Join us as we discuss the resumed hostilities between Israel and Hamas, with expert analysis from Chris Mitchell, Middle East Bureau Chief for CBN News. Delve into the intricacies of gender ideology and its impact on society with Dr. Owen Strand. Gain insights into the radical judicial decisions affecting military policy and explore the efforts being made to restore common sense and uphold traditional values in America.
SPEAKER 08 :
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 19 :
Well, good afternoon. Welcome. Welcome to this Wednesday edition of Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss, the Senior Vice President here at the Family Research Council and President of FRC Action. So glad to be filling in for Tony today and extremely honored to have you joining us as well. We’ve got a lot coming your way on this program. Here are some of the highlights. Well, it was another day and another phone call. At least that’s as far as it goes for President Trump as it relates to Russia and Ukraine toward a lasting peace agreement. The phone call today was with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
SPEAKER 15 :
They agreed all parties must continue the effort to make a ceasefire work. The presidents noted the positive work of their advisors and representatives. Presidents instructed their teams to move ahead with the technical issues related to implementing and broadening the partial ceasefire. The presidents instructed their advisors and representatives to carry out this work as quickly as possible.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, that was State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce earlier today. So what do we know so far about this partial ceasefire deal? And in reality, are we closer to peace or not? Well, I’ll be discussing that here in just a couple of minutes when I’m joined by Congressman Glenn Grothman. And meanwhile, the situation in the Middle East continues to heat up, but it’s not because of Israel, as the legacy media might have you believe.
SPEAKER 14 :
The blame for the resumption of hostilities lies solely with Hamas. This brutal terrorist organization has steadfastly refused every proposal and deadline they’ve been presented over the past few weeks. It is the people of Gaza who will suffer further because of Hamas’s disregard for human life.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, that was Acting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Shea yesterday when she was speaking at the U.N. Of course, all this took place after fighting resumed between Israel and Hamas. And I’ll be discussing the latest when I’m joined by Chris Mitchell, who’s the Middle East Bureau Chief for CBN News. He will be joining us from Jerusalem with the latest. And as for domestic news, there’s another battle that’s being waged. And that’s the battle between the Trump administration and activist judges who are blocking his policies.
SPEAKER 01 :
The judges in this country are acting erroneously. We have judges who are acting as partisan activists from the bench. They are trying to dictate policy from the President of the United States. They are trying to clearly slow walk this administration’s agenda, and it’s unacceptable.
SPEAKER 19 :
That was White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt earlier today, and we’ll dig deeper into this claim when we analyze one of the latest court rulings, and that’s the one related to the Trump administration’s executive order, that people diagnosed with gender dysphoria are unfit to join the military. Well, Jeremy Dice from First Liberty Institute will join me a little bit later in the program to discuss that. And speaking of the gender issue, those who are blinded by radical gender ideology are going to great lengths against those who dare to stand against them, even to the extent as we’ve seen to silence elected officials. We saw that clearly in the state of Maine. So what can we draw from this clash? Well, I’ll be joined a little bit later in the program with Dr. Owen Strand, who is FRC’s Center for Biblical Worldview, and we’ll be unpacking that issue for you. So as always, we’ve got a lot, a lot coming your way, and we want to encourage you to stay tuned for every bit of it. But if you happen to miss any portion of it, you can catch it at our website, TonyPerkins.com. And of course, tons of resources there available for you as well. All right, let’s dive into the details of today. As I mentioned a moment ago, the Trump administration and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine is ready to implement a limited ceasefire with Russia. That’s amazing. And of course, it comes right on the heels of the conversation that President Trump had yesterday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. So the announcement came following an hour-long phone call between the two presidents, Trump and Zelensky, and it was reported as a very good and substantive conversation. In fact, on X, Zelensky said that they believe lasting peace can be achieved this year. Wow. And on Truth Social, President Trump said, we are very much on track. So we’ve got a lot of good news, at least coming out right now. So how close are we really to potentially seeing an end to this war? Well, joining me now to discuss this and more is Congressman Glenn Grothman. He serves on four different House committees, including the Judiciary Committee and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He represents the 6th Congressional District of the great state of Wisconsin. Congressman Grothman, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to see you.
SPEAKER 18 :
Thanks for having me on, and we also had a chance to serve together. for 10 years.
SPEAKER 19 :
We did and sat side by side on the oversight committee and again thanks for all your great work there and elsewhere. You’ve got a lot on your plate these days. Let’s start with what’s happening right now. Secretary of State Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Walz are planning, as I understand, to go to Saudi Arabia on Sunday to discuss the details of the agreement here that we’re talking about. So what more can you tell us? What do we know so far about this agreement?
