Episodes
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Most people say, “If I had been alive in the 1940s and known about the Nazi death camps, I surely would have done something to stop that slaughter.” Sing A Little Louder is a short film portraying how one small church in World War II Germany dealt with the cries of Jewish prisoners, trapped in cattle cars and headed for the death camps. They just – “Sang a little louder.”Proverbs 24:11-12 states:"Rescue those who are being taken away to death;hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.If you say, 'Behold, we did not know this,'does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?Does not He who keeps watch over your soul know it,and will He not repay man according to his work?"Today, we have the slaughter and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, some of whom are our Brothers and Sisters in Christ! This time, social media and instant communication capture the horrors, even if FOX, CNN, MSNBC, and PBS choose not to. We also see an unholy alliance between the Zionist State of Israel, the US Government, and the Evangelical churches. Ask a Christian this question:
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Rich Siegel was raised Jewish and was an ardent Zionist growing up who became the president of a student Zionist organization. He moved to Israel in his twenties and worked there for a while. A job offer brought him back to the US and led him to ultimately reject Zionism and become an activist for peace and justice for Palestinians. In 2008, Rich led a We Hold These Truths' Project Strait Gate vigil in Paramus, NJ assisted by Chuck Carlson, founder of WHTT. You will find Rich's journey out of Zionism remarkable and inspiring. You can read his article. "On Gaza & Being Jewish" (Here). Also, more about Rich is on our website. (Here)
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Israel's genocidal war on the Palestinians in Gaza has renewed support among Christian Zionist churches. They are holding special events to support Israel. Evangelical churches that are not overtly Christian Zionist from the pulpit are unwilling to hold prayer sessions for peace and a ceasefire in Gaza. They might be accused of supporting Hamas and upset those Christian Zionists/Super Patriots in their congregation who might be offended and cut their tithes or leave. Chris, Craig, and Tom from We Hold These Truths discuss and show examples of this phenomenon like Franklin Graham's meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Israel to pledge his undying support. Never mind the killing of innocent women and children in Gaza.
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Regis Tremblay of Dateline News & Conversations interviewed Tom Compton of We Hold These Truths on Christian Zionism. With over 23,000 Palestinians murdered in Gaza at this point, the situation is becoming a human catastrophe there while American churches are silent, for the most part, in calling for peace and a cease-fire in Gaza. Learn why this is so in this interview.
Tom met Regis in 2013 when he hosted a film showing of Regis' remarkable documentary, The Ghosts of Jeju in Phoenix, AZ. Regis describes his film: "This is my award-winning, blockbuster film about the people of Jeju Island, S. Korea who had been protesting the construction of a large naval base in the village of Gangjeong to accommodate Obama's "pivot to Asia." Now completed, it has destroyed this pristine, UNESCO-protected environment as well as the livelihoods of the farmers and fishermen who have lived there for 500 years. What I discovered was shocking! The US Government of Korea which occupied S. Korea at the end of WWII, feared a peasant uprising against this occupation and rose up against it in massive protests. Fearing a "communist" uprising, the US military organized, trained, armed, and commanded a militia of Koreans and ordered a crackdown on these unarmed peasants. From 1946-47, as many as 50,000 peasants were massacred in what was essentially a free-fire zone on the entire island.
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Palestinian Pastor Munther Ishaq of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem was interviewed by Katie Hallper and Aaron Matte of the Useful Idiots on January 4, 2024, and revealed how Palestinian Christians are being ignored for the most part by Christians in the US. Pastor Munther's video "Look for Jesus Under the Rubble in Gaza" went viral and exposed people to the reality of what is going on with the genocide in Gaza. In this interview, Pastor Munther reveals that the conflict is not about religion as the Israeli government and the mainstream media tell us. The irony of this interview is that the interviewers are Jewish with a genuine heart for peace and justice for the Palestinians. Any Christian who watches this and is not affected by this must have a heart of stone. What will you do with this information? Tell other people or hide it under a bushel?
Pastor Munther Ishaq beside his Christ in the rubble Nativity scene.
