For years, anyone who said Israel had its claws in American churches was brushed off as dramatic or conspiratorial. Then MintPress News published a FARA‑based investigation showing Israeli-linked firms spying on millions of American Christians inside their own churches. And now, with filmmaker Nathan Apffel saying out loud on Tucker Carlson’s show, the whole operation is finally being dragged into daylight. This isn’t “shared values.” It’s surveillance, psychological targeting, and political manipulation aimed at Christians who don’t even know they’re being profiled.
Apffel starts by pointing out something obvious: the idolization of the modern Israeli state inside American churches didn’t happen naturally. It wasn’t born out of scripture. It was manufactured through paid trips, foreign-funded conferences, targeted messaging, data-driven profiling, and political operatives posing as religious allies. MintPress’ documents show Israeli-linked PR firms mapping megachurch audiences, tracking sentiment, and feeding pastors pre‑packaged talking points. Not support for Israel as a people. Support for the Israeli government as a political project.
One of the most disturbing parts of the MintPress investigation is how megachurches were treated like data farms. Phones inside churches were tracked. Congregants were profiled. Messaging was tailored to their fears, age, and political leanings. This is the kind of thing Americans scream about when China does it, but when Israel does it, the same people suddenly lose their voices. Apffel confirms the same pattern: megachurches were treated as political assets, not houses of worship.
He also talks about how the elderly were the easiest targets. Churches already exploit them, and Israeli influence networks know it. Older Christians grew up with Cold War propaganda, end‑times sermons, and decades of “Israel is God’s chosen ally” messaging. They’re primed for manipulation. MintPress found that Israeli-linked PR firms specifically targeted seniors with fixed incomes, retirees who tithe heavily, older Christians who consume conservative media, and people who respond emotionally to “biblical prophecy” framing. It’s not ministry. It’s psychological warfare dressed up as fellowship.
When Apffel gets into how many pastors know they’re being used, he’s blunt: some know exactly what they’re doing, and others are too naïve or too flattered to question it. MintPress’ documents show pastors receiving scripted talking points, being coached on how to “sell Israel,” being flown to Israel on government‑funded junkets, and being used as political influencers rather than spiritual leaders.
The question of who pays for the pastor trips has a simple answer: foreign-linked nonprofits, Israeli ministries, political advocacy groups, and U.S. Christian Zionist organizations acting as middlemen. MintPress found that many of these groups are registered under FARA, receive Israeli government funding, operate as PR arms for the Israeli state, and use “religious tourism” as political indoctrination. Pastors come back parroting the same lines: “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East,” “Israel shares our values,” “Supporting Israel is a biblical mandate.” All of it is manufactured.
Apffel argues that Christian Zionism isn’t collapsing — it’s fracturing. Younger Christians are walking away from the unconditional pro‑Israel narrative because they see Gaza, they see the occupation, and they see the hypocrisy. But the institutional machine — the megachurches, the televangelists, the political donors — is doubling down because they’re financially tied to it.
Apffel spends a long stretch exposing how churches operate like corporations: tithing as revenue extraction, pastors as CEOs, congregants as customers, and Israel as a political brand. MintPress’ documents show that Israeli-linked firms understood this perfectly. They treated churches like marketing channels, not spiritual communities. The money explains everything. Church funds go to political lobbying, media campaigns, Israel‑aligned advocacy groups, and pastor conferences funded by foreign interests. Meanwhile, congregants think they’re funding missions.
When Apffel brings up the Mormon Church’s massive financial empire, it fits the pattern. MintPress didn’t focus on Mormons, but it's comparable: religious institutions with billions in assets are prime targets for foreign influence. Israel knows this and capitalizes on it.
Apffel doesn’t sugarcoat the fact that many pastors get rich because the system rewards political loyalty, not spiritual integrity. MintPress’ documents show that pastors who push pro‑Israel messaging get more funding, more access, more media exposure, and more “partnership opportunities.”
This leads into the bigger point: Christianity in the U.S. has been commercialized, politicized, militarized, and foreign‑influenced. And Israel has been one of the most aggressive players in that space.
Apffel says people are leaving institutional churches but not Christianity itself. They’re sick of the corruption, the politics, and the foreign agendas. MintPress’ reporting suggests the same: the more people learn about these influence operations, the more they walk away. He calls the modern church a franchise, and MintPress calls it political targeting. Either way, the result is the same: American Christianity is being reshaped by foreign interests.
When asked whether churches are waking up to Middle Eastern Christian persecution, Apffel says some are, but most aren’t. Because acknowledging the persecution of Palestinian Christians would force them to confront the reality that the Israeli government — the same government they idolize — is responsible for much of it.