SPEAKER 18 :
With regard to talking about the Ukraine agreement? Yes. Yeah. Well, I will say this. We don’t know how close we are to an agreement where the agreement will stick. After all, we’re dealing with Vladimir Putin who doesn’t have a reputation for being, you know, the most integrity. Nevertheless, it’s refreshing to see a president who is trying to end this war. You know, I was in Congress for the first three years of the war. And whenever we met with President Biden’s officials, I always asked them, you know, what is the plan for ending this? And they never had a plan at all. They just kept sending more money over there, and worse, watching as more and more Russian and Ukrainian troops died, and they didn’t apparently care. And so now we have a president who’s a little more of a humanitarian, conscious of the fact that Russia’s a nuclear power, conscious of the fact that now we have a country, North Korea, involved in this war, and therefore is much more anxious to end things. We’ve had over 50,000 Ukrainian troops die. We’ve had, you know, it’s hard to get exact numbers, but probably over 100,000 Russian troops die, maybe well over 100,000. And it’s time to end this war before things get any worse. And at least we have President Trump trying, and it’d be great if we could wrap this thing up in the next couple months. I want to point out, like many European countries, we’re dealing with two countries that have a shortage of young people. Ukraine has the second lowest birth rate of any country of size in the world. The only country with a lower birth rate is South Korea. So we certainly don’t want Ukraine to lose any more of its young people. And of course, Russia also is a country that in the relatively recent past was even trying to get Germans to move to Russia because they had such a shortage of people. Hopefully this will work out. We don’t know. But like I said, you figure at a time when Europe’s biggest problem is having some more young people. It should be easier to wrap up this war.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, and it’s a very good point there. And also your point of trust, kind of where we are with Putin and with Russia, can they be trusted? I think that’s a valid argument. Of course, Zelensky came out. In fact, he posted on X that he thought the meeting with Trump was great and all that sort of stuff, that they are moving potentially towards a peace agreement. But Zelensky also noted that there was a barrage of drone attacks last night. So I think you’re, you’re on to something. Is there some sort of kind of tight rope walking that’s going on here verbally, you think?
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, right. I think the difficult thing for president Trump is to find a way in which we can have some certainty, uh, some, um, maybe a demilitarized zone or something there somewhere in which you can get, uh, third-party countries involved there so we can protect against future Russia invasions. Because the tough thing is Russia’s stated reason for getting involved in the first place, you got to remember, is they did not want to have NATO involved with Ukraine. And now we’re saying, again, the war, we need a third country or fourth country, have their troops in there. Nevertheless, I think, I hope Russia is getting tired of losing so many young people on their own, right? Hopefully, some group of troops between the countries to enforce an armistice here.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, you know, so many of, I’ll just call them Trump haters, call them whatever we want to, but they’ve been accusing the president of aligning himself with Putin. But it looks clear, does it not? At least it appears to me that he is absolutely working in the best interest of both sides and more broadly, the best interest of the world. He’s trying to bring about peace. What’s your assessment of the president’s approach to ending this war so far?
SPEAKER 18 :
Absolutely. He’s got to do it. I’d originally felt it’d be nice if you pushed a third-party country, say, or Israel’s kind of got their hands full right now. But a country like that, Turkey, maybe, in their negotiated settlement, of course, the president is a hands-on sort of guy. He wants to broker a deal between the two. I think if anybody can, he can negotiate. And like I said, I think it’s in the best interest of the world to try and wrap this up. You do have a nuclear power in Russia here, but I think right now the war is not going that well for them. On the other hand, they do have more troops in Ukraine, which would indicate that maybe they can help. So hopefully we can wrap this thing up before anybody else dies.
SPEAKER 19 :
And like I said… Certainly hope so.
SPEAKER 18 :
Right. The North Koreans involved, it just shows the danger how things can escalate. And over time, I begin to create an alliance between China and Russia, which we don’t want. For 50 years in this country, ever since Nixon went to China, the goal was to not have Russia and China against the United States. And under Joe Biden’s incompetent policy, that’s what we were working towards.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yep. Well, let me, if I can, kind of switch gears, because in reality, your point there, we really, all of us are watching a tightrope being walked, and this thing could escalate enormously if not careful. But if I can switch gears for you, you’re a member of the Judiciary Committee. There’s been a lot of accusations thrown out against activist judges who have been blocking policies of the Trump administration from transgender issues to attempts to dismantle USAID, the Venezuelan gangs, and so forth. What’s your take on these judicial rulings? We’ve got less than a minute.
