Latest news with #FamilyResearchCouncil
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Speaker Johnson: It's ‘a fun thing' to pitch the Republican agenda to the public
Over the weekend, House Speaker Mike Johnson sat down with the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, who asked the fellow Louisiana Republican to talk about what he's heard from the public about the party's message. To hear Congress' top GOP official tell it, things couldn't be better. 'All over the country, I'm going to all the states and everywhere we go, Tony, there's euphoria,' the House speaker said. 'I mean, people are excited. And I mean, from your average voter to moms and dads who are now feeling freedom again being that we're turning the tide. You've got business owners at every level, large and small, who are making decisions to expand business and they know that help is on the way and it's already begun and they feel good about it.' Johnson concluded, 'There's a real sense of excitement, patriotism, people just have this sense of relief, and it's a fun thing to go out and talk about and share on the campaign trail.' I'm not in a position to know whether the House GOP leader genuinely believes this. It's possible, I suppose, that the speaker has convinced himself that there's widespread 'euphoria,' from coast to coast. Maybe, in Johnson's heart of hearts, he's sincere in his belief that Americans have taken a good look at what's unfolded over the last nine weeks, and they're celebrating 'feeling freedom again.' But watching the clip, posted online by Right Wing Watch, I was reminded of this NBC News report from a few weeks ago. Congressional Republicans are again being advised against holding in-person town halls after several instances of lawmakers being berated by attendees went viral. The chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is the Hill committee that works to get Republicans elected to the House, told lawmakers in a closed-door meeting Tuesday morning that there were more efficient ways to reach constituents than in-person town halls, according to two sources in the room. The NRCC chair wasn't alone: Mike Johnson himself also advised his members to stop holding town halls. So, which is it? If Republicans are witnessing public celebrations 'everywhere' they go; Americans are feeling a 'sense of relief'; and it's 'a fun thing' to go out and pitch the party's message, shouldn't GOP officials be holding all kinds of town halls? If for no other reason than to bask in the 'euphoria'? This article was originally published on
Los Angeles Times
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Why conservative American evangelicals are among Israel's strongest supporters
WASHINGTON — One of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's first meetings in the United States this week was not with American Jewish leaders but with evangelical ones. The conservative Christians met with Netanyahu on Monday at Blair House, a residence for visiting foreign officials near the White House. The gathering came ahead of the Israeli leader's meeting with President Trump on Tuesday that led to Trump's dramatic proposals about the future of Gaza. 'The fact that our meeting took place before his meetings with President Trump and U.S. elected officials is indicative of the strength of the historic friendship that exists between Israel and Christians in America,' said Pastor Jentezen Franklin, who leads a Georgia megachurch and has served as a Trump spiritual advisor. Among those in attendance were former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist pastor and Trump's pick to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel, and Tony Perkins, president of the socially conservative Family Research Council. Many of those in attendance were Christian Zionists, including Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel, an evangelical organization that claims 10 million members. 'The Prime Minister is here — as his country begins to conclude its longest war — to effectively reset the U.S.-Israel relationship after the damage done by four years of, at best, lukewarm support for the Jewish state,' Hagee told the Associated Press via email. Christian Zionism is an ideology among some evangelical Christians, particularly in the United States, that interprets the Bible as promising the land of Israel eternally to the Jews and asserting that God would bless Israel's supporters. Some proponents also interpret the Bible as predicting many Jews' eventual conversion to Christianity. The meeting was a reminder that evangelical Christian Zionists are among Israel's strongest supporters in the U.S. — and they wield considerable influence as Trump begins his second term. They have also backed controversial sentiments expressed by Republicans and Trump this week over the territories of Gaza and the West Bank. Trump, during a shocking news conference with Netanyahu on Tuesday, suggested that Palestinians from the Gaza Strip could be removed and resettled elsewhere, with the U.S. taking over the war-torn region. The president, echoing his real estate developer past, said he envisions a Gaza that could be 'the Riviera of the Middle East.' 'This could be something that could be so valuable. This could be so magnificent,' Trump said, adding that the people who live there would be able to live in peace. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a key White House advisor during his first term, has also praised the 'very valuable' potential of Gaza's 'waterfront property.' 'I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up,' Kushner said a year ago. The national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Nihad Awad, assailed Trump's proposal. 'Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people, not the United States, and President Trump's call to displace Palestinians from their land either temporarily or permanently is an absolute nonstarter,' Awad said in a statement. 'If President Trump wants to make history with some sort of grand peace deal, he must start by accepting that the way to make permanent peace is to end the Israeli occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people.' Trump's proposals underscore 'the colonial nature of the Palestinian struggle,' said Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. 