In today’s episode, Jody Heiss explores the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, providing insight into the recent airstrikes and the ongoing peace process. As President Trump navigates international trade relations in South Korea, issues of religious freedom come to the fore with a compelling story from a jailed South Korean pastor’s son.
SPEAKER 14 :
from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and sound bites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today’s host, Jody Heiss.
SPEAKER 08 :
Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave. They’re on the rough side. But they said they would be good. And if they’re good, they’re going to be happy. And if they’re not good, they’re going to be terminated. Their lives will be terminated. And they understand that.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, that was President Trump earlier today saying the U.S.-backed Gaza ceasefire remains intact after Israel launched airstrikes against Hamas terrorists. So as of now, the U.S. is standing firm with Israel. Welcome to this October 29th edition of Washington Watch. I am your host today, Jody Heiss, filling in for Tony Perkins. Thank you so much for tuning in. All right, coming up today, as the world waits for President Trump to meet with China’s president in South Korea, people of faith are watching to see what he’ll do on the issue of religious freedom. We’ll shortly hear from the son of a South Korean pastor who’s been jailed for speaking up for biblical values. Also, Congressman Michael Cloud from Texas will join me in a few moments to give us the latest on the government shutdown. Israel says it remains committed to the U.S.-backed ceasefire in Gaza, even after launching heavy airstrikes in response to the killing of an Israeli soldier. Israel said that it killed dozens of Hamas terrorists last night. They also confirmed another strike today, killing two more Hamas terrorists in northern Gaza. So this is the worst escalation since the ceasefire, the shaky ceasefire, took place on October 10th. Joining me now is Washington Standard reporter Casey Harper. Thanks, Casey, for joining me. Man, this ceasefire looks like it’s hanging by a thread. What’s the latest that you’re hearing about it right now?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, hanging by a thread indeed is certainly the case, Jody. But Israel said that they are upholding their end of the ceasefire despite those strikes which were last night and into this morning. Now, the strikes came after Hamas fighters attacked and killed an Israeli soldier, which of course is a violation of this U.S.-backed truce. But President Trump made clear Hamas has to honor the ceasefire, and he doubled down on America’s commitment to defend Israel.
SPEAKER 08 :
They took out, they killed an Israeli soldier, so the Israelis hit back. And they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back.
SPEAKER 04 :
However, while Hamas released all living hostages and Israel has stopped its strikes, at least for now, attention has shifted to the return of those 13 deceased hostages, which have still not been returned. Hamas says, well, it’s going to take time, but Israel says that Hamas is purposefully delaying returning the bodies, possibly just to keep leverage over Israel. With all these hangups, a lot of strikes for a ceasefire, Jody, but we’ll see whether it remains intact.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, a lot going on there in Israel. At the same time, the president is in Asia. What are you hearing about how things are going there?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, Jody, so President Trump, he finalized a major trade deal with South Korea today. So South Korea is going to invest $350 billion in the U.S. in exchange for lower tariffs from the president. This is going to be a big boost for American workers and industries. But now the attention is moving to Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan tomorrow. The president is reportedly hoping to restore a trade truce after we nearly entered a trade war with China. Some key U.S. goals in the negotiation are getting China to delay rare earth export restrictions, which are really important for microchips and AI and the like, as well as resume buying American soybeans. Trump also wants China to crack down on fentanyl production, because those drugs inevitably end up in the U.S. And the president is hoping to resolve the TikTok issue, with part of TikTok possibly coming under U.S. ownership. So as you can see, it’s a very big week for the president and for the U.S. economy, Jody.
SPEAKER 17 :
It really is a huge, huge week. You look at it, incredible successes seemingly, but at the same time, all eyes are on what’s happening with the next meeting with China’s leader. Casey, if I can, back here to Washington, D.C., the government shutdown. Is there any movement at all that you’re hearing? How do things stand right now with the shutdown?
SPEAKER 04 :
Jody, every day I come on and disappoint you. I’m sorry. We’re at day 29, and there’s no end in sight to the shutdown. And to be frank, we’re going to see some major consequences for that. First of all, millions of Americans may not be able to pay their heating bills this winter because of the government shutdown. How is that? Well, about $3.6 billion in federal funds goes to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, but now it’s being delayed. On top of that, Americans can expect flight delays, which we’ve talked about on the program, and 42 million Americans relying on federal food stamps are going to face cuts. Republican congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, they’re continuing to accuse Democrats of obstruction, of being held hostage by the far-left base, and Americans are the ones paying the price.
SPEAKER 11 :
Democrats have spent a month, a month now, Playing with people’s livelihoods because the far left wing of their party won’t let them accept a clean, nonpartisan CR. Enough is enough.
SPEAKER 04 :
The Senate is expected to vote again tomorrow for the 14th time on a clean CR, but Democrats are expected to block the measure, once again keeping the government shutdown in place, Jody.