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This video was made 14 years ago when We Hold These Truths held a vigil at the Christians United For Israel (CUFI) "Night to Honor Israel" event in Phoenix, AZ. Back then attendees interviewed told us they supported the wars in the Middle East to protect Israel. Nothing has changed since then, Zionised Christians still believe that wars are necessary to protect Israel. After the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel when they broke out of the world's largest open-air prison the rhetoric has now changed to "We must eradicate the evil Hamas". Of course, there is no concern by Israeli supporters about the now over 19,000 Palestinians that have been killed by Israel's vindictive siege on Gaza. About 70% of the victims are innocent women and children. To prove their continued support for Israel, Cornerstone Church led by John Hagee held on October 22, 2023, a "Night to Honor Israel" event described in the article "A San Antonio Megachurch Plays an Outsized Role in Supporting Israel's War Efforts" in the Texas Monthly.
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This is quite a remarkable story, With the support of the Fresno mayor, Israeli activists were allowed to raise the Israeli flag in Eaton Park. Palestinian activists took up the challenge with help from a Fresno City Councilman were allowed to raise the Palestinian flag as reported from GVWIRE: Fresno City Council Members Clash Over Palestinian Flag Raising at City Park
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Around the world, Christians will celebrate the birth of Jesus in 2023 pretty much as they have in the past. But in Bethlehem, there will be no community Christmas celebrations. Munther Ishaq, pastor of a Lutheran church in Bethlehem, Palestine explains: "Christmas is the solidarity of God with those who are oppressed, with those who are suffering. and if Jesus is to be born again this time, this year, He will be born in Gaza under the rubble in solidarity with the people of Gaza."
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Israeli journalist, Yuval Abraham. who writes for +972 and was interviewed by Owen Jones, explains that Israel's IDF now defines "Collateral Damage" as allowing 200 civilian deaths to attack one Hama target. Previously it was allegedly 5 civilians per Hamas target. Yuval's article, "'A mass assassination factory’: Inside Israel’s calculated bombing of Gaza" explains the permissive airstrikes on non-military targets and the use of an artificial intelligence system that has enabled the Israeli army to carry out its deadliest war on Gaza.
Civilian deaths in Gaza far outweigh Hamas fighters deaths.
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In this heart-wrenching report by AlJazeera, "Why does Israel target Palestinian hospitals? Psyops, say analysts" there is a 2-minute video "Gaza war: 31 premature babies evacuated from al-Shifa as Israel seizes hospital". Although the large evangelical church I attend does not preach Christian Zionist dogma from the pulpit, there is a Christian Zionist undertow within the congregation that might begrudge showing any compassion towards the Palestinians. Here's the letter that I sent to the pastor to challenge him to pray for peace and a ceasefire in Gaza.
"Pastor, your sermon on Sunday was good however I was greatly saddened by your preamble prayer. You did not pray for peace and a ceasefire in the Israel/Palestine conflict. My friend at her evangelical church said their pastor prayed for peace in Israel this past Sunday. The "war" has escalated and the death toll in Gaza continues to rise with more than 5,000 innocent Palestinian children being killed. Israel's latest atrocity is the siege on the Al Shifa hospital where 39 premature babies were forced to be evacuated to a southern hospital in Gaza. I beseech you to watch this 2-minute video report at the bottom of the AlJazeera report on this tragedy. Eight of the babies could not be transported because they died. I pray that this will motivate you and the elders to call for a churchwide prayer meeting to pray for peace and a cease-fire to this conflict that is spiraling out of control.
Our leaders in Washington do not want a ceasefire. But we as followers of Christ are called by Jesus to be peacemakers. I would guess that there is a sizeable number of members at our church who may, because of their eschatological beliefs requiring them to protect Israel no matter what it does, not want a ceasefire or prayer meeting. Recall one of our members who was baptized at our church told me that all the Palestinians should be killed. If the genocide continues, his wish may come true. I pray that our church will stand for peace and the protection of innocent lives.Peace & Blessings,Tom Compton -
Jeremy Nell on his TNT internet radio show, Jerm Warfare interviews Tom Compton of We Hold These Truths about the theology of Christian Zionism and how it relates to Israel's current punitive war on Gaza. At the time of the interview over 11,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israel. Over 4,000 of those killed were children.
