In the following letter to the editor from Lighthouse Trails author Maria Kneas (who herself is Jewish), she shares a public letter that was written recently by Dennis Prager (of PragerU – a respected conservative think tank) to Candace Owens (a popular conservative figure). We are compelled to share Maria’s letter as well as Prager’s letter to Ms. Owens because some of the issues Prager addresses in his letter are the same as ones spoken to us by our three visitors at our former Montana location. It is our hope that Prager’s document will bring to light some of the lies that have been told about the Jews and Israel, lies which, unfortunately, many believe and thus leads to antisemitism. And sadly, Candace Owens, a once-revered figure among countless conservative evangelicals has become a conduit for these lies and as Dennis Prager puts it is “harming Jews and Israel.”

By Maria Kneas

Dear Lighthouse Trails Editors:

I felt it was important to let you and your readers have this information. Candace Owens has become viciously antisemitic, promoting some of the worst blood libels imaginable.

Below is a link to a letter written by Dennis Prager to Candace. This gives background information, history, and a 15-page letter he wrote to Candace about what she has been saying.

Candace used to be a valuable conservative voice. But now she is spouting deadly nonsense. And she should know better because for years she has been friends with Dennis Prager, who is Jewish.

We are living in troubling times, especially when you consider that some American universities (including Columbia University) have had anti-Israel demonstrations. I’ve seen videos of American students chanting “Gas the Jews!” and carrying signs that said the same.

I’ve also read reports of Jewish students at American universities staying in their rooms because they were afraid to go to their classes due to the violent antisemitism on campus. And of rabbis urging Jewish students to leave the universities until things calmed down.

My mother was Jewish, and I was raised on stories of the Holocaust. I became the first Christian in my family.

The following is the beginning of Dennis Prager’s letter (link to full letter at end):

Dennis Prager’s Letter to Candace Owens
On September 4, 2024, I sent [a] letter to Candace Owens regarding many comments she has made about Jews, Zionism and Israel. I have known Candace for about as long as she has been in public life. She began her podcasting at PragerU in 2019 and left in 2021. She left on very good terms. To this day, she often speaks of her respect and love for Marissa Streit, CEO of PragerU, and me.

Within hours of receiving my letter, Candace replied:

“I deeply appreciate this e-mail and I will respond to it thoroughly. Please know that I respect you tremendously and it is difficult for me to reconcile how I feel about you and Marissa and the amazing way in which I was treated by you both, and my new feelings and understanding about Zionism. Please give me a bit of time to respond to all of your points. You can always reach out to me and no matter which side of this or any political debate we wind up on, my love and respect for you and Marissa and your treatment of me will never be swayed.”

As it happens, more than two weeks later, Candace had not responded to the letter. Given the number of subjects covered, the letter’s length, and Candace’s busy family life and career, I did not expect her to. I sent it to Candace to give her the chance to respond and because I did not want her to first see it when it went public.

Last week, after not hearing from her, I emailed Candace that I would be publishing the letter. We then spoke on the phone, she briefly explained why she hadn’t been able to respond in writing, and she in no way objected to my making the letter public.

I wish I did not have to write this letter. But Candace has said many things that need to be answered. The primary reasons I have not spoken out sooner are that I needed to become fully acquainted with all or nearly all the things she has said about Jews, Zionism, and Israel, make sure I quoted her accurately, and that I never did so out of context. That was time-consuming work.

I ask anyone who has been influenced by Candace with regard to Jews, Israel, and Zionism to make the effort to read this entire letter. If you care about truth, I believe you have a moral obligation to do so.

Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager’s public letter to Candace Owens, dated 9/3/24: To download the 15-page letter, click here.

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Related Articles:

“How Dangerous Are the Anti-Israel Conservatives?”

“Social Media’s Antisemitic Underbelly” by Chris Katulka

(photo of candle and Israel flag from istockphoto.com; used with permission)

Now that Philip has finished his prison term, he is still facing a civil suit in which the Southern Poverty Law Center is heading up against him (trial date still unknown). If SPLC and the Vermont courts have their way, they will convince a jury that this is a hate crime, which could send Philip and others who helped the mother to prison for a very long time.

