Tucker Carlson Angers Pro-Israel Republicans With Interview Of Palestinian Christian Pastor

Ousted Fox News host Tucker Carlson sparked a firestorm of criticism on the right on Wednesday when he dropped the latest episode of his online show, featuring an interview with Palestinian Christian Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac.

“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,” tweeted Carlson on X as he shared the 43-minute interview on Tuesday night.

"A consistent but almost never noted theme of American foreign policy is that it is always the Christians who suffer," the broadcaster said at the start of Tucker Carlson Uncensored.

"When there's a war abroad that the United States is funding, it is Christians who tend to die disproportionately."

After citing wars in other regions, Carlson asked: "But what about Gaza? 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 said that "we almost never hear from" the Christians in that region, adding that it would be "interesting and maybe edifying to hear from one of them…   right now." He then introduced Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, who serves as the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christian Church in Bethlehem.

"One of the biggest problems we are facing right now is the deterioration of our numbers," Isaac told Carlson. "People keep pleading 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."

He added that Palestinian Christians "are probably disproportionately affected by all of this because of our small numbers as a religious community. Anything that happens impacts us severely."

Isaac also criticized the "so-called religious right," from whom "we receive nothing, no sympathy whatsoever. Sometimes we just plea to be heard and have our perspective taken seriously. And one of the things I'm often stuck with, whether when I speak to diplomats, politicians, Congress staff or even influential pastors is how little they know about the reality on the ground."

Commentary magazine editor John Podhoretz reacted by writing of "Anti Semite filth," while Darrell C. Scott, a pastor and vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, opined that Carlson "is trying to spark anti Jewish sentiments among Christians."

Breitbart Senior Editor-at-Large Joel Pollak responded with a lengthy thread, commenting of Carlson: "He says he is concerned about Christians; I'll accept that. But there's no excuse for this."

"First, a fact about Bethlehem. Christians used to be a majority there; they are now a minority," Pollak continued. "The Palestinian Authority has been Islamizing the city since taking control of Bethlehem 30 years ago.

Israeli 'occupation' is hardly the primary issue."