SPEAKER 17 :
Wow. Just wonder when all the insanity will stop. Casey, thank you so much for these updates. We appreciate it. All right. I want to continue the discussion on the government shutdown from a congressional perspective. And joining me now to discuss this and more is Congressman Michael Cloud. He’s a member of the Appropriations Committee, as well as the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He represents the great state of Texas, the 27th district there. Congressman Cloud, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always an honor to have you.
SPEAKER 21 :
Sure thing. Good to be on with you today.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right. So what is the latest chatter that you’re hearing on the government shutdown? Is any progress potential out there?
SPEAKER 21 :
Well, I wish I could tell you there’s a whole lot more news to report on this, but sad to say it’s another trip around the sun, so to speak, with the Democrats digging in still in the Senate and not willing to move off their untenable positions. Remember, this is funding that they initially passed and the things that they’re complaining about. uh have nothing to do with this piece of legislation or for example the deadlines that they’re concerned about are deadlines that they set in place and voted on so there’s really nothing for us to do as republicans when it comes to this piece of legislation there aren’t our priorities there are their priorities We were simply looking to keep the government up and running while we extend the calendar so we can complete the appropriations process, which does have our priorities in it. That’s a good place to negotiate if they want to. But right now, this is meant to just keep the doors open, sadly, Even the timeline on this, if it were to pass today, which it looks like the Dems are going to continue to dig in for the next few days, it would only increase the calendar for a few more weeks. And so we have some work to do. We’re going to need them to play ball in the Senate to get the work done for the American people.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, I mean, all this, as you mentioned, are things that they’ve supported in the past, which makes you think this is all about just their dislike for President Trump, which is not a worthy enough reason to shut down the government. But I don’t know if you’ve heard about this, Congressman Cloud. I heard about it just a little while ago, but evidently Senate Majority Leader John Thune is expecting to meet with a group of rank-and-file House Democrats about the shutdown. Are you hearing anything about that? What do you make of it? Is there potential that they could be looking for an off-ramp right now and put an end to it?
SPEAKER 21 :
I’m certain there are some Senate Dems who do want an off-ramp. Even Schumer, I think if he had an idea to how to save face and get out of it, probably would want out of it. As you mentioned, he’s not opposed policy-wise. This is legislation that he’s voted for a number of times. It’s just he’s quite in the political pickle, so to speak, in what to do, both in dealing with what he has politically going on back in his home state and then how to keep the far left extreme of their wing happy. And so they’re in a hard place when they stop putting the American people first and putting what needs to be done first. This isn’t a policy argument with them. They’ve even said as much as, you know, this is the only leverage we have to try to score whatever political points they need to score. And so hopefully we’ll be able to find some more sensible Senate Democrats who can you know see the fact that something needs to move here and maybe one by one help us come to pass this impasse but you know that’s so far all we’ve seen is the digging into the heels and and that’s not good for anyone
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, and they’re certainly not winning either. Every poll I’ve seen has Republicans taking advantage of this in all the polls with the American people. I want to ask you this real quickly, then I want to change topics with you. But all of this, the CR was voted on back over a month ago or about a month ago, September 19th. But all that was to try to just push this out seven weeks, which that deadline would be November 12th. So even I mean, November 21st. So even if the Democrats did pass something now, does that deadline need to be changed? And, you know, if so, what would happen there? What else might change?
SPEAKER 21 :
Yeah, the deadline certainly is an issue at this point as we get close. Again, the goal was for us to have time to work into conference on the appropriations bills that are coming through. We’ve already passed them out of the committee and they need to be addressed in conference committee between the House and the Senate and then onto the floor. But, you know, we’re running out of time to do that. And so the date is most definitely going to be an issue. And this is Again, as you mentioned, you know, I’m no fan of CRs, but it was a way for us to get to the proper appropriations and process. The big vision here is we’re trying to break the back of the Christmas omnibus. We’ve been making some headway over the last several years in this, but, of course, the swamp wants to swamp, and they’re going to do everything they can to manipulate the calendar, to dig in their heels, to do whatever they can to push us to that massive multi – thousand-page bill with trillions of spending that nobody knows what’s in it that does nothing but expand government and put a heavy debt burden on the American people and has no policy wins. That’s not what this president’s about. That’s not what Republicans in Congress are working for. And so we’re going to do everything we can in spite of the tricks and games that they’re pulling and trying to manipulate the calendar. to make sure that we’re breaking the back and getting gains for the American people, not only in the policy, but in how Washington, D.C. works.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, thank you for standing firm with that. Real quickly, we’ve only got a little over a minute left, but you also serve on the Oversight Committee. Great committee. The staff there in that committee released a report yesterday on President Biden’s auto-pin presidency. Tell us about that real quickly.