The following is the introduction to Innocent, which gives an overview of what led up to Philip’s imprisonment.

Introduction (pages 9-12)

By Philip Zodhiates

On December 5th, 2018, I began a three-year prison sentence at the Ashland Federal Correctional Institution in Kentucky. My crime was being called a “greatest severity crime.” The following letter that I wrote to the prison warden while incarcerated details what led up to my imprisonment.

Sir,
My name is Philip Zodhiates (18649-084), and I arrived here at FCI Ashland on December 5th for a three-year sentence. Yesterday, I went for my first “team review” and was told that my “crime” is listed as a “greatest severity crime,” which I was told only you could review and make a recommendation to remove.

Sir, I would like to request that you look into the background of my case, the egregious political and anti-Christian nature of the prosecution against me, which has been confirmed to be a political vendetta mandated by Barack Obama’s White House. I request you remove the “greatest severity” factor so I can be eligible for a camp.

Simply put, I am here solely because I am a Christian practicing my faith. The young girl (conceived through artificial insemination) for whom I allegedly “aided and abetted” her mother to commit “international parental kidnapping,” was being sexually abused on court-ordered visitations to the former lesbian lover of her mother. All three were Virginia residents. Her mother had become a born-again Christian, repented of her sin and former lifestyle, and dissolved the Vermont “civil union.” The mother was awarded full custody of the child and agreed initially to visitations with her former sexual partner.
However, the former lesbian partner, who had initially wanted nothing to do with the child, went for years without asking to see the young child. She had on three occasions refused to adopt her. In the meanwhile, Virginia had passed a constitutional amendment declaring it illegal in Virginia to recognize any official designations of “marriage” or “civil unions” of any other state.

However, the ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, and LAMBDA Legal got wind of the case and talked the lesbian partner into allowing them to make the precedent-setting case that would nullify not just the Virginia Marriage Amendment but all the marriage amendments in more than half the states where similar protections were in place. That was the goal. And for that reason, they convinced her to request visitations.

After the child’s mother began allowing visitations is when the sexual abuse began to take place. The mother notified authorities and had affidavits from social workers and psychologists verifying the trauma to the girl, but the family court judge in Vermont refused to allow any evidence of it in court for reasons mentioned above. In the meanwhile, a judge in Virginia ruled the mother had full and complete custody of the child.

Yet the liberal groups pursued the transfer of custody because the birth mother no longer allowed visitation because of the sexual abuse taking place. When the mother left the country in 2009 (long before the Obergefell ruling* by the U.S. Supreme Court), she had full custody of her child with valid passports and freedom to travel anywhere in the world. The custody dispute, including further rights to visitation, continued to be battled in the courts till long after they were gone. Custody was not transferred to the former lesbian partner till the year after mother and child left the country. I was convicted for merely giving her and her child a ride from Virginia to Buffalo at a time in which she had full custody and giving her $500. It did not matter to the courts that the child was being sexually abused because they had a political and social agenda they wanted to enact, regardless that the real victim was a helpless child, whose mother had to choose between leaving the country or allow her child to continue to be sexually molested with the sanctions of the Vermont authorities.

Years ago, after I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, I determined to abide by certain commands of all Christians, the first being: “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee” (Proverbs 3:27-28). Then there is: “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). And: “If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?” (Proverbs 24:11-12). And: “I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. . . . Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me” (Matthew 25:43-45). And: “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:4-6). And last: “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” (1 John 3:17).

At the government’s request, the court in my case refused to allow any mention of the alleged sexual abuse of the child, not any mention of the other multitudes of ways I have helped others going through difficult times. This was an attempt to falsely portray to the jury I am nothing but an agenda-driven “homophobe.”

I take heart in Jesus’ words: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12). Joseph, Daniel, Peter, John, Paul, and even Jesus were all falsely imprisoned for righteousness’ sake under false charges. I, like each of these men, broke no laws, but am merely imprisoned for my faith in Jesus Christ and God’s Word.

