The small religious community in Gaza has been devastated as a result of American foreign policy, according to a pastor from Bethlehem
Members of Gaza’s small Christian community were among the thousands of civilians killed in the Palestinian enclave as a result of Washington’s support for Israel in its war with Hamas, a pastor from Bethlehem has told journalist Tucker Carlson.
In an interview posted on X (formerly Twitter) by the former Fox News host on Tuesday, Reverend Munther Isaac of the Evangelical Lutheran Christian Church also criticized Christian leaders in the United States for failing to oppose the destruction in Gaza.
“One of the biggest problems we are facing right now is the deterioration of our [Christian community] numbers,” Isaac told Carlson. “People keep leaving because of the political reality. Life under a very harsh Israeli military occupation is difficult to bear,” he explained.
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,” the pastor said.
Ep. 91 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. pic.twitter.com/Gvo116ojnf
Carlson agreed that it’s a “consistent but almost never noted theme of American foreign policy that it is always the Christians who suffer,” recalling the massacre of Catholics in Vietnam and a complete devastation of an ancient Christian community in Iraq.
“We’ve always had a very serious problem when it comes to American foreign policy,” Isaac replied.
He referred to an Israeli airstrike on an Orthodox church compound in Gaza last October, which resulted in the deaths of 18 civilians.
“American Christian support to Christians is actually conditioned by where you stand on the political spectrum. If Christians were hit or targeted or persecuted by someone who’s not an ally, then you will see an outrage. But because Israel is an ally to America, no one cares about Christians being targeted,” Isaac stated.
According to the Palestinian pastor, who has consistently called for a ceasefire in Gaza while meeting with US diplomats, politicians, Congress staff, and even influential clergy, it is astonishing “how little they know about the reality on the ground.”
His wish is for the US and its Christian leaders to put money into initiatives that bring peace, and cease “to support Israel unconditionally without holding them accountable.” Isaac suggested this support is the reason for the current catastrophe – “it’s because of these policies,” he added.
He described the Israeli hostilities in Gaza as “genocide,” claiming “We will not survive as a Christian community if the situation of Palestinians in general is not solved.”
Carlson ended his interview with the pastor by issuing an appeal to the audience. “If you wake up in the morning and decide that your Christian faith requires you to support a foreign government blowing up churches and killing Christians, I think you’ve lost the thread.”