SPEAKER 21 :
Well, what so many Americans expected has been true. And many people are wondering who’s really running the White House. And what we found out is that the staff was doing quite a bit of the work, even when it came to signing pieces of legislative or executive orders, I should say, or signing pardons. And this is very troubling, especially when you find out that staff members were approving the use of the auto pen. And you even had Biden’s DOJ saying this is probably not a good idea to be using the auto pin machine on things that have any sort of legal merit to it. You know, birthday cards, Christmas cards. OK, we understand you can’t in about millions to handwritten signatures from the president. But but when it comes to things that have legal consequences, the president needs to be involved, certainly needs to know about it and actually be the one signing it.
SPEAKER 17 :
Absolutely. Congressman Michael Cloud of Texas, as always, thank you for joining us on Washington Watch. By the way, I want everyone to know that tomorrow the House Freedom Caucus and FRC will be hosting a national prayer event. Find out more. Text praise, plural, praise to 67742. We’ll be back in a moment.
SPEAKER 10 :
Our founding scripture for this is Ephesians 6, verse 13. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all to stand, stand therefore.
SPEAKER 09 :
Family Research Council’s Pray, Vote, Stand Summit 2025 brought together Christian leaders, issue experts, and government officials for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action.
SPEAKER 10 :
We are equipping the body of Christ to understand that what is happening around us is not just political. It’s not just cultural. At its heart, it is spiritual.
SPEAKER 18 :
We gather in a nation that has torn the foundation apart and we have separated our governing documents for my divine source, Jesus Christ. We need truth now more than ever to guide us.
SPEAKER 02 :
I’m believing, God, let this be a testimony of the American church, that we become so full of the fire of the Word of God that we cannot contain it. We have to tell people about it. We have to make disciples.
SPEAKER 12 :
The idea of America was the idea that our rights don’t come from governments. They come from our divine creator, right? Government’s main job is to protect those rights. And because that was the foundation of America, we’ve enjoyed over the last 250 years more freedom, more prosperity, more stability than any other nation anywhere in the world. And that should be celebrated.
SPEAKER 16 :
We are living in a moment. What’s that moment? It’s a prophetic moment on God’s timeline. And so he needs the church more than ever to act biblically for the blessing of our political leaders and of our nation.
SPEAKER 20 :
The number one issue facing America domestically, which is the epidemic of fatherlessness. 40% of all American children today enter the world without a father in the home married to the mother.
SPEAKER 13 :
We cannot win the pro-life fight without acknowledging that this is the pro-family fight, that this is the pro-marriage fight. We’re never going to end abortion if we do not secure and shore up marriage.
SPEAKER 07 :
We pray that this would be an opportunity, Lord God, for you to use us mere little mortals, but we possess the name of Jesus. God, use us mightily. We pray in Jesus’ name and all God’s people said, amen.
SPEAKER 19 :
Looking for a trusted source of news that shares your Christian values? Turn to The Washington Stand, your ultimate destination for informed, faith-centered reporting. Our dedicated team goes beyond the headlines, delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate coverage through a biblical lens. Discover news you can trust at The Washington Stand, where faith and facts meet every day.
SPEAKER 17 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss, an honor to be filling in today for Tony, and thank you so much for tuning in as well. All right, as you know by now, President Trump is in South Korea. This is the last stop of his five-day Asia tour. And while the media, at least the legacy media, is focused on what’s been and what could be coming out of all the trade talks between the U.S. and various Asian nations, Religious liberty advocates are eyeing what the president might do for religious freedom. Now, those of you who joined us yesterday will recall that Tony had the daughter of a Chinese house church leader who has been detained since the massive crackdown by the Chinese Communist Party earlier this month. Well, today, now we have joining us the son of a South Korean church leader who has been jailed essentially for doing what we here at FRC have been encouraging Christians to do for a long, long time, and that is to pray, vote, and stand for biblical values. We’re here now to share his father’s story is Chance Son. Chance, thank you for joining us today on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, thank you so much for having me here. It’s my honor to be able to share my father’s story.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, let’s start with that. Your father is a well-known pastor in South Korea. Tell us briefly a little bit about your father. Give us a brief introduction about him.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, so my father is a senior pastor of a secular church located in Busan, one of Korea’s most influential evangelical churches with up to 10,000 weekly attendees on Sundays. And only a few other exceptionally influential churches are located in Seoul. And he took a very struggling rural congregation of 20 people and grew it into this major church through evangelism and community service. And he’s also known for personal integrity as he has never accepted an honoraria That’s very common in Korea when you go to funeral or go to revival. However, he’s never taken it. And also, he also donated all book proceeds to ministry. And he’s called special forces pastor as well.