I encourage you to watch the twelve-minute video on www.wall4america.com and to review the listing someone placed on the website, www.419fund.com about my case. There are also numerous other articles and interviews on the Internet. The best document, which includes the evidence of the sexual abuse of the child, is the “Petition for Pardon” to President Trump, which can be obtained from (specifically withheld).

Thank you, sir, for considering recommending the waiving of the “greatest severity” nature of my alleged “crime.”

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*In 2015, the Supreme Court wrongfully ruled that it is unconstitutional for states to ban and not recognize same-sex marriages.

(top photo from the cover of Innocent; used with permission)

LTRP Note: You may purchase Innocent through Amazon or through Lighthouse Trails. If you wish to help Philip with his legal expenses, you may do through www.419fund.com (tax deductible).

Related Article:

Southern Poverty Lawsuit Against Child Protectors Could Set Precedent for Normalizing Adult-Child Sex

 

By Linda Harvey

As the Trump administration evaluates the Department of Education and hopefully plans to shut the whole thing down, the current thought is to distribute those funds to other agencies or send certain elements of funding back to the states.

Actually, there are large swaths of Department of Education functions and funding that need to be eliminated altogether. In other words, these programs should not be sent to states where they can become bloated little fiefdoms driven by the progressive agenda.

So what should stay and what should go? Here is my “death wish” list for certain programs/policies at the Department of Education. It is not exhaustive by any means, but just a place to start. I am hoping that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, through DOGE, will make this happen.

Let’s start with the FY 2024 budget of the USDOE. It’s around $228 billion, $120 billion of which goes to federal student aid/loans. Click here to continue reading.

Related Articles by Linda Harvey:

Look What’s Coming for Your Children! 2024-2025 School Corruption & Propaganda Calendar

“NEA Hates Children, America, and Common Sense”

(photo from istockphoto.com; used with permission; design by LT)

LTRP Note: To gain further insights into Tony Campolo, please see the links below Jim Fletcher’s article.

By Jim Fletcher

I’ve lost more work and friends in apologetics than I can name, because I name names. But for years, readers have thanked me for naming names and telling the truth because, without truth, none of us can make good decisions. We have only the example of cable news to show us that.

So it is that I want to spend a few minutes talking about Tony Campolo.

Campolo, a pastor and professor at Pennsylvania’s Eastern University, has died at 89.

Normally, it’s inappropriate to speak ill of the dead right after they pass, but in this case, I think it’s productive to discuss Campolo’s brand of liberal theology, which, I maintain, destroys the faith of many. He has plenty of accomplices, several of whom are still with us.

I first became aware of Tony Campolo in the late 90s. I was in Chicago and decided to attend a service at Willow Creek, the megachurch then pastored by Bill Hybels. They were getting ready to expand their 70-acre “campus” (a New Evangelicals term that further separates tradition from the New Left progressive Christianity.

I was startled to hear Campolo say the word s**t from the pulpit/stage. I do not remember at all what his message was, but I do remember that.

I went home and decided to learn more about Monseigneur Campolo. What I discovered was dismaying.

Apart from being a mentor to young leftwing figures like Shane Claiborne, Campolo championed liberal theology. His son, Bart, has become heretical and quite a proud one.

(In a 2014 Religious News Service profile by friend and fellow heretic Jonathan Merritt, Bart Campolo was quite open about his leaving the faith: “I passed just about every stage of heresy on my way to apostasy,” Bart Campolo said. “It wasn’t until I exhausted every option for staying a Christian that I gave it up.”)

Now for his father’s chilling reply after being informed of this at the family dinner table:

“You know me. I am not afraid you’re going to hell because the God I believe in doesn’t send people to hell for eternity for having the wrong theology,” Tony responded, according to Bart. “I’m sad because Christianity is my tribe, and I liked having you in my tribe.”

If you read the article at the link above, you’ll see that Campolo the Elder tried to massage that take regarding Campolo the Younger, but the effect is the same: he wasn’t that disturbed.

