Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Sekulow. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now, your host, Logan Sekulow.
Welcome to Sekulow. It is Thanksgiving week. And of course, we are thankful for all of you who listen and support the work of the ACLJ and everyone that watches this show each and every day. We've got great content lined up for you today.
So don't worry, we're still here for you. I hope you enjoyed this broadcast. We've got, again, great content from previous days, previous weeks, but we are wanting to provide you a little bit of an update here at the very beginning of the day here. Because, look, the ACLJ work doesn't stop. It's something that we are working at nonstop.
And of course, even though it's Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving week, The ACLJ work continues on. You will have teams that are meeting throughout. You try to give them a break during the holiday. You never know what happens. I can tell you many of Thanksgivings that we were working, many of Christmases that we were working, because again, these aren't even holidays necessarily.
The whole world even covers.
So when it's Thanksgiving here, that doesn't matter what's going on in our European Center for Law and Justice. It doesn't matter what's going on at Christmas for our ACLJ Jerusalem office necessarily. There are always a lot of other work happening. And Jordan, the ACLJ work is really first and foremost at the forefront right now during this freedom drive. This is a really busy season for everybody.
I've got young kids. I think it's one of the busiest seasons from when you go from kind of the get past you start with the Halloween, but especially you get to Thanksgiving and Christmas with school, with family activities, with travel. And again, it can be stressful. And you've got all these different things to go to.
So I know that you probably have had a tough time tuning in or if you watch the broadcast, catching all the broadcasts.
So what we're going to do over the next three days is play. What we definitely didn't want you to miss.
So, if you've had that busy time list, it'd be tough for me to tune into shows I like every single day these last two weeks, just because timing wouldn't allow it. And because of that, we put together those segments we definitely didn't want you to miss.
So, you're going to be actually probably hearing or seeing, depending on how you take in the show, new content that you haven't seen before. It may be more entertaining than our normal show, you know, what? Because you're getting a best of. But that being said, as Jordan said, we got some great content lined up. But the ACLJ Freedom Drive, you know, it's wrapping up, but you can be a part of it right now.
That's why going to aclj.org and supporting our legal work as well as our media work. Both of them are very expensive endeavors. These aren't things. If you listen, like if you're listening on the radio, you hear a sponsor or you hear an advertiser, that doesn't go to us. That goes to the local station.
That goes to the, or maybe the national network. That does not go to the ACLJ. That does not go to us. Oftentimes, it costs us money to be on those stations because we want to make sure we don't have anyone above us, no corporate overlords to tell us what we can and can't say. And that Only happens because we essentially own that time that we're on the air.
That only happens because you support the work financially of the ACLJ.
So I'm going to encourage you right now to go to aclj.org and have your donation doubled because right now it's during one of our big match months. That is where there's ACLJ supporters and ACLJ champions that are ready to unlock a pledge.
So if you give $100, it becomes $200 immediately. $200. Same thing. If you give $5, it becomes $10.
So on, up until, by the way, like I said, so much that we have such a good matching fund that, you know, if we hit that limit, I'll tell you, but it is well up there.
So if you want to give, keep giving. It will be matched. Yes, this is a great time to do it too. And it's a way, we, of course, say thank you to all of our donors, whether you're able to make a donation this week or not. But if you can, it's a great way to say thanks as well for the work because not just to me and Logan and our team that you see on the broadcast, but for all of the ACLJ team.
Hundreds and hundreds of people. They are here because of you. They're able to do their jobs. Because of you, the attorneys, government affairs, the teams in DC, the teams around the world, the production teams, the people that you never see in front of the camera or behind the microphone, they are all able to get all this work done that you see, the emails that you receive, what's on the web. Yeah, every single day.
Because of your financial support. I mean, so it's a huge thanks from them too. If you could support our work this week, and of course, for those of you who are ACLJ champions who donate monthly, we thank you every single month, but especially during Thanksgiving, you make our work possible. We don't forget that. Please, of course, we hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving week.