SPEAKER 18 :
Barack Obama and Joe Biden are gone from the White House, but their judges continue on. It’s very frustrating. They’re They’re reaching out landage decisions. They’re trying to keep this criminal element from leaving this country. They’re trying to force the government to accept transgenders in the military, which is preposterous. I mean, throughout our whole lifetime, Joe, you never would have thought this in a million years, much less than in some sort of almost borderline constitutional right. So the most important thing I can say over time is judges, is they point to judiciary. And even though we’ve kicked Obama’s left, Biden’s handpicked successor’s left, they still have so much influence, particularly when you can go around the country and pick your judge. or pick your forum, almost guaranteed.
SPEAKER 19 :
We’re going to have to end it right there. We’re going to have to end it there. Congressman Glenn Grothman, thank you so much for joining us on Washington Watch. All right, friends, stay tuned. We’ve got much more coming your way right after the break. We’ll be back.
SPEAKER 05 :
During these challenging times for our nation, Family Research Council continues to serve as a watchman on the wall for faith, family, and freedom. And together, thanks to your support, we’re making an eternal impact. 2024 was a year of shining the light for biblical truth in Washington, DC. Last fall, over 1,000 spiritually active, governance-engaged conservatives gathered for the Pray Votes Stand Summit to pray for our nation and ensure that the issues impacting sage cons were understood and advanced. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins marked a major milestone this year, its 900th episode, and added the Washington Watch News Desk, a new production that presents the top news each day from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand published 2,000 articles of news, commentary, and podcasts in 2024, garnering over 5 million views. FRC’s outlet for news and commentary continues to pursue the truth on the issues that matter most to you and your family. And with the launch of the Stand Firm app, you can listen to, watch, and read our content in one simple place. Pray for current issues, stay rooted in the scriptures, and engage the political sphere with the community of believers on our new platform. In 2024, FRC shaped public policy and culture, organizing the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance where members of Congress and Christian leaders came together to seek God’s intervention in America. In May, FRC called upon believers to pray for and stand with Israel by dedicating a portion of their worship services to pray for Israel’s peace, prosperity, and protection. With Pray, Vote, Stand Decision 2024, FRC and Real Life Network led a powerful evening of election night coverage to analyze the election results and pray that our nation would turn back to God. We also filmed a transformative educational course, God and Government. Available now on the Stand Firm app, this series will explore the biblical and historical foundations of our government, empowering you to stand confidently in your role as a citizen of heaven and earth. Family Research Council thanks you for partnering with us in standing for faith, family, and freedom.
SPEAKER 09 :
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 19 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. Hope you’re having a fantastic day. I’m Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony and glad to have you with us. I want to apologize for having to cut short my good friend Congressman Glenn Grothman there in the last segment, but the hard breaks are just impossible to overcome. But we were talking about an extremely important issue, and I want to go deeper into that right now. President Trump has been recently sparring, if you will, with activist judges in the judicial system regarding various policies from his administration. And we’ve seen many of them just in the past couple of days. Judges have blocked his attempt to dismantle USAID. They’ve stepped in the way of his attempts to deport Venezuelan gang members. And most recently, we’ve seen an attempt to block Trump’s administrative executive order that people diagnosed with gender dysphoria are unfit to join the military. So are these rulings sound? Or are activist judges trying to overstep authority and dictate policy through the bench? Well, here to answer these questions is Jeremy Dice. He’s a senior counsel and chair of the Education and Religious Institution Practice Groups at First Liberty Institute. Jeremy, welcome back to Washington Watch. Appreciate you joining us. Thanks so much for having me. Good to be back. All right, so let’s start with the ruling on the military order. What are the specifics in this ruling? What does it ultimately do?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, right now it puts pause on the president’s agenda, which seems to be out of step with where most of Americans are going, including most of corporate America right now. Everybody seems to be dismantling their DEI policies across the country and running away from some of these issues. But now we have the judiciary stepping into maybe areas where they ought not to be stepping in, questioning whether or not this president is able to carry out his agenda. And so, thankfully, at the very least, while this decision, I think, is the wrong decision to have been made, it at least gives some time before its implementation to allow the Department of Defense, through the Department of Justice, to seek an appeal of that decision and move this case further up the line and in a quicker manner. At a minimum, look, I’m a litigator, I’m an appellate advocate as well. I certainly like it when judges make quick decisions that allow me to go up on appeal rather quickly rather than allow our cases to sit there and languish for long periods of time. And so perhaps that’s the silver lining within the black cloud that is this decision. But again, I think it’s something that we ought to be concerned about as a country where the United States of America voted very clearly to be opposed to the Biden agenda and the leftward tilt of this nation to insist upon a reordering of gender, an upside downing of gender entirely in all of the areas of society, but most especially within the military, whose job it is to go break things and kill our enemies. And instead, the social engineering that has been out there for so long is one that ought to be left to the experts of the Department of Defense through this president and not through the judicial pen.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, and ultimately this comes down to a balance of powers and checks and balances. And, you know, it’s amazing to me. I mean, you don’t want judges legislating from the bench. I mean, the executive has to stay within their jurisdiction, legislative within theirs. And this judge, Anna Reyes, is coming out now saying that this somehow, at least likely, violates some sort of constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment. What does she mean by that?