That little exchange exemplifies Tony Campolo’s take on religion and, ultimately if we’re being honest, Jesus Christ.

I interviewed Campolo once, and Shane Claiborne once. Both conversations left me dismayed. Moreso because in the Pravda-like Christian Media Complex that exists to this day, they had both cunningly appropriated the title “evangelical” so as to, in my view, fool real evangelicals. This they succeeded at primarily because of the weakness of American pulpits.

In any case, Christianity Today has weighed in, unfortunately. (The magazine/rag remains the MSNBC of the American Christian community.)  Here is the lead for the CT obituary of Campolo:

Tony Campolo frequently started his speeches to Christian audiences by telling them three things.

First, he would tell them how many children had died from hunger or malnutrition-related diseases the night before—a number in the tens of thousands.

And Campolo would say, ‘Most of you don’t give a s—.

Here is just one more snippet from the CT article, but it provides further color to the brand of Christianity for which Campolo advocated:

As he traveled relentlessly, speaking to up to 500 groups per year, Campolo urged people to let their lives be transformed by Jesus. And he told them that if their lives really were transformed, it would be good news for people who were hungry and oppressed.

First, it is deeply troubling that Campolo had as much influence as he did. Five hundred speaking events a year? That gets into fudged-numbers territory, but if it’s even remotely accurate, it was hundreds of opportunities for him to spread his spiritual poison. You can read more about his dangerous “theology” here and here, some of which included his unbiblical views on homosexuality, “gay” marriage, the nation of Israel, Islam, and New Age meditation.

And a life transformed by Jesus? That is progressive-speak. I would imagine Gandhi would have said the same thing. He too was a “Christ follower.”

I say this sincerely—it is a tragedy that Tony Campolo has died. I hope and pray his legacy of deception will also die soon.

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Related Articles on Tony Campolo:

“Tony Campolo – Coming to Christ Through Mysticism?” by Roger Oakland

“Emerging “Progressive” Spirituality: Joining the New Age with Christianity, and Christian Leaders Say OK” by LT Editors

A Response to “Red Letter Christians” and Tony Campolo’s “Going the Jesus Way”

 

By Robert Thornton
AFN News

President-Elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Ambassador to Israel doesn’t believe a two-state solution will work. 

The mainstream media has often called for a possible two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

. . . [F]ormer Governor and nominee for Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, offered these thoughts.

“And what that would have to involve is that you would have basically two governing authorities, and in many ways, trying to oversee the same piece of real estate. That’s not practical. I don’t think that’s going to happen, and President Trump has not pushed for that. He’s the first president in a long time that has not.” Click here to continue reading.

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Image taken from Light for the Last Days website.

Related articles:

2024 – What does a Two-State solution mean for Israel? by Tony Pearce

2017 – A Further Unveiling of Assemblies of God Resolution 3 & the Serious Implications

2016- Jimmy Carter Calls for Dividing Israel Before the Inauguration by the Berean Call

2015 – Vatican Signs First Treaty With “State of Palestine”—Backs Two-State Solution

2007 – Evangelical Leaders Turning Their Back on Israel

11/14/24 - Controversy is intensifying and the stakes are rising over the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) recent decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The ICC, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, on Nov. 21 issued warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged “crimes against humanity and war crimes,“ including starvation as a method of warfare, intentionally directing attacks against civilians, as well as ”murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”

The ICC’s move has sparked divisions, with the United States denouncing the warrants and some U.S. allies pledging to execute the warrants. The European Union’s foreign policy chief on Saturday reminded the bloc’s member states that they are obligated to enforce the warrants, while Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned allies on Friday that if they tried to enforce them, the United States might “crush” their economies with sanctions. Click here to continue reading.

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Related Articles:

Israel—A Burdensome Stone to the Nations and the Apple of God’s Eye by Mike Oppenheimer

“The US, Israel, Gaza and the Two-State Solution” by Tony Pearce

(image from istockphoto.com; used with permission)