SPEAKER 17 :
So what has happened to him? What sounds like an upstanding man of impeccable character? What has happened? And what’s the situation with your father now?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, so he’s facing 16 lawsuits actually right now for simply holding worship during COVID restrictions and also opposing anti-biblical homosexuality law, the comprehensive anti-discrimination law. And also… basically opposing the tyranny that the Democrats are doing in Korea right now. And he’s been arrested ever since September 8th, 2025 for alleged uh illegal action electioneering as prosecutors claim sermons prayer meetings and microphone and youtube uploads are a disguise campaign rallies and in reality there is no direct call to vote however because he invited a candidate for super intended of education in busan simply asking him two questions how his views are regarding freedom in education or also lgbtq education that’s been affecting our families and children um that’s basically what the charges are and it’s only under nine minutes and he invited the candidate onto the pulpit um after the sermon service and that’s what they’re calling it for illegal electioneering for using the PA system because under the civil law election law you’re not allowed to use PA system and endorsing a candidate even though he wasn’t even he was just simply asking him questions
SPEAKER 17 :
Wow. All of this, Chance, is so unusual to me. I mean, we’re talking South Korea. We’re not talking about China or North Korea. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the South Korea-US National Prayer Breakfast. I mean, we typically think of South Korea as a nation with a strong church presence. How have things changed there?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, since COVID era, when the government was telling churches to hold only five worshipers or 20 worshipers, depending on the period, a lot of Korean churches comply with that. However, my father’s church, my father and secular church was the only mega church that did not comply with that. And because it was absurd to only allow five worshipers in a sanctuary, For example, Sacred Church can contain up to 6,000, 7,000 members. However, my father and Sacred Church conducted service with more than thousands. Of course, social distancing, wearing a mask, but it was to extend that church was closed down, shut down physically with ropes behind around the church and also locked down. And There was COVID, and not enough of Korean church leaders spoke out about it. That’s why the government, the Democrat government, is pushing these agendas harshly more and more. And they have been successful in that.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, so President Trump is there in South Korea right now, and he is aware. In fact, he’s made comments about the raids and so forth that have taken place. What would you hope, what would you encourage President Trump to say right now in South Korea to his counterpart?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah. Urge South Korea to respect freedom of worship, and also freedom is not only essential in this world, but to remind South Korea that U.S. and Korea partnership is built not just on security and trade, but also on shared values of freedom and faith. And encourage accountability, as churches must never again be defeated by the state. as they have been rated in May, Sacred Church, and in July, Yoi the Full Gospel, and in July again, Far East Broadcasting Company that’s founded by Reverend Belichick.
SPEAKER 17 :
Less than a minute left. How would you encourage people here in the United States to pray? What are the biggest needs right now?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, so basically pray for the Korean church now about only my father because it’s not about one person, but for the Korean church to be faithful and not fearful because courage is very, very demanding right now, even under persecution of the religious leaders and also Christians in Korea. and also pray for leaders in korea and the u.s to defend the religious freedom and also stand against the political retaliation and that’s uh what’s needed the most and also to be true to be told by the by the christian leaders and uh korean church as well not not now this is time to take offense thank you
SPEAKER 17 :
Thank you so much, Chance Son. We will be praying for your father, Pastor Sanyon Bo. All right, coming up, friends, we’ve got some important elections coming up next week. We want to unwrap all of that and the importance of it. We’ll do so right after the break. Stay tuned.
SPEAKER 10 :
For over 4,000 years, the Jewish people have had legal, historical, and biblical ties to the land of Israel, especially the heartland of Israel, Judea and Samaria, which much of the world still calls the West Bank. To Israelis, Judea and Samaria is far more than a name. It’s the center of their ancestral homeland where nearly 80% of the Bible’s events took place. Abraham purchased property in Hebron, Jacob in Shechem, Joshua made an altar on Mount Ebal and led the Israelites into a covenant before God. On Mount Gerizim, overlooking Shechem, Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman at the well about worshiping neither on Mount Gerizim nor in Jerusalem, but in spirit and in truth. Judea and Samaria is nearly a quarter of Israel’s current land mass, not a small strip of land on the Jordan River, but a vital and strategic part of the nation’s identity. The October 7th massacre, launched from Gaza, shattered the illusion that giving away territory brings peace. Gaza, which was once seen as the cornerstone of a two-state solution, became a launch pad for terror. Today, only 21% of Israelis support a Palestinian state. Trust in a two-state solution has all but collapsed. The Middle East is changing. Iran’s grip is weakening. New alliances are forming. But Western countries and some U.S. officials still chase the mirage of a two-state solution. History speaks clearly. The 2005 Gaza withdrawal, backed by the U.S., led not to peace, but to a terrorist regime. Judea and Samaria are 24 times larger than Gaza, deeply woven into Israel’s geographic and spiritual fabric. To surrender them would not bring peace. It would invite conflict and existential danger. Family Research Council stands with Israel’s rightful claim to sovereignty. It’s time for America to do the same for history, for justice, and for lasting security in the Middle East.