We'll be back with brand new shows also on Monday.
So stay tuned. We got some great content coming up, but I'm asking you right now as we head into this break. Think about supporting the ACLJ right now. This is the most important time of the year. for during our Freedom Drive.
Have your donation doubled. Right now. That is at aclj.org, or you can scan the QR code if you're watching. The easiest way, just go to aclj.org, make your donation today. With that again, hope you had a happy Thanksgiving.
We'll talk to you back very soon. Great content coming up, though. Don't go anywhere. Welcome back to Sekulow. Like I said, phone lines are open for you.
Nobody called me during the breaks, Will. 1-800-684-30-110. I guess I got no questions. I wasn't as compelling enough. When you say call me, you say it with content.
Call me. Right. And I'll tell them there's six lines open.
So this is the perfect time to call in. It's the perfect time if you got something to say. Say it nicely. Say it without profanity so you can make it actually on the air. Be kind to our phone screeners.
Sometimes you call in and you're not, you won't make it. They get the look, they're the decision makers in there. The phone screener, so be nice to them. When you call in at 1-800-684-3110, of course, for those of you who are just joining us right now, you may have seen the headline on our YouTube channel saying, Breaking news: the DOJ files lawsuit against Gavin Newsom. Of course, the ACLJ, you may remember, also taking Gavin Newsom to court.
So, you know what? He's going to be spending a lot of time in court soon. But the Department of Justice will saying you can't do the redistricting like they want. Of course, you have Pam Bondi making these statements going on. Even Sean Hannity last night discussing this at length.
That's right.
So, what the DOJ is arguing here is that the plan that they put in through Prop 50 mandates racially gerrymandered congressional districts in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, as well as some Voting Rights Act issues as well.
So, they are saying that this plan and this redistricting map cannot be used in 2026 and beyond. They're seeking an injunction early as well, but they're going to have to fight this in court as it goes forward.
Now, I think you should hear from Pam Bonnie because this is Byte Nine. She was on Sean Hannity's broadcast last night talking about this. They just filed this yesterday. It hasn't really made a ton of news yet, but this is what I know even our callers have been wondering: can the federal government step in? Can there be a lawsuit?
We knew that the Republican Party of California had already sued, but is there anything that the national government can do? Because they were blatant about what they were doing. They weren't saying, We think our districts have shifted so drastically, even though maybe they have because so many people are fleeing California that we need to redistrict early. What they were saying is, no, we are doing this to fight Trump. We are going to redraw our map so we can have more power to fight the President and Republicans.
So hear what Pam Bondi had to say last night, the Attorney General on Sean Hannity's show, Byte Nine. It wasn't even illicit. They are flat out publicizing what they're trying to do and why they're trying to do it. They're trying to create seats based on race, and they can't do it. And we're going to hold them accountable just like any other state.
I mean, they've very publicly said, Sean, what they're trying to do, and it's illegal gerrymandering. They cannot do it.
So, yeah, we sued them today. We're going to continue suing California until they start complying with the laws of our country. And when you look at also this problem, not just in California, but around the country, it makes you wonder if there's going to be outcry on both sides about the way that these congressional districts are drawn. Other states potentially answering back in some ways, too, for good or bad. I think not necessarily for good, but for a response to this.
We've got to call about that. Maybe that'll help inspire you to call in as well. Dave's calling in Indiana online too. Dave, go ahead. Yeah, so I'm I'm wondering, should we be calling our Representatives.
asking them to Redistrict, Indiana. You're saying locally in your area, should you be saying, hey, if California is doing this, why shouldn't we? Of course, you know, two wrongs don't make a right. But some of the response of this was also coming from some response from Republican states that were presenting similar options, like in Texas and some other places that were considering things like this.
So, Dave, you know, all bets are kind of knocked off when this happens. Unfortunately, it's the way politics works, and I am sure. I'm sure other states are now going, oh, well, who can play at this game?
