On Tuesday, Tucker Carlson explored American Christians’ varying attitudes about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza by interviewing Reverend Munther Isaac, the pastor at the Evangelical Lutheran Christian Church in Bethlehem.
Carlson and Munther addressed the plight of Palestinian Christians, many of whom have been killed by Israeli forces.
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Lutheran Reverend in Bethlehem: ‘We Continue to be Horrified by What We Hear from Congress’
Carlson said in his opening monologue, “A consistent but almost never noted theme of American foreign policy is that it is always the Christians who suffer.”
Carlson continued, “There is virtually never a word about the Christians who live there, the ancient Christian community in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel proper.”
The former Fox News host detailed some of the destruction that has occurred against the Christian community in the region.
Then Reverend Isaac responded, saying, “These are very difficult times, and it’s been difficult for quite some time now. When I say difficult times, I’m not just only referring to October 7th.”
The Lutheran reverend cast a light on how Christian communities throughout Gaza, Israel, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem are suffering.
“In my church I have family members with relatives in Gaza, and they cannot even visit, [even] before the war they could not visit and be with them,” he said. “People keep leaving because of the political reality. Life under a very harsh Israeli military occupation is difficult to bear and as a result, many young Palestinian Christians continue to leave, for example Bethlehem, choosing to find a better and easier life elsewhere.”
No Christian Support In Congress
Carlson asked, “Have any members of Congress sent you aid of any kind? Word of support? A fellow Christian?”
“No, I mean, in the opposite,” Isaac answered. “We continue to be horrified by what we hear from Congress…when you look at the so-called religious right, we receive no sympathy whatsoever. Sometimes we’re just pleased to be heard and have our perspective taken seriously.”
“One of the things I’m often struck with, whether when I speak to diplomats, politicians, Congress staff, or even pastors and influential pastors, is how little they know about the reality on the ground. Their knowledge of the situation here seems to be very very shallow, yet they hold very strong opinions,” Isaac said.
Carlson then wondered so many on the Christian right in America won’t speak out for their fellow Christians abroad, some living in the same places Jesus Christ walked.
Carlson said:
“You may be asking yourself, ‘well wait a second, if Christian leaders won’t stand up for the lives of Christians, why have them in the first place?’ And that’s probably a good question. You would think that in Congress, where there are many self-professed Christians, somebody might be piping up on behalf of their brethren in the holy land, but no. Just the opposite in fact.”
Many were not happy with Carlson shedding a light on the reality for Palestinian Christians. Here are just a few examples:
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There will no doubt be further controversy on this front.
Tucker’s Interview Continued…
Carlson later showed a clip of Republican Michigan Representative Tim Walberg, a former evangelical pastor, who should the U.S. should help Israel treat Gaza “like Nagasaki and Hiroshima.”
The conservative pundit was not amused.
“To be clear, as a theological matter, Christianity is not the religion of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it’s the religion, among all world religions, that uniquely abhors mass killing,” Carlson said. “In fact, it is the religion that abhors mass killing. There’s no excuse for this from a Christian perspective. And here we have a former pastor calling for it.”
Isaac replied, “This obsession with war and violence … it’s the antithesis of everything Jesus taught.”
Isaac continued, “It, again, makes us wonder. Do you realize how damaging that is for us Christians living not just in Palestine but in the Middle East? Damaging in the sense of real impact on our lives, but also damaging in terms of our credibility in front of our peers here in the Middle East.”
Carlson and Isaac spoke further about the plight of Palestinian Christians with the reverend ending on this note:
“What we’re calling for is reasonable, fair-minded Christian leaders who understand the reality on the ground and are able to lobby for a just peace in this land where Palestinians and Israelis live together.”