'Any forced relocation of the Palestinian population will only escalate violence and resistance, leading to more instability in the region,' he said. 'Anti-American sentiment will spike even further than what we have witnessed over the last year.' Among U.S. Jewish leaders there were mixed views. The president of an umbrella group representing relatively progressive congregations, Rabbi Rick Jacobs of the Union for Reform Judaism, was skeptical. 'While this moment indeed requires bold thinking to bring safety and autonomy to Israel and the Palestinians, what we heard yesterday will not build that future; it will undermine it,' Jacobs said. 'A peaceful Palestinian state alongside a secure Jewish state of Israel has to be reached through a negotiated agreement between the two parties,' he added. 'Forcibly removing either populace will only perpetuate the conflict.' The executive vice president of a more conservative group, Rabbi Moshe Hauer of the Orthodox Union, said Trump's pronouncements about Gaza 'were certainly a shock' and might be viewed in some quarters as insane. Yet he described the policies affecting Gaza for the last two decades as 'utter insanity,″ with Hamas holding control and then invading Israel in 2023. 'There may be in this new proposal something to digest and think about,' he said. 'We have gotten into a very unproductive place, an insanity that keeps repeating itself. Let's take a step back, and think, 'What if this really works, and bodes well for the future of everybody.'' Trump's proposals were praised by Sam Markstein, communications director for the Republican Jewish Coalition. 'President Trump is a disruptor, and after decades of failed policies, we are encouraged that the president is pursuing a bold, new vision for the region. ... As the most pro-Israel president in U.S. history, we are confident in President Trump's ability to bring security, peace and prosperity to this troubled region.' One longtime goal of Christian Zionists, and their allies, got a boost this last week when Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) reintroduced legislation that would require all official U.S. documents and materials to use the term 'Judea and Samaria' instead of the 'West Bank.' The legislation was introduced in the House by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) 'The Jewish people's legal and historic rights to Judea and Samaria goes back thousands of years,' Cotton said. 'The U.S. should stop using the politically charged term West Bank to refer to the biblical heartland of Israel.' Israel's government refers to the West Bank by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria, and considers it the historical heartland of the Jewish people. Palestinians and the U.S. government refer to the occupied territory as the West Bank. Israel captured the West Bank in 1967 along with the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem — territory the Palestinians seek for a future state. The U.S., along with most of the international community, has traditionally supported the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines. American Christian Zionists often use the biblical terms Judea and Samaria as a signal of their support for Israel and its annexation of the West Bank. Speakers at the annual conference of Christians United for Israel frequently invoke the biblical language as an applause line. Huckabee has repeated that the West Bank belongs to Israel, and recently said 'the title deed was given by God to Abraham and to his heirs.' Ironically, Judea and Samaria were once part of an ancient two-state scenario. For at least 200 years of Israel's royal history, Judea and Samaria represented separate kingdoms: Judea continued the dynasty of King Solomon while Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom, called Israel. Stanley writes for the Associated Press. AP journalist Mariam Fam contributed from Egypt. Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with the Conversation, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Why conservative American evangelicals are among Israel's strongest supporters
WASHINGTON (AP) — One of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's first meetings in the United States this week was not with American Jewish leaders but with evangelical ones. The conservative Christians met with Netanyahu on Monday at Blair House, which is near the White House. The gathering came ahead of the Israeli leader's meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, which led to Trump's dramatic proposals about the future of Gaza. 'The fact that our meeting took place before his meetings with President Trump and U.S. elected officials is indicative of the strength of the historic friendship that exists between Israel and Christians in America,' said Pastor Jentezen Franklin, who leads a Georgia megachurch and has served as a Trump spiritual adviser. Among those in attendance were former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist pastor and Trump's pick to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel, and Tony Perkins, president of the socially conservative Family Research Council. Who are Christian Zionists? Many of those in attendance were Christian Zionists, including Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel, an evangelical organization that claims 10 million members. 'The Prime Minister is here – as his country begins to conclude its longest war — to effectively reset the U.S.-Israel relationship after the damage done by four years of, at best, lukewarm support for the Jewish state,' Hagee told The Associated Press via email. Christian Zionism is an ideology among some evangelical Christians, particularly in the United States, that interprets the Bible as promising the land of Israel eternally to the Jews and asserting that God would bless Israel's supporters. Some proponents also interpret the Bible as predicting many Jews' eventual conversion to Christianity. The meeting was a reminder that evangelical Christian Zionists are among Israel's strongest supporters in the U.S. – and they wield considerable influence as Trump begins his second term. They have also backed controversial sentiments expressed by Republicans and Trump this week over the territories of Gaza and the West Bank. Trump suggests the U.S. could take over Gaza Trump, during a shocking news conference with Netanyahu on Tuesday, suggested that Palestinians from the Gaza Strip could be removed and resettled elsewhere, with the U.S. taking over the war-torn region. The president, echoing his real estate developer past, said he envisions a Gaza that could be 'the Riviera of the Middle East.' 