12/5/25 Brandt Burleson on How He Helped Israel Propagandize American Christians

·45 min·3 clips

A firm representing Israeli interests offered pastors bitcoin to tell their congregations to avoid Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson.

1. Scott Horton interviews Brant Burleson, a former strategic outreach director for the Israeli consulate in Houston, about his eight years running religious-outreach operations targeting American Christians. 2. Burleson, now a writer for the Libertarian Institute, was hired despite having no Middle East background because he grew up around Texas evangelical culture and could speak "Christianese." 3. The episode's core question is how a foreign consulate used Christian theology to manufacture unconditional American political support for Israel. 4. Burleson says his real title should have been "Christian Zionism and interfaith director," and describes his work as a religious PSYOP against his own country. 5. He explains the consulate used verses like Genesis 12:3 and the phrase "faith-based diplomacy" explicitly with pastors, never asking him to tone down the religious framing. 6. He describes working with John Hagee's Cornerstone Church, Christians United for Israel, and figures like Mike Huckabee and Michael Evans of the Friends of Zion Museum. 7. Burleson says coordinating thousands of non-hierarchical Protestant churches was far harder than working with the more centralized Catholic Church. 8. He recounts tracking anti-BDS legislation across Texas, including bills penalizing criticism of Israeli government actions. 9. Burleson cites a Texas special-education teacher fired for refusing to sign a state-mandated Israel loyalty oath as a First Amendment violation. 10. He quotes Senator Ted Cruz telling Tucker Carlson the U.S. needs to "topple" Iran's government because Israel wants it, calling it evidence the operation reaches the highest levels of government. 11. Burleson recounts a firm representing Israeli interests offering pastors bitcoin payments to tell congregations to avoid Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, with misspelled names revealing a mass form email. 12. He describes a geofencing operation that targeted churchgoers' phones with pro-Israel-war messaging as they left Sunday services, without their knowledge or consent. 13. He argues the approach is not even in Israel's long-term interest, citing a diplomat who privately said supporters "give me the creeps." 14. Burleson believes most pastors involved are sincere believers rather than cynical operators, estimating only a small fraction are knowingly insincere. 15. He says doing the job for eight years eventually "destroyed" his faith and sense of self before he left and began writing about it publicly. 16. Burleson argues the operation is fueling the antisemitism it claims to guard against, by tying ordinary American Jews to a foreign government's policies. 17. The conversation is a long-form confessional interview, with Horton pressing for specific anecdotes and Burleson answering in detailed, unhurried first-person accounts. 18. The tone is candid and self-critical rather than defensive, with Burleson repeatedly describing his own past role in unflattering terms. 19. Listeners interested in religion-and-politics reporting, lobbying influence operations, or Christian Zionism will find this valuable. 20. Listeners wanting a neutral theology discussion or uncritical pro-Israel content should skip it.

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