SPEAKER 17 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Good afternoon. I am Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony, and thank you for joining us as well. All right, the midterm elections are a year away, but next week gets kicked off some off-year elections, and that’s certainly… will be setting the stage for the elections coming up next year. And there are some pretty notable contests that will be taking place, including the high-stakes governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey. And look, we here on Washington Watch and FRC, we all need to encourage one another to be informed, to be engaged. It certainly is our civic responsibility, but also our responsibility as Christians biblically I mean, we need to let our light shine in the public square. Well, joining me now to give a preview of next week’s elections is Matt Carpenter. He’s the director of FRC Action. Matt, thank you for joining me today. As always, good to have you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thanks for having me, Jody.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right, let’s kick it off with some of the most notable races next week, particularly Virginia, New Jersey, and New York. Can you kind of break those down for us?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, Jody, your comments were spot on. Both of those states, Virginia and New Jersey, are sort of considered bellwethers. Oftentimes, Virginia will elect a governor of the opposite party from whoever won the previous presidential election. That has kind of held historically. There’s been a few exceptions for that. So there’s a lot of eyes on Virginia in that race. You’ve got Democrat Abigail Spanberger facing off against Republican winsome Earl Sears. Now, Spanberger has held a pretty consistent lead outside the margin of error in that one. But in the late stretch, just around the time when early voting started in the Commonwealth, the text messages from Democrat nominee for Attorney General Jay Jones came to light where he fantasized about the violent deaths of his political opponents and their families. And so that has kind of… thrown a lot up in the air. We’ve seen some of the polling sort of start to sink for some of the Democratic candidates, so it seems to be tightening, but I would say the Democrats are certainly probably favored in that one. Much closer contest in New Jersey, where you’ve got Republican Jack Cittarelli, I believe I’m saying that correctly, who almost actually won in 2021 against Democrat incumbent Phil Murphy in New Jersey, facing off against Democrat Mickey Sherrill. So Sherrill has had a lead in this one, kind of consistently throughout the race, but it’s been within the margin of error among most of the public polling I’ve seen. So it’s a close race. But a lot of attention, as you pointed out, for the New York City mayoral race this year, where Democrat nominee Zoran Mamdani, an avowed socialist, repeatedly refusing to condemn Hamas, and just a slew of other extreme hard left policies. is the front runner in that one. He’s got about 45% of the support from New Yorkers and all the publicly available polling. And it’s a three-way race. You’ve got independent Andrew Cuomo, former Democrat governor, and then also Republican Curtis Sliwa. So you’ve got this trifecta of candidates who are sort of cutting against the support that would be going after Mamdani’s support there in New York, obviously our country’s largest city, immensely important what comes out of there.
SPEAKER 17 :
And all of this, and our time’s clicking away pretty rapidly, but all of this is historically kind of sets the stage for the midterm elections that’ll take place. How high stakes is the elections next week going to be, you think?
SPEAKER 06 :
I think it’s incredibly high stakes. It’s always a barometer of voter enthusiasm. That’s kind of the big takeaway. And on these low turnout, generally off your elections or low turnout elections, it’s a it’s a chance for most of the major parties to figure out how energized is our base of support.
SPEAKER 17 :
So what about in the midst of all this, too? We have a lot of battling taking place over redistricting. What’s some of the latest news on that?
SPEAKER 06 :
It’s like every day there’s something new coming out on this redistricting fight. We just saw today the Senate president in Maryland came out against redistricting. This was a surprise. It’s a Democrat-controlled state. Democrat Governor Wes Moore in Maryland came out in favor of redistricting, as did the Democrat Speaker of the House there in Maryland. So for the Senate president in Maryland to throw cold water on that idea is a departure from what we’ve seen, where you just have kind of seen state after state respond to what Started in Texas and then California took over. But actually, we’ve also got news that now Virginia has been looking at redistricting. Now, they’ve got a complex situation. They’ve got to amend their constitution, which requires them to pass a constitutional amendment in two different sessions of the legislature and get all this done before April. So they don’t have any margin for error. You’ve also got a special session in Indiana starting next week. Governor Braun called a special session there to look at. redrawing districts. And Jody, as you know, the way you draw a district is going to basically predetermine what kind of outcomes you can get from that district. It goes a long way to determine an election outcome.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, it’s all just seemed like there’s so many plates spinning. Matt, I know our time is just about up. I did want to just give you and FRC Action a plug. Along with iVoterGuide, I had Debbie Wuthnow on with me Monday. She’s the president of iVoterGuide, which is a resource that you and FRC Action use. Fantastic resource. Here in less than a minute that we have left, what do you say to people who may not be considering voting yet? And what do you say about iVoterGuide?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, hugely supportive of Debbie and the work that they’re doing over at iVoterGuide. I would highly encourage everyone to go check out FRCAction.org. Go to iVoterGuide.com. You see the website there on the bottom of the screen. Go check it out. They’ve got customized voter guides. Whatever’s on your ballot, whatever election cycle, they’ve done the research. They can tell you where the candidates stand on the issues that matter to you. It’s incredibly important that the body of Christ have their voices heard from election time.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, it really is. I, in fact, just today took a visit to iVoterGuide myself just to check it out and see what’s happening in my home state of Georgia. And it’s just amazing the research that they have specifically for the Bible-based community. As always, Matt Carpenter, director of FRC Action. Thank you for joining us on Washington Watch. Coming up, a lot of news coming out of Israel. We’ll go there right after the break. Stay with us.
SPEAKER 22 :
How are you handling the pressure of life? The apostle Paul knew what it meant to face pressure. He wrote some of the most powerful letters of the Bible from prison. Yet those letters overflow with joy, courage, and unshakable freedom in Christ. Paul’s Prison Letters is Family Research Council’s 14-day Stand on the Word study guide that takes you deeper into these life-giving truths, calling you to stand firm, rejoice in every season, exalt Christ above all, and extend forgiveness that sets others free. Starting November 1st, join us as we read God’s word, reflect on God’s word, and apply God’s word to our lives. Order your study guide now at frc.org slash prison epistles or text letters to 67742. Join us and discover where true freedom is found.
SPEAKER 03 :
Three years ago, the Supreme Court issued its historic Dobbs decision, a ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, which for nearly 50 years imposed abortion on demand, silencing voters and bypassing the democratic process across the country. The Dobbs decision was a huge step forward against abortion, but it didn’t outright ban it. It returned the power to the people. Now, 29 states have laws on the books protecting life. However, there’s a catch. Abortion numbers since Dobbs have actually gone up with an increase of 12% since 2020, climbing from 930,000 to over 1 million in each of the most recent years. So how can this be? The answer is simple. The abortion drug. Today, over 60% of U.S. abortions involve abortion drugs, many of these without medical oversight. In 2021, the Biden administration quietly removed bare minimum longstanding safety protocols for the abortion drug that have existed for 20 years to protect women from life-threatening risks and ensuring informed consent. The Biden DOJ then declared that they would not enforce the Comstock Act, which prevents the mailing of anything that causes an abortion. This is not only illegal, but also dangerous. A study shows nearly 11% of women who take the abortion drug end up in the emergency room with serious complications. Unless the Trump administration reverses these reckless Biden-era policies, pro-life laws will remain largely symbolic. Without a full review and repeal of Mifepristone, unborn lives will remain in grave danger and pregnant mothers will remain at risk. Let’s stand for life and end this mail-order abortion drug pipeline. Sign the petition urging the Trump administration to take action at frc.org slash stop chemical abortion.
SPEAKER 17 :
Thank you for joining us today on Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss, honored to be sitting in today for Tony. Before we bring on our final guest for today, I want to remind you that this Saturday, November 1st, We will begin the first part of Paul’s prison letters in our Stand on the Word Bible reading plan. Our 14-day journey is going to take us through Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. And to help you, we have a new study guide, Paul’s Prison Letters, that’s available in print or digital. and the guide will help you apply Paul’s messages of faith and freedom to your own life. And to find out how you can get a copy, simply text the word LETTERS to 67742. Okay, the Israel Hamas ceasefire, as you know by now, is back on, following some shaky ground and some retaliatory strikes by Israel on dozens of Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip. In a statement this morning, Israel Defense Forces said it will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it. So the latest flare-up has not derailed the peace process, but just how close to the edge of the cliff are we? Well, joining me now to discuss this and more is Dr. David Adesnick. He’s vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He also previously served as deputy director for the Joint Data Support at the U.S. Department of Defense. David, thank you so much for joining us on Washington Watch. We appreciate you coming.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thank you for the opportunity.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, it has been quite an eventful 24 hours that’s unfolded between Israel and Hamas. Tell us what the ceasefire is holding on by and the direction that things have been headed, and give us your thoughts on it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, we’ve seen a pattern a few times now where there seems to be probes by Hamas to see if a violation will provoke an Israeli reaction. Not uncommonly, you know, it could happen at night, it could happen in a place where there’s Not a lot of surveillance and we wind up with questions about who moved first. But that’s all part of what Hamas wants. They ideally would like to establish a situation where they violate the ceasefire and then all the pressure is on Israel not to fire back. I mean, clearly so far, Israel’s not feeling that pressure. They’ve hit back quite hard. because what they’re concerned about is a situation where Hamas establishes for itself a right to shoot, to snipe at Israeli targets, and then be free from retaliation despite what it does. So I don’t think that tells us we’re very near a cliff. Rather, we’re in a testing phase where Hamas wants to see how much the United States is committed to preserving this and how much freedom of action it will give to Israel.
SPEAKER 17 :
OK, well, that’s a good take. And I think that’s consistent with what I’m hearing, frankly, from the Trump administration, where the president has been expressing confidence that the ceasefire is going to hold. So am I hearing you correctly that you would agree with that, that at least for now you see this holding?
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, I always hesitate to wager two butts on predictions about what’s going to happen in the Middle East. But my sense is the one you described, that I think it’s more likely than not it’s going to hold. We may see more rounds of violations and firing back. But it’s a feeling out process right now. I don’t think either side wants to go back to war. I mean, there’s no question Israelis have been fighting two years after the trauma of October 7th. They would much rather take a break, prepare and heal. And Hamas seems to have been hurt pretty badly. It’s always hard to tell with them, but I’m not sure they want another full round of fighting either.