SPEAKER 12 :
but you’d have to ask her to get a very clear meaning of that. And ultimately it’s gonna find out, we’re gonna find out whether the judges above her or perhaps the justices above her agree with that analysis. But this is a good reminder for all of us that elections have consequences. They have consequences in the policy sphere, obviously, and those are matters for the legislature to debate and for us as attorneys to present with argument before courts, and perhaps we’ll have them settled easily that way. But also let’s remember the importance of who nominates judges. Judges matter in this country and our justices matter as well. So many of the key issues of our day are settled so often within our courts right now. And you can dispute as to whether or not that should be the case. We’re faced with the reality that it is the case. And so thankfully, we now have a president that is concerned with filling our benches with a judicial legacy, a way for our country to go forward with judges who are going to look at, the Constitution and the law and follow that and make sure that rather than trying to engineer something socially through a Constitution that is very clear as to what rights are articulated to the government and to the people. Instead, we will have judges and justices going forward that will follow the actual rules and words of the Constitution and their judicial philosophy as we’re seeing here. are going to be opposite of what we’ve seen with Judge Reyes as well, where we’re going to see judges that are going to look at actual language of statutes and that words actually have meaning and that they mean something, including words like man and woman and male and female. And so, again, let’s just be reminded of the importance of having won elections here with President Trump for judges that will come after him that will be on the bench maybe 20, 30, even 40 years that will have long-reaching consequences for the future of our freedom.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, great point. So what is the future of this order? Is it still able to be implemented? Does this thing have any future or is it done?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, it certainly could. I mean, and maybe that’s just the famous law school answer, which is, it depends. It always frustrated me whenever my professor said that in answer to any of the questions I had in law school, but it certainly does depend on this situation. And as I mentioned, the very silver lining of this entire thing is that the judge has at least delayed implementation of this decision, giving time for the government’s attorneys to seek appeal and review on appeal. Lord willing, that’ll mean that the appellate court will stay the decision more long term while the case is heard on appeal. And perhaps it’ll take going all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States with additional argument over a period of weeks or even months before that actually comes out. So it is by far not a done deal. Perhaps yet the decision by Secretary Hegseth and President Trump will be the ultimate issue that carries the day. But for now, we can rest assured that at least it’s not going to go into effect immediately. there’ll be more lawyering that’ll be done, more arguments will be made, more briefs will be written. The lawyers will be happy to have all the fun doing all those things. And perhaps we’ll come out of it on the other end with some sense of sanity, going back to what the policy of this administration has proved to be in the first early days of it, and hopefully will continue throughout the rest of its presidency as well.
SPEAKER 19 :
Some sense of sanity. Just the sound of that sounds so wonderful. Hope we can get to that point. I want to thank you so much, Jeremy Dice, Senior Counsel at First Liberty Institute. We appreciate so much you coming on and trying to unwrap this complicated issue for us. Thank you very much. Thank you. All right, friends, don’t go anywhere. We’ve still got a lot to come your way, as I mentioned a while ago. Chris Mitchell will be joining us shortly from Jerusalem. But coming up next, we’re going to discuss the radical gender ideology over why are they going after people over this issue. Stay tuned. It’s coming your way.
SPEAKER 09 :
Oh, beautiful world
SPEAKER 02 :
At the 2025 National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance, hundreds gathered with Christian and government leaders at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. to pray for the nation and ask God to forgive us of our sins.
SPEAKER 06 :
We gather here not to appeal to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We are appealing to heaven. Today we make our appeal not in the authority of a political party or in the name of a denomination. We come in the name and the authority of Jesus Christ. who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and we have been commissioned to operate in that authority.
SPEAKER 16 :
Father, we pray in Jesus’ name for our complacency, our greed, our pride, our gluttony, our sloth, and tolerance of sin.
SPEAKER 13 :
Lord, your word is the food that can make America healthy again. May your word be exalted and believed in our nation again.