'This could be something that could be so valuable. This could be so magnificent,' Trump said, adding that the people that live there would be able to live in peace. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a key White House adviser during his first term, has also praised the 'very valuable' potential of Gaza's 'waterfront property.' 'I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up,' Kushner said a year ago. Muslim and Jewish leaders react The national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Nihad Awad, assailed Trump's proposal. 'Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people, not the United States, and President Trump's call to displace Palestinians from their land either temporarily or permanently is an absolute non-starter,' Awad said in a statement. 'If President Trump wants to make history with some sort of grand peace deal, he must start by accepting that the way to make permanent peace is to end the Israeli occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people.' Trump's proposals underscore 'the colonial nature of the Palestinian struggle,' said Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. 'Any forced relocation of the Palestinian population will only escalate violence and resistance, leading to more instability in the region,' he said. 'Anti-American sentiment will spike even further than what we have witnessed over the last year.' Among U.S. Jewish leaders there were mixed views. The president of an umbrella group representing relatively progressive congregations, Rabbi Rick Jacobs of the Union for Reform Judaism, was skeptical. 'While this moment indeed requires bold thinking to bring safety and autonomy to Israel and the Palestinians, what we heard yesterday will not build that future; it will undermine it,' Jacobs said. 'A peaceful Palestinian state alongside a secure Jewish state of Israel has to be reached through a negotiated agreement between the two parties,' he added. 'Forcibly removing either populace will only perpetuate the conflict.' The executive vice president of a more conservative group, Rabbi Moshe Hauer of the Orthodox Union, said Trump's pronouncements about Gaza 'were certainly a shock' and might be viewed in some quarters as insane. Yet he described the policies affecting Gaza for the past two decades as 'utter insanity,″ with Hamas holding control and then invading Israel in 2023. 'There may be in this new proposal something to digest and think about,' he said. 'We have gotten into a very unproductive place, an insanity that keeps repeating itself. Let's take a step back, and think, 'What if this really works, and bodes well for the future of everybody.'' Trump's proposals were praised by Sam Markstein, communications director for the Republican Jewish Coalition. 'President Trump is a disruptor, and after decades of failed policies, we are encouraged that the president is pursuing a bold, new vision for the region. ... As the most pro-Israel president in U.S. history, we are confident in President Trump's ability to bring security, peace, and prosperity to this troubled region.' Is it the West Bank? Or Judea and Samaria? One longtime goal of Christian Zionists, and their allies, got a boost this past week when Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) reintroduced legislation that would require all official U.S. documents and materials to use the term 'Judea and Samaria' instead of the 'West Bank.' The legislation was introduced in the House by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-New York). 'The Jewish people's legal and historic rights to Judea and Samaria goes back thousands of years,' Cotton said. 'The U.S. should stop using the politically charged term West Bank to refer to the biblical heartland of Israel.' Israel's government refers to the West Bank by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria, and considers it the historical heartland of the Jewish people. Palestinians and the U.S. government refer to the occupied territory as the West Bank. Israel captured the West Bank in 1967 along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem — territory the Palestinians seek for a future state. The U.S., along with most of the international community, has traditionally supported the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines. American Christian Zionists often use the biblical terms Judea and Samaria as a signal of their support for Israel and its annexation of the West Bank. Speakers at the annual conference of Christians United for Israel frequently invoke the biblical language as an applause line. Huckabee has repeated that the West Bank belongs to Israel, and recently said 'the title deed was given by God to Abraham and to his heirs.' Ironically, Judea and Samaria were once part of an ancient two-state scenario. For at least two hundred years of Israel's royal history, Judea and Samaria represented separate kingdoms: Judea continued the dynasty of King Solomon while Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom, called Israel. ___ AP journalist Mariam Fam contributed from Egypt. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Why conservative American evangelicals are among Israel's strongest supporters
