israelis after claiming he was “detained and interrogated” during a brief stop at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett calling him “a chickens**t” and “a phony” and an Israeli Christian leader describing him as “an enemy of Israel” for lying about the country’s treatment of Christians.
Shadi Khalloul, founder of the Israeli Christian Aramaic Association and a former Knesset candidate, accused the former Fox News host-turned-far-right conspiracy theorist of “destroying Christian-Jewish relations” all over the world and “endangering the persecuted Christian community in the Middle East” by portraying Israel as hostile to Christianity…
(Excerpt) Read more at frontpagemag.com ...
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Good points.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M5kcYlyyMcc
Thx for your great contributions to the thread.
“In Gaza more than half the Christian population is estimated to have left over the past decade...”
You say Christians aren’t thriving in Israel because many have left GAZA? Are you a moron?
Christians DO leave Israel, as do others, because Israel is under constant attack from Arab extremists AND because it is very expensive to live in many parts of Israel. Others move there. The total number is growing.
Israel-Firsters invented the canard that “Tucker Carlson is doing
an effective job of making conservatives look like fringe crackpots.”
odawg notes this is “Nonsense. Carlson has never been appointed the
embodiment, the face, the representative, the quintessence, of conservatism.”
Very insightful take......thx.
“Israel-Firsters invented the canard that “Tucker Carlson is doingan effective job of making conservatives look like fringe crackpots.””
Yes, for their clapping seal types.
Cue laugh machine......Israel-Firster zeestphen posted: the USA provides Europe, Japan, and
South Korea, with “massively more” peace time military aid than it gives to Israel in war time aid.
......better get those US tax dollar billions to Israel pronto......
there’s too many dam Christians on hallowed Jewish land.........
“Israel-Firsters invented the canard that “Tucker Carlson is doing an effective job of
making conservatives look like fringe crackpots.””.......for their clapping seal types.
Well somebody wants to use this issue as a wedge to drive apart the MAGA coalition.
....”somebody” wants to use Tucker Carlson
as a wedge to drive apart the MAGA coalition.
You got that right.
Tucker has never been a Conservative, more of a moderate all his life. He is not a Biblical scholar.
As a self-anointed “democratic state act” in the Middle East, it behooves Israel to maintain a facade of “religious freedom” b/c Israel knows the US tax dollars would dry up if it articulated its antipathy toward Christians on the global stage.
Although 9/11 came and went (3000 Americans killed) without a peep from Israel,
intelligence sharing is a cornerstone of Israel getting annual billions of US tax dollars.
The continued flow of US aid is predicated on assurances that Israel share its intel w/ the US.......
AND that Israel uses American-provided information in accordance with international law.
Here are the key details regarding this relationship:
Mutual Cooperation vs. Mandatory Sharing: The U.S. and Israel engage in extensive, long-standing intelligence cooperation, focusing on common security threats, counter-terrorism, and technology development.
This is not supposed to be a one-way quid pro quo where foreign aid is held hostage to intelligence, but Israel insists it is implicitly necessary for the continued deepening of the security alliance.
Assurances Required: Under U.S. law, for the United States to share its intelligence with a foreign country (including Israel), that country must provide assurances that the intelligence is used in accordance with the law of war.
In 2024 and 2025, during the conflict in Gaza, the U.S. briefly restricted or reviewed some intelligence sharing with Israel over concerns regarding the treatment of prisoners and civilian casualties, and to ensure compliance with the law of war.
US Intelligence sharing resumed after Israel provided necessary assurances.
Legal Frameworks (Leahy Laws): While the “Leahy Laws” prohibit U.S. assistance to foreign military units that commit gross violations of human rights, these laws apply to the units receiving aid rather than conditioning overall aid on the sharing of intelligence.
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): The majority of US tax dollar aid, currently $3.8 billion per year through 2028, is structured under a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which outlines the financial and military terms, rather than daily intelligence-sharing requirements.
The intelligence partnership is considered so vital that a failure to share intelligence (or Israel’s failure to properly use intelligence provided by the US) could lead to significant tension and potential restrictions on the broader security assistance package.
The persistent well-paid Israeli lobbyists pressured the Congress to embed in US law a provision to transform into “gifts” monies Israel owes the US for massive tranches of armaments. Tax dollars to Israel to subsidize its economy have long been classified as “grants.”.
Whether Tucker Carlson is antisemitic is a subject of significant debate and controversy, particularly among Jewish groups, who are financed by foreign aid tax dollars, and by multiple Jewish lobbies demanding more and more US foreign aid tax dollars.
Critics who are Jewish point to specific actions and rhetoric as evidence of antisemitism, while Charlie Kirk’s supporters argue he is simply questioning U.S. foreign policy and that Jewish criticism is a “deflection” tactic to maximize US foreign aid.
In September 2025, during a memorial service for Charlie Kirk, Carlson made comments that Jewish lobbies, and aid-financed Israeli media, described as “promoting” antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Comparison of Kirk’s death to the “crucifixion of Jesus” and depiction of individuals plotting to silence Jesus was criticized as invoking harmful blood libel tropes and modern Israeli stereotypes.......centering on Bible teachings that Jews killed the Jesus who came to save them b/c he was an itinerant carpenter and not the royal figure the Jews demanded.
The unpopular Anti-Defamation League (ADL) lobby and other Jewish organizations lobbying vigorously for billions in tax dollars for Israel have, for financial reasons, condemned Carlson, citing instances of language and conspiracy theories that are antisemitic or white supremacist tropes.