SPEAKER 17 :
Lord, we ask that you allow us to become that shining city on the hill once more for your love, your grace, and your mercy.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thank you for your love and your grace and your mercy, for the opportunity that you have provided us to heal our land. We ask you to do it, Lord. We ask you for the wisdom, discernment, and stamina to do the thing that you have called each one of us, all of us here, to do. May we be found faithful. We trust it, pray it, believe it all. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SPEAKER 19 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. So glad to have you. I’m Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony. And we are deeply grateful for you being on board with us as well. All right. We all continue to scratch our head over topics like what we’re discussing right now. And, you know, as was just brought up by Jeremy Dice, you know, common sense is something so desperately needed. And with President Trump’s return to the White House, he certainly has ushered in a return to common sense. But it’s clear that the left is going to fight every step of the way. And as we were just talking about yesterday, an activist Biden-appointed federal judge blocked a major Trump administration policy that prevented Americans diagnosed with gender dysphoria from serving in the military. Now, you may recall the Trump administration policy reinstated they put forth this policy so that the military can perform its original purpose fighting wars winning wars but those who are blinded by this radical gender ideology they’re not going to have that They’re not going to put up with anything that goes against their narrative on gender. In fact, they’re going to go to great lengths to stand against those who dare to stand against them. They’ll even try to silence elected officials like what we saw in Maine here recently. So what does all of this tell us? This is an important discussion for us to get to the bottom line. What does all this tell us? Well, here now to unpack all of this is Dr. Owen Strand, senior fellow at the FRC Center for Biblical Worldview and senior director of the Dobson Culture Center at the James Dobson Family Institute. Owen, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us. Thank you so much, Jody. Thank you for having me back on. Appreciate you. All right, so your thoughts on this judge’s decision to block the Trump administration’s policy regarding transgender service members?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, in line with what you were just talking about, we have a lot of activist judges out there and activist citizens who believe that it is best for us to go against God’s design and what many of us would call common sense. And it’s very sad that that is so, but that is how things are. And so we can only work and pray that the side of truth would win out. There have been massive victories in America in recent days along those lines. It’s morning in America, to quote Ronald Reagan. I think it still is morning in America. But here’s the thing, Jody. In the morning, you know, you have to get out of bed. You have to put your boots on. Your knee hurts. Your mind is groggy. And so even as it is morning and we have a presidential administration that is on the side of sanity, there nonetheless are a ton of elements out there that are not on that side. And this is just one of those things. It’s kind of like paper straws. I don’t know. Choose it. Why would anyone ever choose paper straws over plastic straws? I’m not here to tell you why, but people do, and it’s in a much more serious way. We have a lot of people who don’t want reality and more significantly God’s design to rule the day in America. We’ve got a lot of work to do.
SPEAKER 19 :
We do have a lot of work to do and some great word pictures there that you just gave. You just recently, you’ve got a column in the Washington Stand on this gender issue, specifically building off the fight that’s been taking place in Maine. Tell us some of your reflections. What are you seeing from all this battle?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, usually the most controversial thing in Maine, as a son of Maine, I can say this, is whether you want fish and chips or the lobster feast. But right now in Maine, there’s a much more significant controversy, and it’s over whether boys should be able to be in girls’ sports. And as FRC has been very faithful to cover, and as FRC has helped Maine start to recover sanity along these lines— Boys are participating in girls sports. Laurel Libby, a state representative, has spoken up very bravely and courageously and been censured for doing so. But I believe there is a silent majority that is going to wake up in Maine and even now is waking up. And of course, President Trump engaging Maine Governor Janet Mills, one of the wokest of the governors out there, helped along those lines a great deal as well. So Thankfully, there’s major pushback occurring now in America over boys in girls’ sports and spaces. And I want to be very clear, Jodi, this is a justice issue. This is one of the key issues of the day. We have to protect our daughters. We have to protect their spaces. We have to stop violence. disturbed young men from taking their podium spots. We have to protect our girls, cherish our girls, treasure our girls. Thankfully, some are waking up to that, and I believe many will follow.
SPEAKER 19 :
So our time is slipping away from us quickly, and I hate that. But let’s wrap this up with what should Christians keep in mind? We’ll put it that way. Would they find themselves engaged in a conversation on this issue of gender equality? Give us some pointers.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, what we should keep in mind are things like we’re always seeking the salvation of somebody who is caught up in this ideology. So this isn’t a fight to the death in the public square. Fundamentally, we care about people. We care about girls. We care about boys. And, for example, where young men are confused over who they truly are, if they think they are a girl trapped in a boy’s body, for example— We’re not here to just, you know, say, here’s a law, you know, stick with it. We want to offer them compassionate care. We’re Christians, so we believe we have a gospel that can save them and transform them and get them on the right path with regard to their biological sex. But we also have to recognize as Christians that we have to stand against these lies. Every voice matters. It’s not just the superstars in the public square who need to speak up. It’s all Christians who need to do so. And then the last thing I’ll say is we need to keep discipling our kids because you’d be surprised, Jody, at how easy it is for our kids to be lured away by these kind of lies. Thankfully, the truth is stronger and the truth of Jesus Christ will win.
