the Israel Summit a massive pro-Israel event in Dallas Texas has been cancelled after planners received numerous jihadist threats well Luke Hilton one of the events organizers joins us now so Luke give us the facts on the ground what actually happened hey Raj thank you so much for having me yeah uh I flew in from Israel to Dallas Texas just two days ago to prepare for our upcoming Israel Summit set to happen June 9th through 11th here in Dallas next week and um as people may have heard we had to move from the original venue to a second venue because of growing security concerns uh here in the United States many people know the Washington DC attack that happened a couple of weeks ago left two uh Jews dead and then just a couple of days ago there was another attack in Boulder Colorado so anything having to do with the Jewish community in America anything having to do with Israel um there's a massive security concern so we moved from the original value uh venue that was in Arlington Texas to another private facility just outside of Dallas and unfortunately late last night the security threats grew even more uh to the point to where the Israel Summit our organization and the venue that was hosting us received direct and indirect threats there were groups of jihadi Americans i mean honestly there's nothing else to call them because this is now uh spreading all across America calling to target quote target the Israel Summit and to target the venue and the organization that was hosting us and unfortunately because of this there was just no other option except to uh indefinitely postpone next week's Israel Summit um what it feels like is that Jews and Christians can no longer gather publicly in support of Israel and America honestly uh that as crazy as that sounds that's exactly what it feels like right now wow wow and and to your point about what happened in DC what happened in Boulder um what do you think this says about the state of anti-semitism in the United States you know it's it's hard to believe that we're at this point um our security director who was working with us for the the event next week his father fought in World War II you know and he said "Honestly it feels like Germany in 1939." As crazy as that sounds like to to to think about the idea that we we try to have a simple pro-Israel event we're talking about a peaceful gathering 600 people in Dallas Texas of all places and the goal is simply to educate people to stand publicly peacefully in support of Israel just the fact that we cannot have an event like that in America today Texas of all places like where and honestly this is a question I'm asking myself what does that mean for the state of America today what does that mean for the the levels of anti-semitism that we're seeing today wow that is horrifying um you know I've I spent a lot of my life standing with Israel and the Jewish people and um I I naively thought this couldn't happen here and man was I wrong um you know I have uh I've been to Israel 30 times i've done a lot of research for myself so I'm able to you know uh see lies uh even like what we talked about recently with the BBC and Al Jazzer talking about you know Israel indiscriminately firing upon Gaza aid uh Gaza aid distribution centers but by the time the retraction comes it's too late so as someone uh yourself who has dedicated and you know you live in Jerusalem um what are some lies half-truths um things that you want to dispel that maybe would help people have a more uh nuanced contextualized understanding of what's happening in Israel sure yeah i mean I I live in Israel today i've been inside of Gaza at since October 7th just last year you know was went to the Philadelphia corridor saw the 200 tunnels running underneath the corridor there um saw the state of affairs up close and personal you just mentioned the latest lie that hit the mainstream media that said IDF opens fire on Gaza civilians obviously you know 100% fabrication hamas opened fire killing I think 21 Gaz and civilians but the world doesn't know that because it went out you know that that fake news and propaganda c circled the globe i'll give you an example from the uh the area and the work that I'm involved in in Israel i I live in a place called Samaria which some people you know know is Jerusalem Judea and Samaria but most people know it as the West Bank some people have heard it called the occupied territories and honestly that's its terminology is what's key here because the the real name is Jerusalem Judea and Samaria and that is an area that's considered the biblical heartland of Israel and I have friends some coming to the Israel Summit next week who are Jews living in Judea but what the world wants people to believe is that these guys are radical extremist settlers living in the West Bank those two things exactly the same peaceful um you know god-loving familyoriented Jewish u men and women and children living in Judea living at Samaria living in Jerusalem but the world wants you to believe these are radical extremist you know hateful settlers living in the occupied West Bank that's just one example you know we could go on and on obviously so many from the war um the the it's just so interesting that the opposite of what the world wants you to believe about Israel and the Jewish people is usually true when you see something on social media or the mainstream media um the last statistic I heard is that for every one pro-Israel view on Tik Tok there is 50 pro- Hamas or anti-Israel views on TikTok and I mean that just tells you the the lies and the propaganda that you know is filling social media in our world today you know