Larry Johnson's statement that Israel commands US policy reveals a poor understanding of the structure of power in the US. After accumulating for over a century, Zionist power in the US has become a dominant force in the US political economy. This a highly organized and extremely wealthy block of US citizens operating out of Jewish political organizations. Israel is a tiny, poisonous state in a sea of Arabs and Persians that would have disappeared long ago without the full support of US Zionist power commanding the resources of the dumb superpower. The Zionist power block is reinforced in its control of US foreign policy by its alliance of convenience with the military-industrial-congressional complex (a racketeering operation developed since WWII) on one hand and traditional US imperial interests on the other. This alliance is a government within the government. Until Americans confront this internal power block, Israel will exist and appear to call the shots.
Yes, I would describe the intel complex as the organizational central of the alliance of convenience that I described. Its leadership currently serves as the agent of a centuries old Western financial elite. The non-ideological pattern of behavior of this elite suggests that it often uses tools like Israel and a declining US imperialism until they are no longer useful, then moves on to greener ($$$) pastures.
It is not that non-Christians like me "do not understand do not understand how emotionally charged the issue is" - I see only too clearly what a great criminal fraud it is and how narcissistic, insane, and stupid the people are who believe in the nonsense. It is not complicated at all. It is simply wrong and evil to use a religious book, religious beliefs based on this book, and an alleged historic past to justify a present day harassment, theft, and genocide. People's beliefs should not take precedence over people's lives. Unfortunately, when you get right down to the crux of the matter, whoever wields the big stick gets to express their piety over the megaphone.
I think what LJ is getting at is that he thinks non-Christians often miss how deeply embedded this type of thinking is in the Anglo-Protestant part of the West. Growing up as an "ethnic Catholic" in big city America I was also rather shocked by this stuff when I became acquainted with it as an adult--I had had no notion of how pervasive this Zionist thinking is in that segment of the West. LJ apparently grew up in that environment and tends to see it is integral to Christianity. For my part, and for many like me, I don't see Zionism of any sort as Christian at all.
Nicely put. Similarly-late revelation as an "ethnic Catholic," even though I was supposed to be the product of the mid-to-late 1970s ecumenist/"interfaith" march that had begun to go full bore through the archdiocesan (ADNY) schools in which I spent the first 12 years of my education.
I distinctly recall coming back from the summer to 4th or 5th grade thinking that the religious-studies textbooks (prior to that, we had only Bibles and mimeographed writings and worksheets), all glossy and heavier on the Judeo than the Christian bits, were weird (probably would have said "inorganic" these days). None of my teachers really pushed the new-think too hard--even the new-gen, plainclothes nuns with the acoustic guitars--so, I came away from daily Religion class with the understanding that the Old Testament was history/context and the New Testament was the actual faith to which we'd been called. Still think that way, and suspect most of my contemporaries do, as well.
This amateur thinks that both the Old Testament and the New Testament are necessary to understanding the Father's purpose in creating men, the Fall, the covenant with Abraham and his sons, Moses, the law, the splitting of Israel into two kingdoms, the prophets and the coming of the Messiah.
Then comes our Lord, who is the perfect sacrifice of atonement for the sins of all men, past, present and future to free us from animal sacrifices and ritual cleansing. He offers salvation to any man who places his faith in Him, white, black, red, brown or yellow, man or woman.
His new law is one of love and mercy, forgiving our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. He encapsulates everything into the two great commandments. 1. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, all thy soul, all thy mind and all thy strength. 2. Love thy neighbor as thyself.
He sent the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to live in ourselves to be our strength and consolation.
Actually it was from following links in that article that I got sidetracked onto Orde Wingate and beyond.
This is a problem that goes way back. The view that what we now know as the Hebrew Bible was somehow "revealed" by God was a very late development, but it was, IMO, assumed by the early Christians and then applied to their own early writings--kinda like, hey, if we're gonna be proselytizing in competition with the Jews then we need "revealed" scriptures, too. This has led to all sorts of problems--not least because Jesus put himself in place of the scriptures, rather than promising new scriptures to come. The Church implicitly understood some of these problems and discouraged indiscriminate "Bible reading".
Then came the Protestant Revolt and the idea that everyone should just read "the Bible" for themselves because it was all perfectly clear. And then came Vatican2, when the clerical caste decided that the "ecumenical movement"--by which they meant, dialog with their preferred liberal Protestant friends--was the way of the future. I doubt they envisioned the laity getting into "Bible study groups" with Evangelicals with all sorts of bizarre ideas about Zionism and the end days. They did that without at all sorting out the idea of revelation and, having jettisoned rigorous theological and philosophical thinking, they still have no idea how to come to terms with all this.
