Conservatives bash Tucker Carlson for interviewing Palestinian pastor on Israel's treatment of Christians

MIAMI, FLORIDA: Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson found himself at the center of a storm of criticism from conservative circles following the release of his latest online show episode.

The episode featured an interview with Palestinian Christian Rev Dr Munther Isaac, sparking heated debate and condemnation from various quarters on Wednesday, April 10.

Carlson's provocative assertions

The controversy erupted after Carlson took to Twitter to announce the release of the 43-minute interview on Tuesday night, April 9. Sharing his thoughts on the treatment of Christians by the government of Israel, Carlson set the stage for a contentious discussion, Mediaite reported.

"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," he tweeted, inviting viewers to delve into the conversation.

During the interview, Carlson offered controversial historical perspectives. He began by highlighting what he perceived as a disproportionate impact of wars abroad on Christian communities, citing examples from Vietnam to Iraq.

“And this goes back a long way, 60 years, really, to Vietnam, where Catholics in that country were massacred. But it’s accelerated. So, for example, during the more than a decade the US government spent occupying Iraq, the Christian, the ancient Christian community of Iraq, was completely devastated. Nine out of ten of them are no longer there. They’re gone,” Carlson claimed.

"That was an effect of our foreign policy, but it was almost never noted in the United States and almost never, ever even mentioned by Christian clergy in this country, many of whom supported that war in that occupation. Why is that? Maybe because it wasn’t. Virtually no one in any American church said anything when Christians were killed in Syria, very often by Islamic extremists paid for by the United States. But nobody said anything, and anyone who did was denounced as a kook or a bigot," the journalist added.

Transitioning to the recent bombing of Gaza by Israel, Carlson criticized what he viewed as a lack of advocacy by Christian leaders for their counterparts in the Holy Land.

“And 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. So you would think that in Congress there were, 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,” Carlson continued.

Rebuttals from conservative figures

The interview prompted scrutiny and rebuke from conservative voices.

Among those who criticized Carlson was David Friedman, former ambassador to Israel under the Trump administration. Friedman challenged Carlson's portrayal of the situation in Bethlehem, asserting that Palestinian rule had driven out Christians from the region.

“Tucker, my friend, before the Palestinians took over Bethlehem pursuant to the Oslo Accords in the mid-1990’s, Bethlehem was under Israeli control and its population was 80% Christian. It was one of the centers of the Christian world. Since Oslo and the resulting Palestinian rule, Bethlehem became 80% Muslim and Christians are afraid. But they don’t speak out against the Palestinian Authority because you just can’t and survive,” Friedman stated. 

Joel Pollack of Breitbart also contested Carlson's platforming of Rev Isaac, accusing him of neglecting to mention Isaac's stance against the existence of Israel.

“Rev. Isaac says Israel is 'not as free as people say' for Christians, claiming it is tough to register conversions. (Bureaucracy is tough for everyone in Israel, due to laws dating to the Ottoman era.) Tucker extrapolates, falsely, Christians have “fewer rights” in Israel,” he said, insisting that Carlson “adds some of the interview’s most incendiary comments” against Israel.

Criticism of Carlson's motives and journalistic integrity emerged from various quarters.

Rep Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) accused Carlson of sensationalism, alleging that he misled his audience for clicks. “Tucker will eventually fade into nothingness, because his veneer of faux intellectualism is quickly falling apart and revealing who he truly is: a cowardly, know-nothing elitist who is full of s**t,” he alleged.

Commentator Seth Mandel accused Carlson of disdain toward Christians. “There’s no one in American life who thinks less of Christians than Tucker. He doesn’t like Jews, but he at least doesn’t think we’re stupid. Even Trump’s Bible selling is transparently transactional. Tucker’s entire shtick relies on his belief that Christians are gullible saps," he concluded.

Laura Loomer, a prominent MAGA activist, criticized the interview's potential impact on Donald Trump's electoral prospects.

“The last thing I’ll say about this is the interview is a major L when it comes to helping President Trump get elected," she wrote. “Wait for the media to say 'MAGA Influencers side with Iran.' Tucker is basically paving the way for leftist talking points to take heat off of Joe Biden for his disastrous foreign policy. Even @Morning_Joe is calling MAGA the 'American Taliban.' This is why."

Josh Hammer, an editor at Newsweek, lamented Carlson's departure from Fox News, suggesting that the controversial interview underscored Carlson's need for the platform. “Turns out Tucker needed Fox more than Fox needed Tucker. Very sad.” he said, later adding, “PLO officials quite literally endorsing and disseminating Tucker’s propagandist interview. Absolute insanity.”

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