WASHINGTON (AP) — One of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's first meetings in the United States this week was not with American Jewish leaders but with evangelical ones. The conservative Christians met with Netanyahu on Monday at Blair House, which is near the White House. The gathering came ahead of the Israeli leader's meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, which led to Trump's dramatic proposals about the future of Gaza. 'The fact that our meeting took place before his meetings with President Trump and U.S. elected officials is indicative of the strength of the historic friendship that exists between Israel and Christians in America,' said Pastor Jentezen Franklin, who leads a Georgia megachurch and has served as a Trump spiritual adviser. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Among those in attendance were former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist pastor and Trump's pick to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel, and Tony Perkins, president of the socially conservative Family Research Council. Who are Christian Zionists? Many of those in attendance were Christian Zionists, including Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel, an evangelical organization that claims 10 million members. 'The Prime Minister is here – as his country begins to conclude its longest war — to effectively reset the U.S.-Israel relationship after the damage done by four years of, at best, lukewarm support for the Jewish state,' Hagee told The Associated Press via email. Christian Zionism is an ideology among some evangelical Christians, particularly in the United States, that interprets the Bible as promising the land of Israel eternally to the Jews and asserting that God would bless Israel's supporters. Some proponents also interpret the Bible as predicting many Jews' eventual conversion to Christianity. The meeting was a reminder that evangelical Christian Zionists are among Israel's strongest supporters in the U.S. – and they wield considerable influence as Trump begins his second term. They have also backed controversial sentiments expressed by Republicans and Trump this week over the territories of Gaza and the West Bank. Trump suggests the U.S. could take over Gaza Trump, during a shocking news conference with Netanyahu on Tuesday, suggested that Palestinians from the Gaza Strip could be removed and resettled elsewhere, with the U.S. taking over the war-torn region. The president, echoing his real estate developer past, said he envisions a Gaza that could be 'the Riviera of the Middle East.' 'This could be something that could be so valuable. This could be so magnificent,' Trump said, adding that the people that live there would be able to live in peace. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a key White House adviser during his first term, has also praised the 'very valuable' potential of Gaza's 'waterfront property.' 'I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up,' Kushner said a year ago. Muslim and Jewish leaders react The national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Nihad Awad, assailed Trump's proposal. 'Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people, not the United States, and President Trump's call to displace Palestinians from their land either temporarily or permanently is an absolute non-starter,' Awad said in a statement. 'If President Trump wants to make history with some sort of grand peace deal, he must start by accepting that the way to make permanent peace is to end the Israeli occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people.' Among U.S. Jewish leaders there were mixed views. The president of an umbrella group representing relatively progressive congregations, Rabbi Rick Jacobs of the Union for Reform Judaism, was skeptical. 'While this moment indeed requires bold thinking to bring safety and autonomy to Israel and the Palestinians, what we heard yesterday will not build that future; it will undermine it,' Jacobs said. 'A peaceful Palestinian state alongside a secure Jewish state of Israel has to be reached through a negotiated agreement between the two parties,' he added. 'Forcibly removing either populace will only perpetuate the conflict.' The executive vice president of a more conservative group, Rabbi Moshe Hauer of the Orthodox Union, said Trump's pronouncements about Gaza 'were certainly a shock' and might be viewed in some quarters as insane. Yet he described the policies affecting Gaza for the past two decades as 'utter insanity,″ with Hamas holding control and then invading Israel in 2023. 'There may be in this new proposal something to digest and think about,' he said. 'We have gotten into a very unproductive place, an insanity that keeps repeating itself. Let's take a step back, and think, 'What if this really works, and bodes well for the future of everybody.'' Trump's proposals were praised by Sam Markstein, communications director for the Republican Jewish Coalition. 'President Trump is a disruptor, and after decades of failed policies, we are encouraged that the president is pursuing a bold, new vision for the region. ... As the most pro-Israel president in U.S. history, we are confident in President Trump's ability to bring security, peace, and prosperity to this troubled region.' Is it the West Bank? Or Judea and Samaria? One longtime goal of Christian Zionists, and their allies, got a boost this past week when Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) reintroduced legislation that would require all official U.S. documents and materials to use the term 'Judea and Samaria' instead of the 'West Bank.' The legislation was introduced in the House by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-New York). 'The Jewish people's legal and historic rights to Judea and Samaria goes back thousands of years,' Cotton said. 'The U.S. should stop using the politically charged term West Bank to refer to the biblical heartland of Israel.' Israel's government refers to the West Bank by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria, and considers it the historical heartland of the Jewish people. Palestinians and the U.S. government refer to the occupied territory as the West Bank. Israel captured the West Bank in 1967 along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem — territory the Palestinians seek for a future state. The U.S., along with most of the international community, has traditionally supported the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines. American Christian Zionists often use the biblical terms Judea and Samaria as a signal of their support for Israel and its annexation of the West Bank. Speakers at the annual conference of Christians United for Israel frequently invoke the biblical language as an applause line. Huckabee has repeated that the West Bank belongs to Israel, and recently said 'the title deed was given by God to Abraham and to his heirs.' Ironically, Judea and Samaria were once part of an ancient two-state scenario. For at least two hundred years of Israel's royal history, Judea and Samaria represented separate kingdoms: Judea continued the dynasty of King Solomon while Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom, called Israel. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