I agree. Thanks for posting this Mark. I appreciate what LJ is trying to do, and the inclusion of Bishop Strickland was a powerful message and the look back to MIH in late `23 added context to Wexler. I remember that article and having read Sailors essay on the subject. It was enlightening.
Mark...here is a bit of history, that unless you are an Australian or New Zealander, I doubt would be known to most. The massacre of between 40 and 137 inhabitants of a village in Beersheba back in 1918 ostensibly by soldiers of the NZ Army. A stain on the NZ Army's reputation even to this day with further reparations paid out for attonement as late as 10 years ago...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surafend_massacre
One of the things that sidetracked me yesterday was reading the Wiki page about Orde Wingate's escapades, including in Palestine. He was a wild eyed Zionist--with the emphasis on wild. Most people know of him only in re him and his "chindits".
I think Johnson is not an expert on Christianity. I agree that he paints with a broad brush. I'm always disassatified when he ventures onto the this topic.
I guess to clarify I'll say, he speaks with some authority on CIA, the Deep State, etc.
When it comes to the topic of Christianity, he is no expert and I don't accord the same level of respect as the aforementioned. So his views are his own and I take with a grain of salt.
Mark, I am glad and thankful that you included Bishop Strickland's words~wise and true, they are.
Many people need to read what he wrote.
"Yet even the hunger has been weaponized."
"Food is no longer a gift—it is a gauntlet."
I had read about the contracted Americans who, lurking behind berms, shoot at desperate people waiting in line to receive food. It is like a shooting gallery on a fair's midway! The Israeli soldiers have a go at these poor people from other locations.
There is video with audio included with the story:
The words in the conclusion of your post certainly ring true:
"...the spectacle, not really so surprising, of a substantially European demographic group, driven by a non-reality based ideology, invading a territory and attempting to cleanse it of its millenia old population."
I read today about the Nakba (catastrophe) of settlers who, prior to and beyond 1948--and to this day--invaded the land that was declared to be Israel, and conducted massacres.
Thank you, Mark, this was an important post. I’ll leave it to others to engage with this directly - instead i’d like to draw attention to a couple of items that many will find encouraging:
(1) A French economist named Jacques Sapir has proposed an interesting theory about Israel’s current condition. It goes like this: Israeli “leadership” has been working for generations to gain complete control over the American government. The logic of this is obvious. Once in place the tiny Israeli “tail” commands the economic and military resources of the US “dog” which magnifies their clout enormously. Or, at least, that was the theory generations ago when this plan was begun. But now that the US is essentially an Israeli puppet state Tel Aviv believes that it’s time for the Final Solution - Total Control over the entire Middle East. The attack on Iran was to be the key to instituting Israeli regional dominance
But if you took the time to analyze their 12 day attack on Iran it was not so much a military campaign as it was a terrorist attack - killing civilians & assassinating leaders. Period. As a “war” it was completely inept. They attacked a country 1200 miles away that’s 75 times larger than theirs and with a population that’s 10 times larger. A country with state-of-the-art modern weapons. The plan, of course was always to get Uncle Sam to ride the rescue. But that rich uncle is no longer as rich or as powerful as he was then this plan was first begun. And the US military is currently undermanned, obsolete and almost out of ammo.
So the Israeli government - which, in it’s entirety, is certifiably, clinically insane - has launched it’s final, apocalyptic Eretz Yisrael campaign - secure in it’s knowledge that it’s uncle WILL back it up. But it’s pathetic uncle - who *is* following the script they wrote for him - just can’t cut the mustard anymore. And the rest of the world knows it. The only one’s who are still in denial are the psychopaths Tel Aviv. The JN’s (Jewish Nationalists) have been waiting for this day since 1948. (or earlier) But they waited too long. Now they’ve exposed themselves as what they really are and their uncle bully has gone to flab. Rather than deal with their neighbors in a way that acknowledged their own capabilities they tried to game the system and so they’re now looking at having to pay the price for that miscalculation. They are most likely Hoist on their own Petard.
This is a Chinese video - with English subtitles - that expresses a Chinese perspective on the Israeli program to exterminate the Palestinians. Prepare to be moved.
Thank you for quoting Bishop Strickland's powerful words.
