By Philip C. Johnson—August 15, 2025
I’ve spent years working in the Middle East and Muslim-majority countries, navigating the heated controversies that erupt whenever Israel enters the conversation. From diplomatic circles to local communities, I’ve seen firsthand how polarized and complex these discussions can be. But Tucker Carlson’s August 11, 2025, interview with Mother Agapia Stephanopoulos, a Russian Orthodox nun, was different—it truly shocked me. What was meant to illuminate the lives of Christians in the Holy Land instead became a platform for inflammatory claims and unchallenged distortions, revealing a troubling decline in journalistic rigor.
The interview, titled “Here’s What It’s Really Like to Live as a Christian in the Holy Land,” sparked outrage among commentators like Viva Frei and Steven Crowder, who called out its distortions. As someone who values truth over narrative, I found the exchange disturbing—not just for Mother Agapia’s claims but for Carlson’s failure to push back. Let’s unpack the errors, her background, and what this reveals about the state of discourse on Israel.
Breaking it Down
Mother Agapia, a U.S.-born nun who moved to the West Bank in 1996, presented herself as an authority on Christian life under Israeli governance. She accused Israel of systemic persecution, alleging land theft, violence against Christians, and restrictions on religious freedom. She claimed Palestinian Christians need permits to reach Jerusalem’s holy sites, framing this as targeted oppression. In reality, these restrictions apply to all Palestinians, not just Christians, due to security measures prompted by relentless terrorism from groups like Hamas and West Bank militias such as the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, responsible for attacks like the 2023 Huwara shooting. Most jaw-dropping was her defense of Hamas, describing them as “people who have had their homes taken from them” and suggesting their actions stem from displacement, not terrorism. She even implied she’d vote for Hamas if given the chance—an absurd stance given Hamas’s documented history as a terrorist organization responsible for the October 7, 2023, massacre that killed over 1,200 Israelis, which she tellingly refused to name directly. These claims weren’t just controversial; they were factually reckless. Hamas’s charter explicitly calls for jihad and the destruction of Israel, not “taking care of its people.” Yet Carlson sat silently, platforming her clear anti-Israel and anti-Jewish bias without a hint of skepticism.
Her errors didn’t stop there. Mother Agapia claimed Palestinians are Canaanite descendants, a narrative that oversimplifies genetic studies and ignores the region’s complex historical migrations (e.g. Arab conquest of the area). She accused Israel of “genocide” in Gaza, a term debunked by data showing Israel’s efforts to minimize civilian casualties despite Hamas’s use of human shields. She alleged Christians face severe restrictions, conveniently omitting that Israel’s Christian population has grown to 180,000, with 84% expressing satisfaction with their lives in a 2023 Central Bureau of Statistics poll. Meanwhile, Christian communities in Palestinian-controlled areas like Bethlehem have dwindled from 85% to 15% of the population since 1948, largely due to persecution by Muslim authorities, including harassment and forced conversions reported by Open Doors. The Israel Guys, a pro-Israel Christian media group based in Samaria, directly challenged her narrative, stating in a recent video that her portrayal of Christian suffering under Israel exaggerates isolated incidents, which are condemned by Israeli authorities, as systemic oppression. Their firsthand experience in the West Bank underscores that Christians thrive in Israel far more than in Palestinian areas.
Who is Mother Agapia, and why does her background matter?
Born Maria Stephanopoulos, sister of ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, she moved to a Russian Orthodox convent in the West Bank in 1996, where she began her advocacy. In 2002, she was arrested during a protest with Code Pink, a left-wing feminist group known for anti-Israel activism. The lawsuits, likely tied to her West Bank protests and church property disputes, reflect her activism against Israeli policies, not actions within Israel proper. She’s also been linked to mourning Hamas operatives, raising questions about her impartiality. Legal troubles have shadowed her too. In the early 2000s, she was named in lawsuits tied to her advocacy, including disputes over land use near her Bethany convent. While she claimed land was stolen, many such cases, like the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate’s leases to Israel for sites like the Knesset, were mutual agreements, not theft. While details are murky, these cases suggest a pattern of contentious activism rather than neutral religious service. Her brother George has reportedly distanced himself from her views.
Critics like Viva Frei and Steven Crowder didn’t hold back. Frei, a lawyer-turned-commentator, slammed Carlson for amplifying a “one-sided narrative” that ignores Hamas’s terrorism and the broader context of Christian persecution, which is far worse in places like Nigeria, where Islamist groups have killed thousands. Crowder called the interview “deeply problematic,” pointing out Mother Agapia’s portrayal of Hamas as “resistance” whitewashes their violence.
Let’s be clear: criticizing Israel’s policies is legitimate. No nation is above scrutiny, and issues like settlement expansion or checkpoint restrictions deserve debate. However, isolated acts of settler violence, like vandalism reported by the Rossing Center, are not Israeli government policy and are often prosecuted, contrary to Mother Agapia’s anecdotal musings that wildly exaggerate these incidents as systemic. Her claims weren’t criticism—they were distortions, painting Israel as a cartoonish villain while excusing Hamas’s atrocities. Carlson’s failure to challenge her, even once, is where this interview crosses into journalistic malpractice. Objective journalism demands skepticism, not selective silence. When Carlson let her equate Palestinian Molotov cocktails, often thrown at Israeli civilians like settlers and bus passengers, with Ukraine’s military-focused resistance against Russia, he abandoned any pretense of balance.
This interview reflects declining rigorous reporting and rising biased narratives. Candace Owens, another prominent conservative commentator, has similarly fueled anti-Israel sentiment with her recent rhetoric. In an August 2025 podcast with Carlson, she called Israel a “demonic nation” responsible for global conspiracies, including JFK’s assassination, claims widely condemned as antisemitic. Like Mother Agapia, Owens’s bellicose attacks move beyond policy critique into promoting a new kind of hatred toward Israel, unchecked by Carlson. His platform, with 4.4 million YouTube subscribers, has shifted from conservative commentary to amplifying fringe voices, from Iran’s president to Mother Agapia. The result? A growing anti-Israel sentiment, particularly among some MAGA factions, who now echo their talking points. This isn’t about understanding; it’s about stoking division. X users have warned, “Your Christian faith is being hijacked to turn you against Israel.”
The interview’s 7.9 million X views show its reach, but popularity doesn’t equal truth. Carlson’s defenders argue he’s exposing hidden perspectives, but exposing lies without rebuttal isn’t journalism—it’s advocacy. Mother Agapia’s claims collapse under scrutiny, from her Hamas apologia to her exaggerated tales of Christian persecution. Israel isn’t perfect, but it’s not the dystopian oppressor she depicts. Meanwhile, the real story—Christians facing violence in Palestinian areas at the hand of Muslims—goes untold.
This isn’t just about one interview; it’s a symptom of a media landscape where narratives trump facts. When figures like Carlson platform unchecked claims, they erode trust in discourse. We need voices that question, challenge, and seek truth, not ones that amplify division for clicks or ideology. Mother Agapia’s story isn’t the full picture, but neither is Carlson’s silence. Both are failures of responsibility.
The Global Nexter 