Thursday, May 24, 2012
Last week, my report about the Iranian regime possibly targeting New York City for terror attacks aired on CBN News (
watch here).
It seems that the report has caught the attention of Tehran.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps has responded to my piece in a state-run Iranian media outlet.
Reza Kahlili—a former member of the Revolutionary Guards whose expert analysis is featured in my CBN report—
writes today that Mashregh News—which is operated by the Guards—has
reprinted my piece in full—including video.
Mashregh News is widely read in Iran and is a very influential regime mouthpiece.
Reza's piece, which I link to above, gives the English translation. Needless to say, Iran's Revolutionary Guards are not happy with our coverage of their activities.
Which means we must be doing something right.
By the way, if anyone out there (See: the Obama administration) still thinks that the Iranian regime is just blustering when it talks about wiping Israel off the map,
this should put the matter to rest. And if that still doesn't convince you, check out what former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar (who I i
nterviewed in 2010) had to say recently about
an encounter he had with Iran's Supreme Leader back in 2000. Very enlightening. Still waiting for the mainstream media to notice. Something tells me I'll be waiting for a long time.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
On this week's episode of the Stakelbeck on Terror show, we examine the unholy alliance that has developed between radical Islam and the radical Left. I recount my recent experience at Portland State University, where an event I headlined was protested by pro-Palestinian radicals and posters advertising my speech were defaced with anti-Semitic symbols.
We then move on to Brussels, where my CBN News colleague Dale Hurd recently sat down with a leading radical Islamist who wants to establish Sharia law in Belgium.
Plus, check out extended clips from my keynote address at the annual Christian/Israel Solidarity event at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. A much friendlier venue than Portland State, needless to say.
Click on the viewer below to watch.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Last week, I blogged about a despicable incident at Portland State University in which posters promoting my May 14 speech for the PSU chapter of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) were vandalized. Radicals (very likely of the Leftist and/or radical Islamist bent) defaced some posters by drawing swastikas over the Star of David and scrawling pro-Palestinian slogans; other flyers were simply torn down around campus.
This stunning example of anti-Semitic intolerance and intimidation created quite a stir—and much to the chagrin, I’m sure, of PSU’s Islamo/leftist zombies, actually created more publicity around my appearance, including local radio and TV spots done by PSU’s CUFI chapter president, the indefatigable Josh Ahrens.
In the meantime, the aforementioned coalition of Islamists and radical Leftists “community organized” to oppose the May 14 event—providing yet another example of the unholy alliance that has developed over the past several years between the followers of Sharia and the acolytes of Marx. These two divergent ideologies have united—particularly on college campuses—over their shared desire to turn Judeo-Christian, Western civilization on its head. In their view, the enemy of my enemy is my friend—and Jews, capitalism, the U.S. Constitution and Bible-believing Christians are at the top of the “enemies” list for both totalitarian movements.
Just a brief side note to leftists, however: if the Islamists you’re willfully and foolishly assisting were to--God forbid--win out, history says it would be anything but sunshine, lollipops, Che Cuevera and trail mix for you under the new caliphate (see: the Iranian revolution and its aftermath).
But on to the event. CUFI already has an excellent piece up detailing everything that went down this past Monday night, but I wanted to add a touch of my own perspective as well. I'll admit that I was feeling a good deal of righteous anger prior to leaving for Portland. The swastikas and intimidation tactics were bad enough--but then I learned that there would also be a "silent protest" of my speech by a pro-Palestinian student group.
Hey, protest me all you want: this is America and we have that right, as long as it is respectful protest. My problem, however, was with what they were supposedly objecting to (according to a mass e-mail that was sent out): the appearance of a "fundamentalist, right-wing pundit" whose "racism" "hatred," "Islamophobia" and "intolerance" was not welcome in Portland. Yes, they were talking about lil' ol' me.