Regarding Wexler's approach and theory, I would just note the following account of the Pentecost from Acts:
"5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
Pentecost, or Shavuot, was a Jewish pilgrimage festival that required all Jewish males to travel to the the Holy Temple in Jerusalem as part of the celebration, thus the occasion for such a collection of people.
This tells me that even at the time of Christ, Jews were widely dispersed geographically and that the languages they used were disparate and native to the locations where they lived. Remember this was before 70 A.D. When considering the centuries that followed and the natural tendency of languages to evolve, it seems to me that the basis for Wexler's theory (linguistic characteristics) is very questionable.
Was not the meaning of this associated also with Gentiles of many lands around Judea? I try to stay away from citing biblical passages as the meaning can be misconstrued. Even the Apostles did not always understand what Christ was saying and why.
Cosmo I am not sure what you are asking. But Christians view the Pentecost event as related in Acts as the coming of the Holy Spirit promised by Christ and made manifest to His followers as well as many other Jews at the Pentecost festival. Christians consider this the beginning of the church's mission, now that it was equipped by the Holy Spirit to evangelize and minister to the Gentiles of many lands as well as the Jews in Judea, Samaria, and beyond.
On the other hand, the Jewish festival of the Pentecost itself applied only to Jews not Gentiles. So it was only Jews who would have travelled to it and participated in it.
VERY interesting! If I find time I will get to your archives, where you explore what “divine revelation” actually means. Thank you for a reminder. At the beginning of this disastrous genocide, I tried to understand the apocalypse ti learn that it has originally meant not the end but a beginning of the new world. It is interesting to see how “modern” understanding of apocalypse has mutated. THANK YOU for your posts.
Of course, the Epstein case was swept under the rug (a coincidence with Bibi coming to town?).
Nothing to see here, move along please...
Larry Johnson's statement that Israel commands US policy reveals a poor understanding of the structure of power in the US. After accumulating for over a century, Zionist power in the US has become a dominant force in the US political economy. This a highly organized and extremely wealthy block of US citizens operating out of Jewish political organizations. Israel is a tiny, poisonous state in a sea of Arabs and Persians that would have disappeared long ago without the full support of US Zionist power commanding the resources of the dumb superpower. The Zionist power block is reinforced in its control of US foreign policy by its alliance of convenience with the military-industrial-congressional complex (a racketeering operation developed since WWII) on one hand and traditional US imperial interests on the other. This alliance is a government within the government. Until Americans confront this internal power block, Israel will exist and appear to call the shots.
Don't forget the Intel complex: CIA/MI6/Mossad. They have their own origins and obsessions and agendas that play into this.
Yes, I would describe the intel complex as the organizational central of the alliance of convenience that I described. Its leadership currently serves as the agent of a centuries old Western financial elite. The non-ideological pattern of behavior of this elite suggests that it often uses tools like Israel and a declining US imperialism until they are no longer useful, then moves on to greener ($$$) pastures.
’’Hebrew is Greek’’ by Joseph Ezekiel Yahuda is on my reading list.
Not to mention the founder of Athens, Cecrops, is by some said to have come from Egypt ala the exodus.
Always made me wonder why the Apostle Paul preached to the ‘lost sheep of Israel’ in Greece.
History is a wonderful rabbit hole.
It is not that non-Christians like me "do not understand do not understand how emotionally charged the issue is" - I see only too clearly what a great criminal fraud it is and how narcissistic, insane, and stupid the people are who believe in the nonsense. It is not complicated at all. It is simply wrong and evil to use a religious book, religious beliefs based on this book, and an alleged historic past to justify a present day harassment, theft, and genocide. People's beliefs should not take precedence over people's lives. Unfortunately, when you get right down to the crux of the matter, whoever wields the big stick gets to express their piety over the megaphone.
I think what LJ is getting at is that he thinks non-Christians often miss how deeply embedded this type of thinking is in the Anglo-Protestant part of the West. Growing up as an "ethnic Catholic" in big city America I was also rather shocked by this stuff when I became acquainted with it as an adult--I had had no notion of how pervasive this Zionist thinking is in that segment of the West. LJ apparently grew up in that environment and tends to see it is integral to Christianity. For my part, and for many like me, I don't see Zionism of any sort as Christian at all.
Nicely put. Similarly-late revelation as an "ethnic Catholic," even though I was supposed to be the product of the mid-to-late 1970s ecumenist/"interfaith" march that had begun to go full bore through the archdiocesan (ADNY) schools in which I spent the first 12 years of my education.