SPEAKER 17 :
So just going a little bit deeper into this, let me ask you this question, because Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene drew some attention today by citing some casualty figures that came from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which claimed that there were, I think, 46 children who were killed in the strikes. My question to you is, are those figures that come out of the so-called local health officials there, are those independently verified or do they differentiate between civilians and combatants and that type of thing? Is that accurate? Are those numbers accurate, do you believe?
SPEAKER 05 :
So I’ve done a fair amount of research on this over the course of the war, and a lot of caution is in order. First, you flagged the point that there’s never any information included about how many of those who were hit were Hamas fighters. The idea is to present the largest possible death toll and give people outside no information about how many were people potentially even firing at the Israelis or military targets. As for the ministry itself, it’s unfortunate when the news, I mean, I just saw NBC News do it, refers to it as just local health officials. This is part of a Hamas-run dictatorship in Gaza. It’s under political control. Even if there are some people who just want to do their job, as there are in any dictatorship, the bottom line comes from the top. That said, there has been a lot of suffering by civilians in this situation. You know, Hamas has provoked a war in a fairly small sandbox, and the people are not allowed to leave. In most wars, like in the war in Syria across Israel’s northern border, millions of people flee to get away from a war zone. Hamas doesn’t want that. Other people don’t want that. So unfortunately, we have seen a lot of civilian casualties. Roughly, if we’re talking about several tens of thousands of people that have been killed, many of them fighters, I think that number is probably in the ballpark. On any given day, it’s basically impossible to verify the number that comes out of the health ministry, whether they say 20, 40, 100. There’s no verification by anyone who isn’t Hamas.
SPEAKER 17 :
Okay, so let’s turn a little bit of our discussion to the remaining deceased hostages. What is the latest on that? That seems to be yet another piece of this that’s just all over the map from one day to the next.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I mean, obviously there’s a commitment by Hamas as part of the ceasefire they agreed to, to return all of the remains. We say all the hostages, the 20 living that were returned right away. And there’s a number of those whose remains have not yet come back. It’s very hard to tell. Did Hamas genuinely lose control of those remains? Does it not know where they are? There seems to be a number of cases. Well, there’s definitely cases where they have returned remains. that Israeli authorities examined and found did not belong to Israeli hostages. It’s not entirely clear if this is a deliberate deception or more of a matter of incompetence or testing boundaries. There even has been reported footage of a case where remains were buried deliberately and then uncovered sort of in a show for the Israelis. So there’s a lot of uncertainty, and I would hesitate to say anything from about exactly what Hamas has in the plan.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, there really is a lot of uncertainty. And yet I know this is and you know, this is a big issue to Israel. So it’s going to be interesting again to see how that goes. Let me get let me go now to President Trump’s 20 point peace plan. Part of that involves disarming Hamas. Okay, we’ve had Qatar’s prime minister was asked about this yesterday, and he said that they are pushing Hamas and all Palestinian factions in Gaza to get to the point where they acknowledge that they need to disarm. So what does that tell you about where we are on this part of the peace plan?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, it says I don’t think we’ve made much progress beyond the initial agreement where Hamas said it would return the hostages and basically said they are signing up for none of the other effectively 19 points in that plan. They’ve been ambiguous. They’ve been evasive. At times off the record, they’ve just said we’re not disarming. There’s no sense they really want to do that. I think fundamentally they want to test who’s going to disarm us. You know, the United States is insisting this is part of the plan. I don’t think Egyptian or Jordanian or Saudi or Emirati troops want to go in and do it. For Israeli troops to go in is to renew the war. And I think they’re betting the Israelis don’t want to do that. And certainly we know there’s not going to be American boots on the ground. I think Hamas is making a fairly astute gamble that no one is really going to force this on them.
SPEAKER 17 :
You see, and that to me, at least, and correct me if I’m wrong, but that to me brings us full circle back around that this thing is hanging by a thread, this whole peace deal. I mean, if they are not going to be disarmed, they will use their arms, and this peace does not take effect.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s true, but I think the question is how long might a truce hold just because both sides are rearming and preparing for the next round rather than getting ready to continue immediately. So, you know, compared to other offers that have been put on the table previously, one of the things about the Trump plan is Israel did not have to pull entirely out of Gaza in order to get its hostages back. There’s a so-called yellow line roughly cutting Gaza in half. And while on one side of the line, basically to the west, Hamas has control, Israel has positions from which it can hit back as well. So it didn’t have to give up everything it fought for during the war. So I do think it’s possible. And this is why we saw a year or two years between the numerous rounds of fighting previously. We first had one in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2021. Why do they stop any time if they still have weapons? Because like in any war, people want to rest, rearm, and get ready for the next round. I think Israel would prefer no more rounds. It would like a solid agreement to get everyone back, all hostages, all remains, and have a government there that was more interested in building up the place than having it destroyed again in an effort to destroy Israel. But they also know they’re not going to get that likely. And Hamas is just preparing because its mission remains the same from the moment it emerged in 1988 with its charter. It’s to destroy the Zionist entity.