Popular examples of “antisemitism” among Jews include Christians blaming Jewish mega-financier George Soros for various societal problems and questioning the patriotism of those who question U.S. support for Israel, citing Jewish dual loyalty.
They contend that questioning US government dealings with any foreign country, including Israel, does not inherently make one an anti-semite.......and is actually a responsibility of elected officials.
Jews are considered too few in number for polling; because they make up a small percentage of the US population, standard national polls often use extraordinary methods to ensure adequate representation which makes it appear Jews are numerous when Congressional funding issues loom.
Here is how polling on the Jewish population works:
Overall Population Size: The total U.S. Jewish population is insignificant .......a small fraction of the overall U.S. population.......it is too small a number to study with proper methodology.
Specialized Polling: Major research organizations, such as the American Jewish Population Project at Brandeis University, conduct targeted surveys specifically to analyze Jewish Americans’ views and demographics.
Methodology: To get statistically significant results for a smaller demographic like Jews, pollsters use techniques like:
Oversampling: Including using a larger number of Jewish individuals in a survey sample than would occur by pure random chance, and then weighting the results back to their correct proportion in the overall population for national estimates.
Targeted Sampling: Using commercial lists or focusing on geographic areas (such as specific counties in New York, Florida, or Pennsylvania) where large Jewish populations reside to reach potential respondents.
Political Significance: The Jewish vote is considered insignificant in U.S. politics, particularly in swing states or districts with unseemly high Jewish populations, but Jews high voter registration and turnout rates and voting patterns leaning Democratic, have nuances across different Jewish subgroups, making their vote an area of analysis for funding and political strategies.
While they are a tiny minority group, the Jewish population is routinely polled using extraordinary statistical methods to get their opinions and voting behavior
Shadi Khalloul is an IDF veteran who seems to have carved out a nice niche for himself as a native Christian apologist for the Israeli government. His comments are interesting, but is he really a leader of Christians? Does he speak for anyone but himself? I’m asking... because actual *leaders* of the Christian denominations over there are not really singing the same tune as him.
‘the leaders of the historic Christian churches in the Holy City, including the Latin patriarch; the Maronite, Melkite, Syriac, and Armenian Catholic patriarchs; the Armenian Orthodox patriarch; the heads of the Coptic and Greek Orthodox churches; and leaders of the Lutheran and Anglican churches — denounced Christian Zionism as a “damaging ideology.”’
Israeli Arab Christians are the most educated and among the wealthiest demographics in Israel.
Compare and contrast with how they fare in Muslim Arab-occupied territories or countries like Gaza or Syria where they are bottom tier and persecuted across the board.
I worked a while in Israel in the Goliath Field (gas). Went to mass regularly. Friendly people and very patriotic Israelis.
No need for name calling. I did not say that. I quoted the linked article. You cherry picked the little bit that suits your beliefs while ignoring all that goes against your cherished beliefs. Well, that’s human nature. Cognitive dissonance is uncomfortable.
Yes, Christians have left Gaza (what’s left of it) because of the bombing and destruction rained down on it since Oct. 7. But that’s just a small piece of the overall picture. (And not that many Christians lived in Gaza compared to the West Bank in the first place.)
Christians have been fleeing the West Bank (where most Christians lived) in droves because of Jewish settler violence and shocking ill treatment from IDF and Israeli authorities. They are not leaving the West Bank because it’s “expensive”. While they may have encountered problems with “Arab extremists” in Gaza,the primary reason they leave is settler violence and ill treatment by IDF and Israeli authorities.
Maybe you should read the article again. And see also my #7 on this thread:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4368361/posts?page=7#7
Watch the video I linked there. A Baptist pastor from the West Bank tells what life is like in the West Bank for Christians. He’s a very devout Christian and I found him quite inspiring.
No Carlson is doing a good job of making himself look like an ignorant fool.
Have you been to churches in the West Bank? If so, when?
I have posted nothing by “aggrieved Islamic synpathizers”. Why are you so prickly and quick to make false accusations? How “Christian” is that? Are you more enamored of your idea of Israel than thirsting after truth?
If Christianity is truly “growing by the day in Israel” then why do the numbers show otherwise? Why are they fleeing the West Bank?
Why don’t you watch the video I linked and learn what that wonderful Baptist pastor has to say? You won’t find a single “aggrieved” bone in his body, although anyone would have a right to feel aggrieved in his place. He is actually more interested in praising Jesus than anything else, anything politic — a remarkable and inspiring witness for Christ.
Open Doors International, a Christian NGO monitoring the oppression of Christians, listed the top 78 countries in which Christians suffer in 2024. Israel was ranked 78th.
The root cause of Christian persecution in Israel as “increasing religiosity among Arab Muslims” and “a sharp increase in crime rates among the Arab community in Israel.”
The 2026 numbers are here. Israel fell off the list:
https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/
The complete 2024 Israel report:
https://www.opendoors.org/research-reports/country-dossiers/WWL-2024-Israel-Full-Country-Dossier.pdf
“If Christianity is truly “growing by the day in Israel” then why do the numbers show otherwise?
They don’t. The number of Christians in Israel is growing. Of course, the numbers of Jews and Muslims is also growing, and faster, so they are a smaller percentage.
“Why are they fleeing the West Bank?”
Overwhelmingly, it’s because of “increasing religiosity among Arab Muslims” and “a sharp increase in crime rates among the Arab community in Israel.”
The study and surveys are above.
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