I distinctly recall coming back from the summer to 4th or 5th grade thinking that the religious-studies textbooks (prior to that, we had only Bibles and mimeographed writings and worksheets), all glossy and heavier on the Judeo than the Christian bits, were weird (probably would have said "inorganic" these days). None of my teachers really pushed the new-think too hard--even the new-gen, plainclothes nuns with the acoustic guitars--so, I came away from daily Religion class with the understanding that the Old Testament was history/context and the New Testament was the actual faith to which we'd been called. Still think that way, and suspect most of my contemporaries do, as well.
This amateur thinks that both the Old Testament and the New Testament are necessary to understanding the Father's purpose in creating men, the Fall, the covenant with Abraham and his sons, Moses, the law, the splitting of Israel into two kingdoms, the prophets and the coming of the Messiah.
Then comes our Lord, who is the perfect sacrifice of atonement for the sins of all men, past, present and future to free us from animal sacrifices and ritual cleansing. He offers salvation to any man who places his faith in Him, white, black, red, brown or yellow, man or woman.
His new law is one of love and mercy, forgiving our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. He encapsulates everything into the two great commandments. 1. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, all thy soul, all thy mind and all thy strength. 2. Love thy neighbor as thyself.
He sent the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to live in ourselves to be our strength and consolation.
There's more I could say but this suffices.
FYI........I thought you might find this article interesting.
https://strategic-culture.su/news/2025/07/06/the-infiltration-of-zionism-into-catholicism/
Actually it was from following links in that article that I got sidetracked onto Orde Wingate and beyond.
This is a problem that goes way back. The view that what we now know as the Hebrew Bible was somehow "revealed" by God was a very late development, but it was, IMO, assumed by the early Christians and then applied to their own early writings--kinda like, hey, if we're gonna be proselytizing in competition with the Jews then we need "revealed" scriptures, too. This has led to all sorts of problems--not least because Jesus put himself in place of the scriptures, rather than promising new scriptures to come. The Church implicitly understood some of these problems and discouraged indiscriminate "Bible reading".
Then came the Protestant Revolt and the idea that everyone should just read "the Bible" for themselves because it was all perfectly clear. And then came Vatican2, when the clerical caste decided that the "ecumenical movement"--by which they meant, dialog with their preferred liberal Protestant friends--was the way of the future. I doubt they envisioned the laity getting into "Bible study groups" with Evangelicals with all sorts of bizarre ideas about Zionism and the end days. They did that without at all sorting out the idea of revelation and, having jettisoned rigorous theological and philosophical thinking, they still have no idea how to come to terms with all this.
I agree. Thanks for posting this Mark. I appreciate what LJ is trying to do, and the inclusion of Bishop Strickland was a powerful message and the look back to MIH in late `23 added context to Wexler. I remember that article and having read Sailors essay on the subject. It was enlightening.
Mark...here is a bit of history, that unless you are an Australian or New Zealander, I doubt would be known to most. The massacre of between 40 and 137 inhabitants of a village in Beersheba back in 1918 ostensibly by soldiers of the NZ Army. A stain on the NZ Army's reputation even to this day with further reparations paid out for attonement as late as 10 years ago...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surafend_massacre
One of the things that sidetracked me yesterday was reading the Wiki page about Orde Wingate's escapades, including in Palestine. He was a wild eyed Zionist--with the emphasis on wild. Most people know of him only in re him and his "chindits".
I think Johnson is not an expert on Christianity. I agree that he paints with a broad brush. I'm always disassatified when he ventures onto the this topic.
Perhaps he is not, but I'd rather have someone try then just letting it go unsaid. An awakening must be one of the outcomes of the Fourth Turning.
I guess to clarify I'll say, he speaks with some authority on CIA, the Deep State, etc.
When it comes to the topic of Christianity, he is no expert and I don't accord the same level of respect as the aforementioned. So his views are his own and I take with a grain of salt.
Mark, I am glad and thankful that you included Bishop Strickland's words~wise and true, they are.
Many people need to read what he wrote.
"Yet even the hunger has been weaponized."
"Food is no longer a gift—it is a gauntlet."
I had read about the contracted Americans who, lurking behind berms, shoot at desperate people waiting in line to receive food. It is like a shooting gallery on a fair's midway! The Israeli soldiers have a go at these poor people from other locations.
There is video with audio included with the story:
https://www.middleeasteye.net/trending/fury-online-ap-reveals-us-contractors-fired-gaza-civilians-aid-sites
The words in the conclusion of your post certainly ring true:
"...the spectacle, not really so surprising, of a substantially European demographic group, driven by a non-reality based ideology, invading a territory and attempting to cleanse it of its millenia old population."