Well, and to Dave's point, there are already members of the Indiana legislature that are looking to do this. Because they don't know much about Indiana. It has set off a firestorm, as you've said, where Texas redistricts, and they were saying that the entire purpose of their redistricting. was saying that the census that took place Counted too many non-citizens because the way representation and how many seats in Congress you get are based off the population of your state. And then they allocate them that way.
Texas was basically saying that because of the way that the census took place, that there were too many non-citizens. That were counted in certain areas, and that messed up their maps in their previous allocation of congressional seats.
So they were trying to correct what they saw was an improper allocation based off the previous census.
So they were doing it early. And now, different states have different laws about when you can and if you can do that. California had a law saying you cannot. Texas had different laws that were available to redraw the maps. But What did California do?
What did Gavin Newsom do? They decided, okay. We don't like the law that we passed, that we passed actually to try and protect independent districting, even though it's still very lopsided there in that state, as everyone knows. And what did they do? They said, we want to go around the Independent Commission.
We want to do it our own way to combat Texas.
Now, it has kind of set off a chain reaction of other states.
Now, Indiana currently has a 7-2 Republican to Democrat. Map.
So there is Democrat representation in what is a very red state. It's a very conservative state, the heartland. People don't think of Indiana as being their neighbor, Illinois, that is very blue. It's very blue, but has very red pockets. What their new map would do is make it nine to zero Republican.
So it has turned it from being supposed to be Republicanism to everyone is going to be over-gerrymandered into a way that is really controlling yourself out of that. Yeah, your state will be controlled by a political party. And do you really want that? That's a whole nother question. Give me a call.
1-800-684-3110. And we do want to talk about, of course. When you talk about Gavin Newsom, you also got to talk about the work of the ACLJ, and we are out there fighting against Gavin Newsom right now. That's right.
It seems like Gavin Newsom is doing all sorts of fun things out in California right now, trying to correct messes or go further into messes as he continues. One thing that we are fighting directly. is they are still trying to enforce this is wild, everyone. You got to hear this because look, okay, it's not 2020 anymore. It's not 2021.
It's not 2022. We are actually quickly approaching 2026. Like it or not, believe it or not, six years since 2020 when everything, the whole world got turned upside down with the COVID pandemic. But six years since the start, and you could easily say a good four years since really the end at this point, of like the major restrictions and the things that were going down happened for California lasted about a year and a half, two years that you had there. Of course, different states had different approaches, but they are still, Will, trying to collect on some debt.
And that debt's coming from the church. That's right.
They are going after the tithes of the members of Calvary Chapel San Jose. In the tune of $1.2 million for violating the edicts of Gavin Newsom and San Jose when it comes to COVID restrictions. Yeah, whether it was gathering or mask rules or whatever it may be. And look, we understand at the time there was panic, there's everyone's going, there should have been a lot of real concern there. Lots of people lost, everything lost their lives.
So we're not joking around about that. But the fact that we can't. Look at something six years later. and go, you know what? You know, we were all in a state of shock.
We were all dealing with very different ways to deal with things. Maybe that church. We could let them off a little bit, but instead they're saying, no, pay up, give to your government. you know, what is owed to them plus And that is over a million dollars. And what is also crazy about this, too, is that the orders that they are alleging they didn't comply with.
Were later found to be unconstitutional.
So they are still fighting.
So much so, we have to take this to the Supreme Court of the United States, and we'll be filing that brief very soon. Our lawyers are hard at work on this to defend this church, Calvary Chapel San Jose, because the governor of California. In the city of San Jose, want to take the tithes and offerings of the members of that church to the tune of $1.2 million. Think about your church. If all of a sudden the government says, I know at a time when there's been SNAP benefit issues and there's been a housing crisis, That money that normally would go to the work of the church, God's work in the community, blessing your neighbors.
That's ours now. That's going to be the states who go to our budget deficits. And all these sorts of things. And we're able to do that, by the way, and represent that church at no cost. As well as all our clients, including that Jesus Club moment you heard about this week where they said you got to have that.