um I got involved in the Israel space for kind of geopolitical reasons right it's the one place in the Middle East that women have equal rights it's the one place in the Middle East that you know religious minorities really are protected it's the one place in the Middle East it's a true democracy um but this is a Christian network and um I don't think you can fully understand this outside of understanding God's covenant with Israel and the Jewish people you know people like well why why the Jews why why is this anti-semitism and I think the existence of Israel is a giant certificate on your maps that the God of Abraham Isaac I'm getting emotional abraham Isaac and Jacob keeps his covenants keeps his promises and there's nothing that hell can do to stop it sorry um man yo no you're 100% right yeah and and people say "Well all these these lies like Jesus is Palestinian." It's like listen I have more Palestinian friends than my friend who's making that comment could ever have um and that's just that's just factually not true it wasn't called Palestine uh when Jesus was around he was born in Judea in the tribe of Judah he was a Jewish rabbi who followed the Torah it's just like it there's just so many things but that doesn't mean that you don't have a heart for the for the Palestinian people i mean when Yas Arafat died how many billions of dollars was in his Swiss bank account do you talk about that oh yeah i just read there's there's just so many contextual things that I I think are is missing here and these lies these halftruths and the thing is is like this isn't new this happened in Nazi Germany this happened in the Spanish Inquisition this happened in the Crusades this happened in Egypt with Pharaoh has happened with the Assyrians has happened with the Romans and to me all of those empires and all of those civilizations and all of those fanatical tyrannical governments and kings don't exist anymore and yet the Jewish people are back in the same land using the same language using the same currency worshiping the same God on the same hill because why because the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob keeps his promises and there's nothing that the gates of hell can do to stop that listen I have my criticisms of Israel i have my criticisms of the United States that's totally cool no you want to talk about people that criticize Israel talk to Israelis man they they can't they can't stand with whatever that's totally kosher but this obsession this hatred for Israel and the Jewish people that is demonic i stand on that i don't care if that makes me an editorial news reporter that is where I stand um and so and so Luke I I pray that this thing never happens and I pray that us in the West would realize that an event in Dallas Texas standing with Israel and the Jewish people being cancelled is not okay i will get off my soap box i don't know where that came from but look I'll be I'll just Well I'll just I'll just add to that and you're 100% right like you said I don't know why especially anybody that claims to believe the Bible or be a believer in God i don't know why how anybody could go against God's people and God's land because like you said they've survived centuries you know thousands of years of persecution they're still here the miraculous signs and wonders and prophecy being fulfilled in the land of Israel today there's no clear sign that there's a God in the world and what I like to tell people is that and this this applies exactly to our event being cancelled in Dallas Texas is because this is not over this is not a defeat you know we're going to have a better bigger future event another Israel Summit somewhere in America where where people are not afraid to gather publicly in support of Israel what I tell people is yes God made a promise and a covenant with Abraham Isaac and Jacob that promise and covenant is still true today and the world is going to continue to come against Israel and the Jewish people the world is going to continue to come against God some people even in the name of God in the name of Christianity but as believers in the Bible and in the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob we have the opportunity to participate in the blessing that God gave to the Jewish people and it's our choice we're either going to choose to be be a part of it or choose to be not and and and that choice is very uh it could not be more clear in America today yep yep yep you know um let me let me end with this sorry i meant to give you the last word but there's something I that's just on my heart to say which is criticizing Israel is what we do that's fine totally kosher criticize Israel criticize the United States that's fine but this demonic obsession you can choose to be on the side of Pharaoh on the side of Sonakaribb on the side of Nebuchadnezzar on the side of Hitler and Hmon on the side of the Spanish Inquisition on the side of the Russian pilgrims history says that it doesn't go well for them and so I think it's incumbent upon us to realize um that the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob is alive and he is active and not to miss that and as a as a Gentile follower of Yeshua I'm not Jewish um man we get to celebrate that we get to celebrate that our God keeps his promises and keeps his covenants luke I uh I did not intend for this to become a uh a podcast but um I'm I'm infuriated that this uh this kind of thing has happened in the United States i will not stand for it uh and I pray that uh you uh feel strengthened and you feel his shalom as you move forward so Luke I I appreciate your time my friend thank you so much