SPEAKER 19 :
Dr. Owen Strand, Senior Fellow at FRC’s Center for Biblical Worldview, thank you for these outstanding comments and the advice you’ve given. God bless you. Thanks. Thank you. All right, friends, on the other side of the break, CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell will join me from Jerusalem. Stay tuned.
SPEAKER 03 :
What is God’s role in government? What does the separation of church and state really mean? And how does morality shape a nation? President John Adams said our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. Join Family Research Council for God and Government, a powerful 13-part series that equips you with biblical truth to engage in today’s most pressing debates. From the Ten Commandments in Classrooms to the Immigration Crisis of America, we’ll uncover the foundations of our nation’s history, and why it’s relevant for today. Defend God’s plan for government, because faith and freedom were never meant to be separate. New episodes available each Monday. To view the series on the Stand Firm app, text COURSE to 67742.
SPEAKER 04 :
The world is hurting, streets are filled with crime, families are broken, sin is celebrated, and God is mocked. Everywhere we look, the wages of our sin are on full display. As Christians, we know that surrender to God’s will is the solution to our biggest problems, but not everyone agrees. Even in church, we hear people say the most important thing is to be tolerant, that we shouldn’t impose a morality on other people, and that loving our neighbor means celebrating what they do. But you can’t do that. It’s not that you don’t love your neighbor. You do. But you care about God’s opinion more than your neighbor’s opinion, and this makes you different. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel alone, like you’re the only one. But there is good news. You are not alone, not even close. Research has found that there are 59 million American adults who are a lot like you. There are millions of people around the country who are born again, deeply committed to practicing their faith, and believe the Bible is the reliable Word of God. But that’s not all. They’re also engaged in our government. They’re voters. They’re more likely to be involved in their community, and they’re making a difference in elections. The problem is that a lot of them feel alone, too. We want to change that. FRC wants to connect these 59 million Americans to speak the truth together, no matter the cost. If you want to learn more about this group and what it means to be a spiritually active, governance-engaged conservative, or if you want to find out if you are one of these sage cons yourself, go to frc.org slash sagecon and take the quiz to find out. The world is hurting and we have the solution. We can’t do it alone, but we can do it if we work together. That’s what we’re working toward every day. Join us. Go to FRC.org slash S-A-G-E-C-O-N SageCon to learn more. That’s S-A-G-E-C-O-N SageCon to learn more.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, good afternoon. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m your host today, Jody Heiss, sitting in for Tony. And great to have you on board with us as well. Before I get to our next guest, I again want to invite you to check out FRC’s 13-week new training course, God and Government. It’s in our Stand Firm app, and this is a powerful training course for anyone who desires to make an impact for biblical truth, and I believe that includes you. And here recently, every Monday, in fact, we’ve been releasing a new session, and this week we released session number five, which is the relationship between church and state. Friends, let me tell you, if you don’t yet have the Stand Firm app, and if you would like to access this God and Government course, simply text the word COURSE to 67742. Jump on board, get prepared, and go out and make a difference. Okay, yesterday, you’ve probably heard by now, Israel’s military resumed military action against the Hamas terrorist group. Israel launched a large-scale bombing campaign all across Gaza Strip. And according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the renewed strikes on Hamas is just the beginning. The prime minister said that Israel will act against Hamas with increasing intensity. And he said military pressure is necessary for the release of hostages who are still being held by Hamas. And now, you know, we’ve got the ceasefire that lasted a couple of months. It’s all over now. So how might the coming weeks unfold? Well, joining me now from Jerusalem to discuss all of this is Chris Mitchell. He’s a Middle East bureau chief for CBN News. Chris, thanks so much for joining us. Always an honor to have you on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 11 :
Great to be with you, Jody.
SPEAKER 19 :
All right, listen, for those who may not have been tracking very closely what’s been going on over the last couple of months during the ceasefire, fill us in. What was supposed to happen versus what actually has happened?
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, there was an attempt by mediators, including Steve Witkoff, to try to extend what’s called phase one. That’s where 33 hostages, both living and dead, were actually released by Hamas. So that’s what Israel wanted. That’s what the United States wanted. But Hamas wanted an end to phase one. the beginning of what they call phase two, and phase two would have led to the end of the war, the withdrawal of all IDF troops, and Hamas would have remained in power. That was something that the United States was unwilling, Israel was unwilling to do. Hamas, just about a week ago, offered one Israeli-American, Edan Alexander, and about five dead hostages. That was unacceptable. And it was also called psychological manipulation by Israel. So what happened just yesterday was a massive bombing campaign that went back into Gaza. And now we understand today that there are boots on the ground inside Gaza. uh they’ve taken over control of some of what’s called the netzerim corridor that that divides gaza north and south and uh and they’ll be advancing and as you said prime minister netanyahu warned and said right now the new policy of israel is that they will negotiate under fire in other words The fighting will not stop, even if Hamas comes back to the negotiating table. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Hamas is facing annihilation if they continue to do this. Right now, we understand one of the proposals that Israel wants Hamas to accept would be a 50-day ceasefire with half of the hostages released at the beginning and half at the end.