SPEAKER 17 :
Right. Getting less attention in all of this is the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. How’s that going?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, the pause in fighting has made that a lot easier. I mean, it was a very controversial situation. And some of the international authorities declared, in fact, there was, quote, a famine uh in in gaza this is something i’ve been tracking fairly closely i think the claims were made based on these authorities bending the statistics quite a bit you know they have a whole uh you know 200 page guidebook on the technical specifications but you know where were the people actually starving to death they sort of made a finding well we’re just pretty sure it’s happening even if we can’t see it so the the aid was coming in more than many of the headlines would have led you to believe And, you know, one of the biggest problems, which was the constant looting, is abating now. I mean, we have this crazy situation where basically five out of every six trucks that UN agencies were sending into Gaza, they knew they weren’t going to reach their destination, that either gangs or just hungry people or possibly the two in coordination were going to strip those trucks of what they had.
SPEAKER 17 :
The president did not originally set a timeline for this 20-point peace plan, but from what you’re seeing, do you have any idea when it might unfold? Are we talking weeks or months or maybe even years?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, there is an effort underway that the Egyptians initiated to form a so-called administrative committee that would be something like the technocratic non-political committee that the plan calls for to govern Gaza in the interim. The problem is the Egyptians included Hamas in the negotiations and let them pick people on the committee. It’ll be interesting now to see how the U.S. responds if it just swats that down and says, look, no dice, you included Hamas, and the condition of our plan is that there’s no Hamas in the future of running Gaza. You know, it could happen relatively quickly if all of the parties agree to it. And I think especially interesting is the role that Qatar, whom you mentioned before, in a way they’ve been Hamas’s lawyer all along. The Turks have played a similar role. You know, the ceasefire and the exchange of hostages seemed to happen when the countries in the region that were Hamas’s biggest advocates finally seemed to put pressure on it instead of just working to extract more concessions from the Israelis and the United States. If for some reason they really did that behind the scenes and, you know, stopped just, you know, they said, we’re not going to give you sanctuary anymore in Istanbul or in Doha unless you follow through with Trump’s plan, then we might see it happen. If their goal is to just prolong things and get back to a place where Hamas has freedom of action, we’d likely see that.
SPEAKER 17 :
We’ve only got a few minutes left here, but there’s one more thing that I wanted to get your take on. We actually highlighted on this program yesterday, but Tucker Carlson has been getting some criticism for remarks he made Monday regarding Christian support for Israel. I’d like to play a clip and then get your response, if I could. Play clip one for me, please.
SPEAKER 15 :
How do you explain Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, and there are a lot like that, John Bolton. I mean, I’ve known them all, George W. Bush, like Karl Rove. I mean, all people I know personally who I’ve seen, like, be seized by this brain virus, and they’re not Jewish. Most of them are self-described Christians. And then the Christian Zionists who are, well, Christian Zionists. Like, what is that? And I can just say for myself, I dislike them more than anybody. You know, because like, what? Because it’s Christian heresy, and I’m offended by that as a Christian.
SPEAKER 17 :
Your response to that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, first, I would note who Mr. Carlson is talking to there. It’s a known Holocaust denier and racist, Nick Fuentes, someone who insulted the vice president’s wife for not being white. And Vice President Vance shot right back that he sees no place for someone like that at his side. As for Mr. Carlson, what a way to lower the level of debate, saying that people who have a different opinion have a brain virus. You know, it’s not hard if you try just a little to see why a well-informed Christian might be a Zionist. I can’t speak for Christians. I’m not one. I happen to be Jewish. But if you or someone, whether it’s on the basis of Genesis 12, 3 or something else, have a concern about the fate of the Jewish people, you say this was a people oppressed for centuries, struggling to find a place, then like many of the Christian Zionists who helped found the State of Israel by arranging the Balfour Declaration and other things, you might say this people needs a state to protect it. It’s not a brain virus. It’s a real humanitarian concern, and it’s entirely regrettable. that we see more conspiracy theories and insults rather than serious thinking.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, it’s not a brain virus. It’s not a theological virus either. I mean, there’s a major issue of biblical interpretation that God made a covenant with the Jewish nation, and that covenant has not gone away. It’s an everlasting covenant, as the Scripture describes. So I wanted to get your take on that because this certainly has created quite an uproar, as well it should have on so many fronts. Dr. David Adesnick, Vice President of Research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, thank you so much for joining us today on Washington Watch. Greatly appreciate it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right, friends, that wraps up this edition of Washington Watch. Always a lot to bring your way, and always from a biblical perspective. Hope you have a fantastic evening, and we’ll be back here tomorrow again on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 14 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council. To support our efforts to advance faith, family, and freedom, please text GIVE to 67742. That’s GIVE to 67742. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information, please visit TonyPerkins.com.