We Hold These Truths has conducted over 200 vigils since 2002 like this one at the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Phoenix.
Jeremy Nell is an award-winning political cartoonist from South Africa, whose work has been featured in numerous publications, in various languages, around the world since 2005. His website Jerm Warfare and podcasts, discuss counter-narrative ideas, and have featured some of the greatest minds in the world, such as Robert Kennedy, David Icke, Victor Davis Hanson, Peter McCullough, John McAfee, and Scott Adams.
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Max Blumenthal with The Gray Zone has been a long-time supporter of justice for the Palestinians. In Killing Gaza, journalists Dan Cohen and Max Blumenthal documented Israel’s 2014 war on Gaza. This film is a chilling visual document of war crimes committed by the Israeli military, featuring direct testimony and evidence from the survivors. And, now in 2023, the Israeli genocidal, retribution attack on Gaza pales what it did in 2014. In this 6-minute interview, Max talks about the influence of the Christian Zionist lobby led by Christians United For Israel which was formed with the aid of Israel.
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Chuck Carlson was interviewed by Mark Glen on The Liberty Hour program way back in 2009. What he said then about Christian Zionism and the Christian right is still true today. We found this interview treasure hidden in an archive and we think it needs to see the light of day again. Especially so, in light of the genocidal attack on Gaza by Israel as retribution for Hamas breaking out of the world's largest open-air prison on October 7, 2023, and attacking Israel. The killing of innocent civilians whether they are Israelis or Palestinians is deplorable. For 16 years before this attack by Hamas, Israel had attacked Gaza numerous times while killing thousands of women and children.
Chuck Carlson with a Palestinian woman from Gaza at an Occupy AIPAC rally in Washington, DC in 2012.
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The October 7, 2023 attack inside Israel has resulted in an unprecedented and genocidal reaction by Israel that eclipses their four previous assaults on Gaza. Over 7,000 Palestinians have been killed. Almost half were children. This video by Stop World Control was made after the Hamas attack and is quite revealing. It's entitled "The Mystery of Israel - Solved."
Palestinians carry a dead child, found under the rubble of a destroyed house after Israeli air strikes on Gaza City, 24 October 2023 (AP)
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The world seems to be backing Israel without question on the recent violence committed against them by Hamas forces that broke out of Gaza (the world's largest open-air prison) and attacked. Sadly, there were civilian casualties on both sides. Such actions are as horrific as were the three previous Israeli, collective punishment "wars" in Gaza that targeted civilians. Violence only begets more violence. Our beltway pundits and the mainstream media have called the attack by Hamas "Unprovoked". This would indicate that Israel has not provoked Palestinians in the past. The documentary People and the Land: The Story of A People Under Occupation was made in 1997 and funded by PBS but was prevented from airing on public TV. This documentary delves into the history of the conflict and is a valuable reminder that the Zionists have been provoking Palestinians for over 75 years.
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Has the extreme right-wing government in Israel led by Benjamin Netanyahu caused the liberal mainstream media to become more honest about the Israel/Palestine conflict? In this remarkable 7-minute commentary on MSNBC's The ReidOut Peter Beinart, editor-at-large at the Jewish Currents, is interviewed and gives us hope.
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Steve Elkins, host of The National Intel Report on the Republic Broadcasting Network, interviews Tom Compton, one of the founding directors of We Hold These Truths (WHTT) about Zionized Christianity. WHTT has conducted over 200 vigils since 2002. Included in this interview is a discussion of how we started our vigils.