We're going to have a big update on that in the next segment. Again, you're going to like it. This all happened last night, so I'm excited to share this news with you. But remember, none of that happens. No one gets representation.
Or can a lot of them can't afford it, could never afford it. Without organizations like us here at the ACLJ who provide these legal help and lawyers, an incredible team. By the way, the best of the best, best young minds, best seasoned minds, people who have been around forever, and brand new graduates who are just coming out of law school, who we're recruiting all the time, including an incredible media team as well, who come from all over. The spectrum in terms of media experience. It's really amazing the team we've been able to put together here at the ACLJ.
None of that happens without you. And as we wrap up this segment, I want to give you an opportunity to think about, pray about, and of course, if you feel moved to support the work of the ACLJ financially. It is our Freedom Drive. Your gifts are doubled today. With that.
Make a donation today. Scan the QR card you see on the screen. You're watching. If you listen, go to aclj.org or aclj.org slash freedom, make your donation today and have your donations doubled. It's really simple.
We have somebody ready to match. Your gift. They're ready to unlock their pledge. Do it today. Give me a sec.
ACLJ. Mm-hmm. Welcome back to Sekulow. Phone lines are completely jammed right now. But we will be taking your calls coming up in the next segment.
So make sure you stay on hold because we will get to you. We are joined now by Secretary Mike Pompeo, of course, member of the ACLJ team for a number of years now. Secretary Pompeo, I wanted to get your point of view. Obviously, as a military person and someone who's served and obviously has served our country many, many times, a group of Democrat lawmakers and top names put out this, like, if you want to say this promo ad, essentially telling our members of our military that it is okay. And not only K, they are asking them to disobey what they consider to be unlawful orders.
Now, what those orders are, of course, they don't say what those are, but that feels like a very dangerous push to our military. They say in there, hey, we'll have your back. But what does that even possibly mean when you're talking about defying the orders of the commander in chief? Look, that that video was disingenuous at best. and dangerous at worst.
Every I was a young soldier, spent 40 years now, I'll concede that. But I was a young soldier, well, the first thing you're taught is the basic rule, is that you have an obligation to follow every lawful order and an equal duty not to follow an unlawful or unconstitutional order, both twins. And every soldier, whether they're the youngest enlisted soldier in the Marines or Navy or a senior officer in the Army or Space Force, everybody gets that.
So they were doing this for a political purpose. And they got the attention they wanted. They got the storyline out there they wanted. It's a bit of a tempest in the teapot in that way, but it is unexplainable other than say they are playing political games. With a very important American institution, the United States Armed Forces.
And for that, they should be ashamed of themselves. And I'm glad that so many have come around the cost saying this is reckless and dangerous for them to have chosen to do that. It's unexplainable other than as a political stunt or an effort to undermine the current administration. And Mr. Secretary, the fact that, one, the left is always trying to say President Trump's putting us in a constitutional crisis, when you look at something like this, where they're vague, they're not pointing to a specific order.
So it seems as though they're just trying to either, one, just do a political stunt or to sow discord, to bring down the trust almost in American institutions. At the same time, when they're saying they have the backs of these people as if they are the stopgap in some way against someone being taken through the military system of justice. But you think about the framework of the military is enshrined in the Constitution with the commander-in-chief, the chain of command, it being something that our founders put thought into. When they're saying that President Trump by doing this or doing that, even though the checks and balances as far as I've seen have worked out thus far, isn't it a real constitutional crisis when you start trying to sow doubt in the very system which is enshrined in the Constitution? You know, I I think that's um The case that all of us need to make sure that these institutions that matter so much, whether it's our United States military or our court system.
Or these young folks who are serving in our FBI who don't want to do politics, who just want to go take bad guys, take criminals off the streets, police forces. I think the left has tried to undermine these things in the very way you described for an awfully long time. And sadly, you see the election in New York City, you see what happened with the defund the police movement, you see this connectivity that you're describing, right? Which is to undermine, so discord. and to undermine these central institutions that our founders created and have served America for.
