When political commentator Candace Owens called Israel “demonic” for striking Iran’s nuclear facilities, most conservative Christians were shocked. But Owens is merely the loudest among a growing coterie of conservative voices turning on the people of Israel at this crucial moment in history. At a time when antisemitism is growing in America, the world needs leaders speaking with moral clarity, not division, in order to promote peace in the Middle East and around the world.
Sadly, what is happening now is nothing new. For centuries, Jews faced persecution, ostracization, and even expulsion from many European nations for a variety of reasons. Jews were victims during the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, and the various pogroms. And while Christians of today often ask “where were the churches?” regarding the Holocaust, the reality is that they were there and confused by the loud voices arguing that what was happening was not, in fact, evil; for one reason or another, some even suggested Jews deserved what was happening to them. Christians today must guard themselves from falling into that evil trap.
Unfortunately, in the wake of the events sparked by the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists on October 7th, a growing number of conservative voices are proclaiming anti-Israel, and sometimes anti-Jewish, ideologies. This is fueling the ugly fire of rising antisemitism across the globe. Many of these commentators claim to be “America First,” that they are primarily driven by the desire to avoid entanglement in more foreign wars. But while that desire is entirely understandable, we cannot let it make us blind to the atrocities committed against the Jewish people or susceptible to lies and conspiracies spread about them and the Jewish state.
Alongside her “demonic” claim, Owens wrote that Israel “has a bloodlust like no other.” On one of her recent podcast episodes, Owens stated that Judaism is a “pedophile-centric religion that believes in demons…[and] child sacrifice …” Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has also hosted a series of concerning interviews on the topic. One of them was with Columbia economist Jeffrey Sachs, who places much of the blame for Middle Eastern conflicts on the shoulders of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. In the interview, he told Tucker that “the United States goes to war on [Netanyahu’s] behalf,” arguing that “in Israel, they want war everywhere for a lot of reasons.” Another interview was with Darryl Cooper, a prominent Holocaust revisionist. Cooper told Tucker that Winston Churchill was “the chief villain of World War II,” not Adolf Hitler. He also suggested that the deaths of six million Jews were the results of poor planning on the part of the Germans, that these people “ended up dead” due to a lack of resources. Tucker, unbelievably, called Cooper, “the best and most honest popular historian in the United States.”
While Owens and Carlson do not speak for the majority of Christians on the issue of Israel, they wield significant amounts of influence. That is why we would like to urge caution. It is fair to criticize wartime actions and America’s involvement overseas, but we cannot lose our grip on essential truths. The modern-day Jewish state is, like any other nation, run by imperfect humans, humans who will implement wise policies on one day and misguided ones the next. Every earthly government can and should be criticized when necessary. Criticizing Israel is not inherently antisemitic. But we must be on guard against those criticisms turning in to a blind disdain of everything that Israel or the Jewish people do.
All that has happened in the wake of October 7th has revealed the extent of this problem. Instead of majority agreement that Israel had a right to respond to what happened that day, antisemitism has exploded worldwide. It is not as if Hamas merely made a judgement error on policy that day – they sought to terrorize, rape, and murder as many Jews as they could. And they remain completely unrepentant and unapologetic. They didn’t go far enough, as far as Hamas is concerned. Iran, likewise, is driven by its desire to destroy the “little Satan,” Israel, and the “Big Satan,” America. Their actions – and not those of Israel or Jews around world – are how we got to where we are today. And yet many see fit to blame the Jewish people for the current situation.
Though the Christian community has made great strides in repairing the relationship with the Jewish people since the tragedy of the Holocaust, antisemitism is an issue that refuses to go away. Part of that lies in the messy political reality of the Middle East. Christians see the suffering of innocent children in Gaza and justifiably balk when asked to support Israel. The inherent distrust that most conservative Christians have of powerful institutions can lend itself to misguided distrust as well. The stereotype that Jews are usually members of the elite class and control the levers of power, while false, is a conspiracy that lives on, one that equates Jews with manipulative officials and underhanded wealthy businessmen.
We must not repeat history.
So how can Christians fight back against antisemitism in America? One way is education. Knowing our history and that of the Church’s relationship with the Jewish community is one of the best ways to learn from the mistakes of the past. Understanding what the common conspiracies are and where they came from will better equip you to refute them. And as messy as it is, having a better understanding about the history of the state of Israel, its relationship with its neighbors, and why they are so often at war, provides invaluable context as well. At Concerned Women for America, we have a number of great online resources to help you get started, such as our YWA Support for Israel booklet.
Another advancement is to get to know Jewish people. It is far harder to perpetrate stereotypes and conspiracies when you know living representatives of the people group being slandered. Connect with your local Jewish communities, attend a Shabbat dinner, find ways to study and immerse yourself in modern-day Jewish culture. Not only will that help you understand Jews better, but by understanding the beliefs and traditions of our spiritual forebears, it will deepen your own relationship with God. After all, our Messiah was Himself a Jew.
Last, but certainly not least, pray. We must pray against the spread of lies and confusion, of blind hatred, and for our own protection from such misinformation. We must pray against the use of violence towards our Jewish brothers and sisters, and for their safety. We should also pray for those who hate the Jews, that their hearts would be transformed by God’s all-merciful power. And we should pray that the hearts of the Jewish people would ultimately be open to receiving Jesus’s gift of grace.
Israel is not perfect and neither are the Jewish people, just as none of us are perfect. But we can stand by them with a clear conscience, firm in the truth that hatred and terrorism are objective evils. When those around us seek to sow doubt, let us be shining beacons of clarity in a world filled with moral confusion.