Chuck Carlson, founder of WHTT decided to hold our first vigil five months before the second war on Iraq and Saddam Hussein as a response to a letter sent to President George Bush in October 2002 by Richard Land, President of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. The letter was signed by several prominent evangelical Christians and told President Bush that going to war against Iraq would be a "just" war by their interpretation of the Bible. Then, in 2017 when the SBC came to Phoenix for their annual meeting, we confronted Richard Land's successor, Dr. Russel Moore in an interesting exchange. For related podcasts, Click Here
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Palestinian Christians are slowly being forced out of Israel whether they are Israeli citizens who are subjected to at least 65 laws that discriminate against them or being surrounded and slowly forced from their lands by over 600,000 illegal settlers in the West Bank of Palestine.
This powerful video is about Palestinian Christians' plight and originally was aired on a CBS 60 Minutes segment presented by Bob Simon in 2012. CBS has removed it (see: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/christians-of-the-holy-land/ ), but we were able to obtain a copy. In the 60 Minutes segment, Bob Simon interviews Michael Oren, Israeli Ambassador to the US, who had tried to stop the story even before it was known what would be in it. The Jerusalem Post took Bob Simon, who is Jewish, to task in their article, "Bob Simon & CBS throw the Jews to the lions."
In the segment Bob Simon talks about the "Kairos Palestine" document by Palestinian Christian leaders who introduce it: "We, a group of Christian Palestinians, after prayer, reflection and an exchange of opinion, cry out from within the suffering in our country, under the Israeli occupation, with a cry of hope in the absence of all hope, a cry full of prayer and faith in a God ever vigilant, in God’s divine providence for all the inhabitants of this land. Inspired by the mystery of God's love for all, the mystery of God’s divine presence in the history of all peoples and, in a particular way, in the history of our country, we proclaim our word based on our Christian faith and our sense of Palestinian belonging – a word of faith, hope, and love."
Sadly, many evangelical Christians don't realize that their Palestinian Christians are being threatened. Also, please check out our video, "Listening to the "Living Stones of the Holy Land: Palestinian Christians."
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Israeli filmmaker, Maya Zinshtein's documentary Til Kingdom Come examines the unique relationship between evangelical Christians in America and the state of Israel. As Israel lies in a constant state of struggle between the Jews and Arabs, evangelical Christians pray for the restoration of the Holy Land to the Jewish people.
With a steadfast belief in the Second Coming of Christ, evangelical political powers have become heavily involved in shaping American foreign policy towards Israel and the Middle East. With unparalleled access, the film delves into the relationship between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the controversial decision to move the United States Embassy to Jerusalem, and plans to annex the West Bank.
Evangelical Christians cite these events as a necessary step toward the coming apocalypse because they believe that the Jewish people’s establishment in the Holy Land is essential to God’s plan for the End-Times. The film takes a deep dive into the unusual bond between these bedfellows and the entanglement of politics and religion. We Hold These Truths explains and challenges the beliefs of what is known as Christian Zionism in our award-winning film, Christian Zionism: The Tragedy & The Turning: Part I.
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Recently, the US Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade case of 1973 that allowed abortions. Now, the decision on this issue will go back to the states. Before Chuck Carlson founded We Hold These Truths in 1996, he and his wife were active in the pro-life movement. When We Hold These Truths started challenging "Christian Zionist" or War-Willing" churches in 2002, one of the earliest signs that we carried at those vigils was "Chose Life, Not War!" While evangelical church members typically oppose abortion, large numbers of them enthusiastically support the serial wars of the US for patriotic reasons. In this 2004 message, "Abortion: A Kingdom of God Approach" by Pastor Greg Boyd of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, MN the issue of abortion is addressed that can be seen in a new light in 2022. This was the third of five messages in a series entitled "The Cross and The Sword". It was about how many Christians have welded the cross to the sword. As citizens of the United States of America, the state wheels the sword while Christians are supposed to be under the authority of Jesus Christ. As a result of this series of messages, about 20% of the 5000 congregants in Boyd's church left because they couldn't handle the message. CNN did an excellent report on this in a 7-minute segment titled "God's Warriors"
An audio version of "Abortion: A Kingdom of God Approach" is available HERE.
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