250 years. And so I don't think there's any doubt that this was part and parcel of a broad radical left campaign to do just what you described. And they certainly accelerate that when President Trump is making decisions, decisions that you've seen, right?
Sometimes the courts have rejected and said, nope, you can't do that. And sometimes they said, nope, that's completely within the lines of the Constitution or the law. Those checks and balances have served us incredibly well. And when you try to go around them, when you try to undermine the commander-in-chief, that when the founders laid the Constitution out, they didn't give Congress the power to be the commander-in-chief. They gave it to a singular individual.
When you try to undermine that, you do impose a real risk that the next generation won't understand that very important concept.
Well, and I think that this entire conversation is very timely because you have a new piece up at ACLJ.org that's titled American Conservatives Must Embrace First Principles. And I think it's a lesson one for conservatives, but also for maybe people on the left. I know they probably. Won't be perusing aclj.org on a Friday afternoon, but they should because you bring up the point that real conservatives need to remember what we stand for. And actually, know what we believe and not just be in the tribal politics that we see so easily, but to really get back to that.
And when you contrast what you're calling for with what we're seeing so often from the left, I just want to give you an opportunity to speak about that and why this piece you think is important for people to read, especially at a time like this.
So it would be especially important for some who probably aren't in the normal ACLG audience, but perhaps some of this we can all take to America broadly because I don't view this as political. But for those of us who believe in the conservative idea of America, the very founding ideas, every now and again we get caught up in the moment in a particular thing that's happening or catches the news or is on X. We should all remind ourselves that the reason this That nation is so exceptional because of these very core ideas about property rights, about individual liberty, not group. Uh polls. Right.
The idea of freedom and freedom of speech don't cancel, just let a thousand voices be heard. When we go back to those core ideas of liberty and freedom, then it serves The conservative movement, well, but more importantly, it serves American ways to give us a good shot at the next 250 years. And that's why I took this this week, just as we're all moving into Thanksgiving, to remind ourselves. How blessed we are to be Americans and how important it is to remember these core ideas that have made this country so great. Secretary Pompeo, we always appreciate your guidance and your advice here.
It's always appreciated, especially when we have such an interesting topic here in terms of the military. It's always good to have your point of view. But thank you and happy Thanksgiving. I hope you have a great week with you and your family. With that, I just want to again say thank you, but also thank you to all the people who support the work of the ACLJ.
We have one line open at 1-800-684-3110. You can call in while we're in break because in about two minutes, we're going to take a break. When we get back, we're going to start taking phone calls because so many of you have been on hold. I know a lot of you have a lot to say. A lot of vets who've called in.
Make sure that you guys all get your voices heard in ACLJ champions. And if you want to be an ACLJ champion, that is someone that gives on a monthly basis. Automatically, like a membership. You can do that right now. And your first donation will be part of our Freedom Drive.
So it will be doubled. You will have an unlocked donation there.
So if you decide you want to give at a $20 level for the first month, that will be essentially $40 to the organization because we have unlocked that pledge. The ACLJ is hard at it. I just want to say we have big months ahead. And, Jordan, I know we got a minute and a half here. Just run through it real quick.
We're filing a major amicus brief, our sixth this year to defund the abortion industry the day after Thanksgiving, so our team continues to work. We're filing a major appeal to the Supreme Court to defend a church from outrageous fines leveled by Gavin Newsom. And we'll be announcing another new Supreme Court case next month, which isn't that far away anymore. When we're already talking about Thanksgiving, we're making significant progress on the global advocacy. I think you've seen that in the news if you've been looking at it on the persecuted Christians in Nigeria.
Over the last year, we've engaged in 218 pro-life cases, 102 international cases, 263 school matters, 188 government corruption cases, 36 cases battling anti-Semitism, 129 religious liberty cases. And we're just getting started. I mean, this is still November. That's right.
