The Myth That Israel Targets Churches — And Who’s Selling It

If Israel truly wanted to destroy Christian heritage, it’s doing it in the strangest way possible.

Tucker Carlson and Ana Kasparian want you to believe that Israel is intentionally destroying Christian heritage sites in Gaza and the West Bank. Their evidence is based on two incidents: the accidental shelling of the Holy Family Church in Gaza and an arson attack that did not even singe the Church of St. George in Taybeh. They used these events to promote a narrative aimed at driving a wedge between Israel and its Christian supporters in America.

In a July 25, 2025, interview with Tucker Carlson, Ana Kasparian claimed: “You can’t deny the fact that churches have been targeted in Gaza and the West Bank as well.” Carlson agreed: “You’re not allowed to use my tax dollars to bomb churches.”

If Tucker Carlson and Ana Kasparian’s premise were correct, why would Israel confine this supposed campaign to Palestinian areas? If Israel was truly intent on erasing Christian heritage, logic dictates it would begin at home—where there is no international oversight and it could act with complete impunity. Wouldn’t those sites be routinely targeted and destroyed?

The reality is the opposite. Walk into almost any Israeli national park built around an archaeological site—Avdat and Mamshit, for instance—and you’ll find a church clearly marked, interpreted, and integrated into the visitor experience. The website for the Avdat National Park encourages visitors to see the Byzantine Church of St. Theodore, a prominent feature of this ancient city.

The preservation of Christian heritage doesn’t stop at national parks. Across Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has excavated, documented, and displayed Christian sites—among them the Byzantine church at Rahat, the convent at Shoham, and a 1,600-year-old mosaic from a monastery at Be’er Shema, now on public display. It also issued a press release about a child’s discovery of a 100-year-old cross medallion.

The IAA  also licenses qualified archaeologists from around the world to excavate Christian sites. A German university carried out five seasons of excavation at Halutza/Elusa in the Negev, uncovering two Byzantine churches.

Israel is also home to a vibrant Christian community of approximately 180,000 people, served by nearly 400 functioning churches. It is the only country in the Near East where Christianity is growing. In contrast, Christian populations elsewhere in the region are declining as a result of ethnic cleansing.

Are these the actions of a country seeking to erase Christian heritage?

So, here’s the paradox: Tucker Carlson and Ana Kasparian insist that Israel is intentionally destroying Christian churches and heritage sites in Palestinian areas. Yet inside Israel, the same kinds of sites are preserved and protected. Why would a country safeguard Christian heritage at home while deliberately destroying it a few miles away?

Tucker Carlson and Ana Kasparian’s outrage is a canard—one that advances an anti-Israel, and perhaps anti-Semitic, agenda. The lie they peddle is designed to drive a wedge between Israel and its Christian allies in the United States. As Tucker Carlson said: “I don’t understand how any Christian leader in the United States can sit by and not say something about that.”

And here’s the irony: the scenario Tucker Carlson and Ana Kasparian describe has actually happened—not in Israel, but in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus. Since Turkey’s 1974 invasion, an estimated 530 churches and monasteries have been destroyed or vandalized as of 2021. By 2009, 48 churches had been converted into mosques. A 2025 Reuters report further noted that roughly 20,000 Christian icons have been looted from northern Cyprus and sold on the international art market.

If Tucker Carlson and Ana Kasparian actually cared about preserving Christian churches and heritage, why are they silent about their erasure in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus?