WATCH: Catholic humanitarian speaks out against Zionism, persecution of Gaza Christians – LifeSite
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(LifeSiteNews) — Joining me on this episode of The John Henry Westen Show from the Bringing America Back to Life Convention is Jason Jones, founder of the Vulnerable People Project (VPP). We discussed the ongoing war in Gaza, the horrific persecution of Christians in the region, Christian support for Zionism, Trump’s troubling statements on the war, and more.
I opened the episode by asking Jones about what he’s recently seen on the ground in Gaza. Jones highlighted that nothing short of ethnic cleansing is taking place against the region’s Christians.
“What is happening in Gaza is plainly an ethnic cleansing,” he said. “And what’s sorrowful about this is we’re seeing the oldest Christian community in the world being wiped from the face of the earth. … 10 percent of the Christians in Gaza have died. 90 percent of their homes have been destroyed.”
Jones emphasized how the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have even bombed ancient Christian churches, yet Catholic leaders have mostly been silent.
“And we saw silence from the Church in the West. And this shouldn’t be surprising, but it is surprising because these are the descendants of the apostles’ families,” he said. “These are the descendants of the folks [who] were in the upper room in the Book of Acts. Literally, these are their descendants; their families have been there since then. They’ve been Christians for 2,000 years, and we’re silent.”
READ: Gaza’s hidden horror: Christian churches bombed, women beaten, homes stolen
“But we were silent when the Christians were being eradicated in Iraq, we were silent when they’re being eradicated in Syria, a priest was killed on Ash Wednesday in Nigeria,” he added. “But this is something that happens all of the time, and we’re not really paying attention.”
A bit later, I noted that I’ve talked to many good Christians who not only don’t realize what’s happening to our fellow Christians in the Middle East but are also concerned that I’m not a Zionist. I asked Jones how he would respond, and he stressed that Catholics can’t be Zionists.
“Of course I can’t be a Zionist, I’m a Catholic. And so we understand the fulfillment of all the promises to Abraham, Jesus Christ is that fulfillment,” he said. “And so, I look to political Zionism as one of these virulent ideologies.”
READ: Holy Land bishops reaffirm Catholic Church’s rejection of ‘Christian Zionism’
Jones emphasized that while antisemitism is wrong, what we’re actually seeing is an epidemic of anti-Arab hatred among our politicians who have signed bombs used on innocent Arab children, and more disturbingly, among evangelical Christians.
“Most reprehensible of all, you see evangelical Christian leaders, they will say the Palestinians are Philistines, they’re Amalekites, they’re a plague, they were a curse on Israel, and Israel will never be blessed until they kill them,” he said. “This is said on mainstream Protestant media.”
“No one’s advocating this in Israel, but actually mainstream American politicians, mainstream New York Times bestselling authors, evangelical Christians are saying this,” he added. “And so many Catholics for so long have been consuming Protestant media that they inherit this.”
To hear more from Jason Jones, tune in to this episode of The John-Henry Westen Show.
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Help bring aid trucks into Gaza: LifeFunder
John-Henry is the co-founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of LifeSiteNews.com. He and his wife Dianne have eight children and they live in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, Canada.
He has spoken at conferences and retreats, and appeared on radio and television throughout the world. John-Henry founded the Rome Life Forum, an annual strategy meeting for life, faith and family leaders worldwide. He is a board member of the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family. He is a consultant to Canada’s largest pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition, and serves on the executive of the Ontario branch of the organization. He has run three times for political office in the province of Ontario representing the Family Coalition Party.
John-Henry earned an MA from the University of Toronto in School and Child Clinical Psychology and an Honours BA from York University in Psychology.