SPEAKER 19 :
Wow. So that really puts the pressure on Hamas. There’s no question. You mentioned phase one actually came to an end. But as I understand, the negotiations for the next phase really have not made any progress. So what you’re referring to is the next 50 days or so. Is that actually getting any traction?
SPEAKER 11 :
Not as far as we understand right now, Jody, that they’re really not negotiating right now. Right now, the biggest action is going on on the ground inside Gaza. People in Gaza are actually being given maps and leaflets to tell them to get out of harm’s way. We talked yesterday to the IDF international spokesman, Nadav Shoshadeh, and he was telling us that they’ve given out these maps is a way to make sure that these Gazans can get out of the combat zones and to spare civilian lives. That’s exactly what Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said as well. So I think the action right now is not at the negotiating table, but on the ground right now in Gaza, where the IDF is promising to intensify, as you said, its actions on the ground to try to bring Hamas to the negotiating table and bring an end to this stalemate between Hamas and Israel.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, I know the prime minister and IDF as a whole, I mean, just brilliant war strategists. I know Hamas had been hoping, seeking a Ramadan ceasefire that would last throughout March. And, of course, Israel gave them the first couple of weeks of a ceasefire. But then all of a sudden they resumed with great power. So we’ve been hearing about a new proposal from the U.S. that, from what I understand, has been accepted by Israel, but not by Hamas. Can you tell us anything about that?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, exactly. I think that that’s the proposal, I believe, from Steve Woodcock. The 50 days where half of the hostages would be released at the beginning, the half at the end has been accepted by Israel, but rejected right now by Hamas. And I would say I think there’s been more coordination. And I think perhaps Israel and the White House are on the same page right now, believing, Jody, that it’s the military pressure that’s going to make make an impact on Hamas. And I would say there’s a very strong two sides here in Israel about the resumption of military action. On the one hand, you have many of the hostage families that are saying this is going to endanger our families, our hostages inside Gaza. Other people are saying, and including the new policy of the prime minister and the government, is that it’s the military pressure that allows the hostages to be able to get. Right now, they’re released about 196 out of the 251 that were taken on october 7th uh what you see also jody in in the news you see a lot of people demonstrating against the government against the policy but there is a strong uh another uh other uh force and one of them in what’s called the tikvah forum and they say it’s important to look at the whole picture not just the hostages but you have to see the security of the whole state of israel what they mean by that is that in the phase one almost 2 000 prisoners have been released by uh through these deals those prisoners have been terrorists many of them with blood on their hands they historically have always gone back to terror and so the question for them is What about the people who may be killed, wounded, injured in a future terror attack? So those are the people that say, let’s take a look at the whole state of Israel and what we need to do to get our hostages out.
SPEAKER 19 :
Wow. Well, getting those hostages out, as you referenced, it really is two sides of the same coin. I mean, on the one hand, a tremendous military pressure that’s being placed on Hamas. But the other side of the coin is indeed the risk that that poses to the hostages. It really is a fine line that they’re trying to walk here, isn’t it?
SPEAKER 11 :
It is, and it’s been a fine line ever since October 7th, Jody. And it’s been gut-wrenching for Israelis. You know, the Israeli people are more like a family than anything. And they see each of these hostages as part of their extended family. They pray for them. They hope for them. They do what they can to advocate for their release. But how that happens is really the difference between many Israelis here. You see that out on the street. In fact, there was a large demonstration today in Jerusalem demonstrating about this ceasefire deal that now has become a military operation.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, even the local press there has added another layer of this, that the Israeli military sources have talked about seeing an increase of Hamas activity, evidently in an effort to regroup their forces here in recent days while there’s been a couple of weeks of ceasefire here in March. Isn’t that yet another reason for go ahead and deal with it now and to resume the strong military action to prevent a regrouping of Hamas forces?