First off, Jamal Miftah and other anti-jihad, anti-Sharia Muslims who I've defended from Islamist attacks over the years may take issue with that assault on my character. Secondly, the last time I checked, Islam was not a race, but a religion (albeit with a healthy dose of political ideology mixed in), practiced by white, blacks, Arabs, southeast Asians and many other races worldwide.
Yet anyone who has jousted with radical Islamist groups like the Hamas-linked Council on American-Relations (CAIR), or with their allies on the Left, as I have, knows that this is the game they play. Hey, who needs facts when you can shout your opponents down—and intentionally make any kind of honest, reasoned debate impossible—by using mindless slogans and buzzwords? Shout "Racist!" "Islamophobe! "Homophobe!" at people who disagree with you. And boom! Conversation usually ends.
It's boring, mindless, intellectually lazy and above all, depressing. But they'll keep doing it, because, sadly, it often works. And again: demonization of opponents and character assassination are tactics used by both Alinskyites and the Muslim Brotherhood alike. So no wonder they’ve linked arms in solidarity in these perilous times when evil and uncertainty are running amok. Unfortunately for that rabble, I don't bite my tongue and I don’t back down from a fight (I grew up in Philly: what do you expect?). Especially when I have the truth on my side.
I was reminded of that fact the night before I flew into Portland when I cracked open my Bible. I just so happened to open right to Isaiah 54, verse 17. And I don't believe it was a coincidence. It reads:
"No weapon that is formed against you will prosper or prevail;
And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
I read that verse several times and then went to bed with an overwhelming sense of peace. When I woke up the next morning and checked my e-mail, the very first message I read (from a good friend) started like this:
Will be praying for you, Erick ...."no weapon formed against you shall prosper or prevail."
Wow. Talk about confirmation. I was ready to roll. Fast forward to Monday night's event. PSU campus police were on hand and I was fortunate and appreciative to have a retired Portland police officer acting--voluntarily--as my personal security detail. About five minutes before the event began, I walked outside the auditorium and was greeted by the sight of some 40 protesters filing in. All had their mouths taped shut, with slogans like "Silence Racism" and "Free Palestine" scrawled across the tape. Many held signs bearing similar rhetoric, most of it aimed against Israel.
It was mostly a motley bunch of hijab and skullcap-clad Muslims, aging ex-hippies and tie-dyed stragglers who looked as if they just rolled in from the local Occupy protest. There were, it must be said, a handful of reasonably normal-looking people with them as well. Normal, except for their brainwashed, aggressive, Leftist views. The pic below, which was taken at the event, gives a good sampling of the protesters' demographics:
I locked eyes with a few of them--who were staring a hole through me—gave them a big smile, and said “Hey, thanks for coming out! Be sure to stay for the whole speech—I’d like to talk to you during the Q and A.” They just looked at me, dumbfounded. You could almost hear them mumble through their tape. “Doesn’t he know he’s supposed to be rattled by us?”
As I began my speech, I addressed the protesters directly. They were scattered across the front rows, to my left—a rather fitting placement. I challenged them to take the masking tape off (after all, it was 90 degrees outside and swamp mouth had to be setting in) and debate me in a respectful way.
"This is America,” I told them. “Let’s have a free and open debate—that’s what makes this country great. Prove me wrong. Shoot holes in my facts. Show me how I’m a racist.”
All to no avail. As I began to lay out the shared threats facing America and Israel, and the truth about the so-called Palestinian issue, frequently looking directly at the protesters as I spoke, I was greeted with empty stares. After about 25 minutes or so, their two leaders made a hand signal and they all stood up to leave.
An intrepid Portland State student who runs the great Laughing at Liberals channel on YouTube captured the moment on video. Click on the viewer below to watch. As you'll see, a few Leftist zombies shouted at me (predictably) and waved an anti-Israel banner as they stumbled out. My response was a hearty "God bless" and a request for them to come back and debate me during the Q and A. I'm still waiting.
With the shenanigans over, I spent the next hour discussing the threats posed by Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah and Hamas and gave a Powerpoint presentation on the truth about the history of Jerusalem--not a Palestinian city since time immemorial but the eternal capital of the Jewish people. The event ended without incident and as you can probably gather by now, the protesters were completely and utterly ineffective.
But don't tell them that. An unknown cameraman just so happened to drop in on the protesters' "debriefing" after they walked out of the event. Click here to watch as they hail their success in making me supposedly "curb" my "racism," warn that I'm a dangerous hate-monger that must be silenced, and then rail against my "white privilege."
My supposed privilege would no doubt come as a great surprise to my late father, who worked as an electrician and tool cutter for 30 years in a hot factory in Philadelphia to put food on our table. Meanwhile, I'm guessing that a good number of our fearless protesters grew up in comfortable homes in the mean streets of suburban Portland, Oregon. Funny how that all works. Oh, and be sure to check out the protester planning session (also secretly recorded) from before the event, in which I'm compared to the KKK. Seriously.
My big takeaway from all this? Simple. Keep up the good fight and boldly proclaim the truth. Because truth will win in the end. Be watchmen and watchwomen on the wall who will never hold your peace. For Zion's sake. And for times like these. Click below to watch the protesters' coordinated walkout.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
On this week's edition of the Stakelbeck on Terror show, Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller--two leading voices in the fight against the Islamization of the West--join me to discuss Islamic honor killings in America, Sharia law in your backyard, and the latest on the Ground Zero mega-mosque.
Plus, we go inside Spencer's eye-opening new book, Did Muhammed Exist?
The politically correct need not apply. Click on the viewer below to watch.
Friday, May 11, 2012
The Portland State University chapter of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) has graciously invited me to give a speech this Monday night, May 14, addressing the latest developments in the Middle East and the threats gathering against Israel.
Over the past four years, I've been privileged to give countless similar talks around the country, including many for CUFI. Yet the upcoming Portland State event is the first in which I've actually received a threat in advance: and a viciously anti-Semitic one at that.
PSU's CUFI chapter has put up posters around campus to promote the event, which is open to the public. The posters feature the American and Israeli flags, plus my picture and bio. Well, as you can see below, vandals defaced the posters, drawing swastikas over the Star of David and scrawling pro-Palestinian slogans. Here is one example:
Where to begin? First off, a Christian student initially discovered the defaced flyers. But imagine the anger, shock, and revulsion Jewish students must have felt to see the symbol of Nazi Germany--perpetrator of a Holocaust that nearly eliminated their people from the face of the earth--superimposed over the Star of David. What did every Jewish student on the Portland State campus feel when they were greeted by such a menacing image?
They have clearly been marked for harassment and intimidation, if not worse. It also sends a chilling message to Christian supporters of Israel, including myself, to watch their backs: "You are not welcome here."
Second, this kind of vandalism and anti-Semitic rhetoric has become commonplace on college campuses throughout the country, as has open support for jihadist genocide against the Jews.
How bad is it? This bad. Comparing Israel to Nazi Germany due to Israel's supposed oppression of the Palestinians (a "genocide" that is "worse than the Holocaust," as some pro-Palestinian fanatics have told me in the past) is a favorite tactic of radical Islamists and their allies on the radical left.
Notice the slogan scrawled on the poster above: "Never again includes Palestinians." The term "never again" is commonly used by Jews as a reminder that the days of pogroms, genocides and forced expulsions are over--thanks in large part to the existence of Israel--and can never be allowed to return. For pro-Palestinian radicals to co-opt it and suggest that Israelis are the equivalent of the greatest Jew-hating machine of all time is not just insensitive and absurd: it's pure evil.
My third thought: who was behind the vandalism? I don't have that answer, but based on history, my best guess is that it was either elements of the radical left or Islamists on campus, or perhaps a combination of both. I've long documented the work of Muslim Brotherhood-tied groups at American universities. And with Portland State offering courses like this, it's not surprising that good little Leftists--who are invariably hostile to Israel--are being produced.