That's what we've done so far this year. That's just this year. And ACLJ.org, we can actually break down a lot of that. If you want to get more in the weeds on all the work the ACLJ does, go to aclj.org. Nothing's behind a paywall.
You can go there, learn more, read more, get educated, watch all the incredible YouTube videos our team puts up on our YouTube channel that over half a million people are a part of. Do that today. Of course, support the work of the ACLJ as you can. We only have a one-minute break coming up.
So in that minute, I encourage you to Think about supporting the work of the ACLJ. If you don't get us on your local radio station or wherever you get it, Get the second half hour at aclj.org or all social media platforms. Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Sekulow. We want to hear from you.
Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now, your host, Logan Sekulow. Welcome to Sekulow. It is Thanksgiving week. And of course, we are thankful for all of you who listen and support the work of the ACLJ and everyone that watches this show each and every day.
We've got great content lined up for you today, so don't worry, we're still here for you. I hope you enjoyed this broadcast. We've got, again, great content from previous days, previous weeks, but we are wanting to provide you a little bit of an update here at the very beginning of the day here. Because, look, the ACLJ work doesn't stop. It's something that we are working at nonstop.
And of course, even though it's Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving week, The ACLJ work continues on. You will have teams that are meeting throughout. You try to give them a break during the holiday. You never know what happens. I can tell you many of Thanksgivings that we were working, many of Christmases that we were working, because again, these aren't even holidays necessarily.
The whole world even covers.
So when it's Thanksgiving here, that doesn't matter what's going on in our European Center for Law and Justice. It doesn't matter what's going on at Christmas for our ACLJ Jerusalem office necessarily. There are always a lot of other work happening. And Jordan, the ACLJ work is really first and foremost at the forefront right now during the Springdale Drive. This is a really busy season for everybody.
I've got young kids. I think it's one of the busiest seasons from when you go from kind of the get past the start with Halloween, but especially you get to Thanksgiving and Christmas with school, with family activities, with travel. And again, it can be stressful. And, you know, you've got all these different things to go to.
So I know that you probably have had a tough time tuning in or if you watch the broadcast, catching all the broadcasts.
So what we're going to do over the next three days is play. What we definitely didn't want you to miss.
So, if you've had that busy time list, it'd be tough for me to tune into shows I like every single day these last two weeks, just because timing wouldn't allow it. And because of that, we put together those segments we definitely didn't want you to miss.
So, you're going to be actually probably hearing or seeing, depending on how you take in the show, new content that you haven't seen before. It may be more entertaining than our normal show, you know what? Because you're getting a best of. But that being said, as Jordan said, we got some great content lined up. But the ACLJ Freedom Drive, you know, it's wrapping up, but you can be a part of it right now.
That's why going to ACLJ.org and supporting our legal work as well as our media work. Both of them are very expensive endeavors. These aren't things. If you listen, like if you're listening on the radio, you hear a sponsor, you hear an advertiser, that doesn't go to us. That goes to the local station, that goes to the or maybe the national network.
That does not go to the ACLJ. That does not go to us. Oftentimes, it costs us money to be on those stations because we want to make sure we don't have anyone above us, no corporate overlords to tell us what we can and can't say. And that only happens because we essentially own that time that we're on the air. That only happens because you support the work financially of the ACLJ.
So I'm going to encourage you right now to go to aclj.org and have your donation doubled because right now it's during one of our big match months. That is where there's ACLJ supporters and ACLJ champions that are ready to unlock a pledge.
So if you give $100, it becomes $200. Immediately. $200. Same thing. If you get $5, it becomes $10.
So on, up until, by the way, like I said, so much that we have such a good matching fund that, you know, if we hit that limit, I'll tell you, but it is well up there.
