Tucker Carlson Interviews Palestinian Pastor On The Plight Of Christians In The Ongoing Israel-Gaza War; Triggers Jewish Critics

Reverend Munther Isaac, the pastor at the Evangelical Lutheran Christian Church in Bethlehem, appeared on Tucker Carlson Uncensored show published Tuesday on Rumble, to discuss the toll the Israeli military bombardment of Gaza is having on local Palestinian Christians.

“A consistent but almost never noted theme of American foreign policy is that it is always the Christians who suffer,” he said. “When there’s a war abroad that the United States is funding, it is Christians who tend to die disproportionately.”

“But what about Gaza?, the former Fox News host asked. "What about the entire region in the Middle East, where of course there’s very intense fighting going on? Many Christian churches in the United States, particularly evangelical churches, support that. But there is virtually never a word about the Christians who live there, the ancient Christian community in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel proper. So, because no one has said a word, there has been great suffering among the Christian population in that region.”

Carlson highlighted the October airstrike that left a Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza in ruins. “The church is in ruins. At least 17 people were killed that day.” He also recalled the 2002 siege of the Church of Nativity where Israeli soldiers shot and killed a mentally disabled clergyman in Bethlehem.

Reverend Isaac told Carlson about the harsh realities faced by Christians on the ground, and feeling of abandonment in the community.

“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,” Reverend Isaac said. He explained how the fragmentation of Christian communities spread throughout Gaza, Israel, the West Bank and East Jerusalem is impacting the faith community.

“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,” Isaac continued. 

“Have any members of Congress sent you aid of any kind? Word of support? [To] A fellow Christian?” Carlson asked.

“No, I mean, in the opposite,” Isaac answered. “We continue to be horrified by what we hear from Congress, with of course some exceptions. There are some on the Democratic side, of course Rashida Talib comes from a Palestinian heritage. But 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,” Isaac said.

“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 slammed American leaders who refuse to stand up for Christians in the Middle East.

“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,” Carlson noted. “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.”

Isaac and Carlson also discussed several other subjects throughout the interview, including U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s defense of Israel, antisemitism and Israel’s treatment of its Christian citizens.

“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,” Isaac said.

Carlson argued that “It would be pretty easy for Republicans in the U.S. Congress to say we support the government of Israel. But if you touch a single Christian, harm a single church, prevent any Christian from practicing this religion, you’re done. Not a single dollar will come from the U.S. Congress for you. That doesn’t seem hard.”

“If you wake up in the morning and decide your Christian faith requires you to support a foreign government blowing up churches and killing Christians, I think you’ve lost the thread,” Carlson said towards the end of the interview.

Reactions to the interview was swift. Many 'Israel-first' neoconservative Jews blasted Carlson, labeling him an antisemite, a charge which no longer holds weight in American conservative circles, as many see it as an attempt to shut down debate over American policy on Israel.

“This is mendacious hit piece that shows Tucker’s generally well-hidden hand," Caroline Glick, an Israeli-American author angrily wrote in part on X.

Commentary magazine editor John Podhoretz called the interview, “Anti Semite filth” in an X post.

However many others praised Carlson for finally bringing awareness to the suffering of Christians under Israeli rule. They slammed his Jewish critics for trying to maintain their grip on the prevailing pro-Israel narrative especially on the American right.

“Tucker Carlson is actually America first," former MMA fighter Jake Shields wrote on X. "Unfortunately, all our Republicans are Israel first and Democrats are Ukraine and every third-world nation first.”

One Christian X user @ThatGirlCasey wrote: "Tucker Carlson has never identified himself as a Christian however he has shown more courage than any so-called Christian leader out here. Tucker Carlson not only brought the reality of Israel's position on Christianity but also what our foreign policy has done to Christians."

Carlson is a right-leaning American Christian and popular commentator who was abruptly fired by Fox News last April. He has since launched his own news media company, Tucker Carlson Network.