Portland State University administrators and campus police have been notified about the threats and I'm fully expecting that they will launch an investigation and have ample security on hand for Monday night's event. If they do not, and if they allow anti-Semitic radicals to disrupt my speech, run amok during the Q and A, or intimidate others in the audience (click here to watch a particularly egregious 2010 example from UC Irvine) you will surely hear about it in this space come Tuesday morning.
Islamists attempted--and failed--to hijack my last speech for CUFI on a college campus. And if they attempt a repeat at Portland State, they will fail again.
Anti-Semites beware: This is not 1944. Bible-believing Christians will not sit idly by in shameful silence and watch as Jews are threatened, once again, with extinction. As my friends at CUFI so often say, quoting the Book of Isaiah, "For Zion's sake, I will not remain silent."
No matter how many threats are thrown our way, we will continue to stand strong and speak the truth with boldness. There are already untold millions of us. As we continue to educate people around the world about what Israel is really all about (here is a great example), our numbers will only grow. And we will prevail.
In the meantime, I strongly encourage you to support the brave and vital work of CUFI on Campus. More details to come here after the speech.
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
On this week's edition of Stakelbeck on Terror, we sit down for a wide-ranging interview with Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders.
Al Qaeda wants him dead. The British government once labeled him a security risk. Even in his own country, some want him thrown in prison--or worse.
Such is the price today for speaking out against Islamic jihadists.
Wilders, who leads the Freedom Party, Holland's third largest, has been called "Islam's Public Enemy Number One" because of his bold stance against the Islamization of Europe.
In his new book, Marked for Death: Islam's War Against the West and Me, he describes his personal ordeal and lays out his case against Islam and multiculturalism.
Click on the viewer below to watch our hard-hitting conversation.
Friday, May 04, 2012
My CBN colleague George Thomas put together an excellent report yesterday about the new issue of Al Qaeda's Inspire magazine, which features a highly detailed article instructing jihadists to set forest fires in the United States to cause havoc.
ome of my thoughts on the matter are featured in George's report. Click on the viewer below to watch it.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Watch this week's Stakelbeck on Terror show below.
Guy Rodgers, executive director of Act! For America Education, joins us to discuss his group's groundbreaking new report on what America's public school textbooks are teaching about Islam.
The "Education or Indoctrination" report focuses on what students in grades 6-12 are learning about jihad, Islamic sharia law, Muhammad, Israel, 9/11 and much more. The results may shock you.
Regular viewers of the Stakelbeck on Terror show
know all too well that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is the most notorious and influential of the Muslim Brotherhood's assorted American front groups. A quick refresher course on what CAIR is all about:
1) In 2007, CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing trial in American history.
2) In 2009, a federal judge ruled that "ample evidence" exists linking CAIR to the terror group Hamas.
3) In a 2011 congressional testimony, FBI Director Robert Mueller said "no formal relationship" existed with CAIR because of concerns about the group's national leadership.
Pretty nasty, right? So why is the retail giant Best Buy embracing CAIR? Our friends at radicalislam.org are on the case and spearheading a petition holding Best Buy accountable. Here's more (including links):
RadicalIslam.org has posted a petition April 23 which called on people to boycott "Best Buy" for financially supporting CAIR (Council of American Islamic Relations). You can join the almost 8,000 people who have signed the petition by clicking here to SIGN THE PETITION and letting Best Buy know that you won't stand to have profits from your purchase used to promote radical Islamic causes. After you have signed the petition, make sure to "Like" it and send a link to it to all your friends.
Read the whole post and follow the links for all the details. Despite the pressure, Best Buy is doubling down in its embrace of Hamas-linked CAIR--at least, for now.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
On Friday's edition of CBN Newswatch, I discussed this recent report that the Pentagon has suspended a course about Islam for officers because it supposedly contained "inflammatory materials." Another case of political correctness run amok?
Click on the viewer below to watch my thoughts (which directly follow a report by my CBN colleague Efrem Graham about the first anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death).