So if you want to give, keep giving, it will be matched. Yes, this is a great time to do it too. And it's a way, we, of course, say thank you to all of our donors, whether you're able to make a donation this week or not. But if you can, it's a great way to say thanks as well for the work because not just to me and Logan and our team that you see on the broadcast, but for all of the ACLJ team. Hundreds and hundreds of people.
They are here because of you. They're able to do their jobs because of you. The attorneys, government affairs, the teams in DC, the teams around the world, the production teams, the people that you would never see in front of the camera or behind the microphone. They are all able to get all this work done that you see, the emails that you receive, what's on the web. Yeah, every single day.
Because of your financial support. I mean, so it's a huge thanks from them too. If you can support our work this week, and of course, for those of you who are. ACLJ champions who donate monthly. We thank you every single month, but especially during Thanksgiving.
You make our work possible. We don't forget that. Please, of course, we hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving week. We'll be back with brand new shows also on Monday.
So stay tuned. We got some great content coming up, but I'm asking you right now as we head into this break. Think about supporting the ACLJ right now. This is the most important time of the year. for during our Freedom Drive.
Have your donation doubled. Right now. That is at aclj.org, or you can scan a QR code if you're watching. The easiest way, just go to aclj.org, make your donation today. With that again, hope you had a happy Thanksgiving.
We'll talk to you back very soon. Great content coming up, though. Don't go anywhere. Welcome back to Sekulow, Will Haynes, joined in studio by Jordan Sekulow, as well as Greg Gore, who you saw on the broadcast yesterday in CC Heil, senior counsel with the ACLJ. Jordan, I think we should lead this off by playing a bite from Ted Cruz that we didn't get to.
Actually, Senator Cruz, who's on Eastern Time, Central Time here. When we were in our studios in Nashville, he texted to me directly, and it was a clip out of remarks he had made just late last week at the Federalist Society Convention in Washington, D.C.
Well, I was at the CPAC at Mar-a-Lago talking about these issues as well of persecution. And he brought up directly, which I think was great, the rise in anti-Semitism on not just the left, but on the right. And he spoke to it directly. And he quoted even our founding fathers, and maybe the most key founding father in pushing back. On these ideas of anti-Semitism, back, this is going back now to the 1700s.
Well, and Jordan, I think as well, when we play this, that's why we're in this freedom drive at ACLJ. It's not just freedom here as well, it's freedom in Europe. It's in freedom across the world because we believe in these ideals that you have the right to freedom of faith to worship. As well as the Western world and much of Europe, this idea is that the government is not going to tell you what you have to believe or not believe. You can choose what faith or no faith at all.
You can change your faiths. And that should not make you at all some kind of target of the government or insecure in your own community. That the police will protect you and your decisions and the freedom that you have. But, Jordan, I think that's why the ACLJ is so well positioned to fight this here in America: as we see the Democrat Party adopt what some liberal societies in Europe have been doing, the secularist movements for a long time in the Western world. It just wasn't in the United States of America.
As it comes here, we are ready to fight it because of the work of Gregor and ECLJ.
So let's play Ted Cruz bite one. Washington assured the Hebrew congregation that our young and yet principled nation, quote, gives to bigotry. No sanction. to persecution. No assistance.
And he promised, quote, That the children of the stock of Abraham. shall sit in safety Under their own vine and fig tree. And there shall be none to make them afraid.
So this is George quoting George Washington. This idea that, so it's always been a discussion, but they knew they were creating a country. That was initially Uh the people who came here were fleeing religious persecution. And it didn't matter that they were you know what kind of Christian persecution they were facing as kind of offshoots of other Christian faiths, that this has always been a place where people came seeking refuge A lot of times. Because of their religious convictions.
And I wanna go to Gregor, because Gregor, we talked about how we've seen a rise in this in Europe, more so that we're now kind of experiencing inside the United States. Talk to people about the rise in anti-Semitism inside European countries, where I think France has the largest Jewish population in Western Europe. And you see, again, a lot of these communities living in fear. Indeed, uh it's uh I mean, we couldn't believe it would come back. In fact, anti-Semitism is now back in Europe with an ugly face.
uh from mainly from the the left You know, and the conflict in Israel is just increasing it. And uh so we we see now, I mean I'm living in the Jewish quarter in Strasbourg. Uh and we have down to my own apartment Often, There is the army. Army protecting the neighborhood.