SPEAKER 11 :
That’s exactly right, Jody. In fact, that’s one of the reasons why they did go in, because they knew that there was going to be another attempt by Hamas, believe it or not, to go into some of the southern communities inside Gaza. So they knew that was happening. They preemptively struck, so that didn’t happen. And they also, in addition to that, they eliminated some of the top leadership of uh of hamas inside gaza the so-called prime minister he’s been in power since i think last july uh the justice minister uh one of hamas’s spokesmen was eliminated so both the factors of eliminating some of hamas’s leadership and preventing uh this terror attack that was uh that was being planned with two of the factors for this military uh at least the bombardment uh last night
SPEAKER 19 :
And I know you don’t know all the details, and I don’t presume that you do, but is that what Israel is targeting here, primarily the leadership of Hamas? Do you have any idea kind of what specific targets they may have right now?
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, I would say, obviously, the leadership and, you know, they seem to have incredible intelligence and knowing who they’re targeting and after they’ve been able to target and who they’re being able to find, plus any potential terror attacks that are being planned. We understand, we’ve heard that, you know, Hamas continues to build tunnels, believe it or not. They continue to rearm. They continue to regroup and recruit terrorists. other fighters. And so it may be another long slog for the IDF and the military to be able to eventually eliminate Hamas completely. It’s almost been a year and a half now since October 7th. And also looming in the background, Jody, is this potential of Trump’s plan to try to relocate the Gazan people to another country and then rebuild Gaza.
SPEAKER 19 :
Wow. Yeah, that’s true. That’s a whole other aspect of all of this. And another part of it all too is the propaganda campaign. Hamas, they’re all saying that Israel is killing tons and tons of civilians in all of this, but obviously we can’t trust what Hamas says. In fact, they intentionally, as we all know, they use civilians as human shields. And yet many people continue to parrot this propaganda. What kind of impact is that having?
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, in the world press and many news agencies that sort of parrot that, and there are many that have done that since October 7th, I think they’re giving a sort of a false image of what actually happens. As I mentioned, the IDF has been giving out leaflets and maps and telling people to get out of combat zones, get out of harm’s way. Hamas, on the other hand, has been using their own people as human shields and using the deaths of many of these Palestinians as propaganda and then demonizing Israel. So it really is, that’s part of the battlefield here. And it’s part of Hamas’ playbook, as it were, for many, many years. put their civilians in harm’s way and use their deaths as propaganda. On the other hand, the IDF has been for years sending leaflets, text messages, phone calls to individuals inside a combat zone to get them out of harm’s way. But tragically, many times they don’t or may be even prevented by Hamas to get out of harm’s way. That’s why many people are praying not only for their piece of Jerusalem and for the protection of IDF soldiers, but all those people that are caught in harm’s way.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, it’s just amazing to me how many within various media outlets and international leaders in various parts of the world buy this propaganda. They’re sending leaflets and text messages, everything they can to protect civilians. It really is amazing. And yet, Israel is… unfazed by all that propaganda. I mean, even the defense minister is coming out in recent days just saying that they are just going to unleash unbelievable fury in Gaza like they’ve never seen before if they don’t release the hostages. So it’s not just that the war is continuing, but Israel’s actually turning the heat up. Wouldn’t you say that’s accurate?
SPEAKER 11 :
Very much so. I mean, if you take a look at the statements of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, that’s exactly what they’re doing. And now they’re saying they’re going to be negotiating under fire, meaning that this campaign is going to intensify and it’s going to continue until there can be some release of more hostages. So that’s exactly what what Israel is doing. And I think it’s something probably in coordination, perhaps with the White House, at least that seems to be on the same page, because if you look at the wider context, Judy, you know, it’s exactly what the U.S. is doing with the Houthis down in Yemen. They’re unleashing a massive bombing campaign against them to stop global to stop the Houthis from interrupting global shipping that has cost maybe estimated $250 billion and just interrupted the global economy because of that. So that’s what the U.S. is doing in Yemen. Israel is promising to do that against the Houthis. And by the way, yesterday, actually, the Houthis fired another ballistic missile against Israel. It was shot down, but they continue to try to disrupt either global shipping or come against the state of Israel.
SPEAKER 19 :
Chris Mitchell, 30 seconds or so left. How in the world would you encourage our viewers and listeners to be praying right now for Israel?
SPEAKER 11 :
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray for wisdom for Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government. Pray for wisdom for President Trump and his national security team because they’re working together. And pray that they would lead them to eliminate the enemies of Israel, whether it’s in Gaza, whether it’s out in Yemen, or whether it’s in the Islamic Republic of Iran and its nuclear program.
SPEAKER 19 :
Thank you so much, Chris Mitchell, Middle East Bureau Chief for CBN News. Always an honor to have you. God bless you. Be safe. And we are praying. Friends, that wraps up another edition of Washington Watch. Thank you so much for joining us. And we look forward to being back with you again tomorrow right here on Washington Watch. Good evening.
SPEAKER 08 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