I read today about the Nakba (catastrophe) of settlers who, prior to and beyond 1948--and to this day--invaded the land that was declared to be Israel, and conducted massacres.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/15/the-nakba-five-palestinian-towns-massacred-75-years-ago
Thank you, Mark, this was an important post. I’ll leave it to others to engage with this directly - instead i’d like to draw attention to a couple of items that many will find encouraging:
(1) A French economist named Jacques Sapir has proposed an interesting theory about Israel’s current condition. It goes like this: Israeli “leadership” has been working for generations to gain complete control over the American government. The logic of this is obvious. Once in place the tiny Israeli “tail” commands the economic and military resources of the US “dog” which magnifies their clout enormously. Or, at least, that was the theory generations ago when this plan was begun. But now that the US is essentially an Israeli puppet state Tel Aviv believes that it’s time for the Final Solution - Total Control over the entire Middle East. The attack on Iran was to be the key to instituting Israeli regional dominance
But if you took the time to analyze their 12 day attack on Iran it was not so much a military campaign as it was a terrorist attack - killing civilians & assassinating leaders. Period. As a “war” it was completely inept. They attacked a country 1200 miles away that’s 75 times larger than theirs and with a population that’s 10 times larger. A country with state-of-the-art modern weapons. The plan, of course was always to get Uncle Sam to ride the rescue. But that rich uncle is no longer as rich or as powerful as he was then this plan was first begun. And the US military is currently undermanned, obsolete and almost out of ammo.
So the Israeli government - which, in it’s entirety, is certifiably, clinically insane - has launched it’s final, apocalyptic Eretz Yisrael campaign - secure in it’s knowledge that it’s uncle WILL back it up. But it’s pathetic uncle - who *is* following the script they wrote for him - just can’t cut the mustard anymore. And the rest of the world knows it. The only one’s who are still in denial are the psychopaths Tel Aviv. The JN’s (Jewish Nationalists) have been waiting for this day since 1948. (or earlier) But they waited too long. Now they’ve exposed themselves as what they really are and their uncle bully has gone to flab. Rather than deal with their neighbors in a way that acknowledged their own capabilities they tried to game the system and so they’re now looking at having to pay the price for that miscalculation. They are most likely Hoist on their own Petard.
(Link to Arnaud Bertrand‘s intro on X: https://x.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1939928296571224461 )
-----------
This is a Chinese video - with English subtitles - that expresses a Chinese perspective on the Israeli program to exterminate the Palestinians. Prepare to be moved.
( https://tinyurl.com/fbrpuczz )
Thank you for quoting Bishop Strickland's powerful words.
Regarding Wexler's approach and theory, I would just note the following account of the Pentecost from Acts:
"5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
Pentecost, or Shavuot, was a Jewish pilgrimage festival that required all Jewish males to travel to the the Holy Temple in Jerusalem as part of the celebration, thus the occasion for such a collection of people.
This tells me that even at the time of Christ, Jews were widely dispersed geographically and that the languages they used were disparate and native to the locations where they lived. Remember this was before 70 A.D. When considering the centuries that followed and the natural tendency of languages to evolve, it seems to me that the basis for Wexler's theory (linguistic characteristics) is very questionable.
Was not the meaning of this associated also with Gentiles of many lands around Judea? I try to stay away from citing biblical passages as the meaning can be misconstrued. Even the Apostles did not always understand what Christ was saying and why.
Cosmo I am not sure what you are asking. But Christians view the Pentecost event as related in Acts as the coming of the Holy Spirit promised by Christ and made manifest to His followers as well as many other Jews at the Pentecost festival. Christians consider this the beginning of the church's mission, now that it was equipped by the Holy Spirit to evangelize and minister to the Gentiles of many lands as well as the Jews in Judea, Samaria, and beyond.
On the other hand, the Jewish festival of the Pentecost itself applied only to Jews not Gentiles. So it was only Jews who would have travelled to it and participated in it.
I hope that helps.
VERY interesting! If I find time I will get to your archives, where you explore what “divine revelation” actually means. Thank you for a reminder. At the beginning of this disastrous genocide, I tried to understand the apocalypse ti learn that it has originally meant not the end but a beginning of the new world. It is interesting to see how “modern” understanding of apocalypse has mutated. THANK YOU for your posts.
The conflation of " apocalypse" with "armageddon" trips up *a lot* of people.
Just as the confusion of the term "ante- Christ"(ante= before) with
"anti-Christ" (anti= against)