So I mean we leave. with the army protecting us. When I go to church for Christmas, for example, we have as well the army. Protecting us. uh during uh the big celebration, which means that the Jews are attacked.
and the Crucians as well.
So we are both attacked under danger. We are both unfortunately We must be under protection. You have in France every day churches being attacked. Destroyed. burnt.
We know about Notre Dame who was burnt. But there are plenty of churches attacked, desecrated, and this is just a hate, go against God. And it goes against the Jews, it goes against the Christians, because it goes against God. And this is the reason we are facing that. It's really something we want, and this is one of the actions of the ECLJ: to have the governments.
uh at the national level and also at the EU level, much more aware Because we are always speaking about Islamophobia, but I mean, nothing is done to protect enough the churches and to protect enough also the Christians.
So we want. Uh I mean, we need uh to protect uh freedom not only of religion, but even our own safety. in Europe. You know, it's interesting to me because I live in a country. And I I don't think this is a bad thing.
if we get this right, that you know, seven years after 9-11, attacked by radical Islam right you know, and th this loss of life. That the country would elect someone named Barack Hussein Obama, who did spend some of his life. Growing up, being you know, going to schools at Islamic madrasas because we're a country that says, you know, we're not going to look to your, we're not going to identify you with how you might have been raised or your faith background is as everything you believe, you're still an individual person, and okay, so we did that, and then you see what happened though in New York. In New York, they've elected a mayor who's taking it a step further. It's not just background.
He's literally been an activist against Jews. He's an enemy. He wants to defund the boycott, divestment, sanction movement. He's part of those groups. He started those groups on his college campus.
And so that takes a step further when you're actively electing someone who is saying, yes, this is what I believe. And so you can, if you can get to in New York City from what happened in 9-11, 2001 to 2025 and electing someone who is spreading the same kind of message. uh may be a little more toned down than those who carried out the attacks. on 9-11. But the same kind of rhetoric Against Jews and against also American institutions and Western institutions.
Maybe America, we see how we're very, we're able to kind of like forget and move on because we see that as like our toughness. That might also be a weakness in the sense that we don't really think about why we have the decision here to choose our leaders. And you can choose really bad leaders that put you on a path that is very dangerous. And what do we see around the world? You know, when we talk about Christian persecution.
That's the next level. It's not just burning down the place of worship or defacing the place of worship or maybe punching someone in the street. It's taking out the entire. Village. That's right.
And I actually want to take this call real quick because it ties into that and to why we have to fight in other countries as well, not just in Europe and the United States. But Warren is calling on line three from Idaho. Warren, you're on Sekulow. Go ahead. Thanks, guys.
Can't tell you how much I appreciate you guys and wish I had more to give monthly and encourage everybody else. But Getting to the anti-Semitism, it's proving that the Bible is true. that the world would turn against the Jewish people. And Israel, and they're going to come against the Christians, and we're already seeing in Nigeria. And then just looking at see what just happened with the riots at Berkeley.
Support is And we need to like you're saying, we have to push back because it's evil, but it we're watching it happen. Across the world, like the Bible said. And I think we we have a unique responsibility in in a sense as Americans, if we're involved in the conservative or Republican movements in the United States, that if we see our activist space, especially younger activist base, it's wonderful to bring young people on. It's not wonderful to bring young people on who are bringing a hate. With them that they think is okay in kind of a groupthink mentality.
And so, you know, if we're going to be leaders inside those movements, we have to say, we have to confront that early so that we don't end up how Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat congressman, a friend of mine, said on Bill Martin, he said, you know, you guys still have the opportunity to get this kind of figured out. On the left, inside the Democrat Party, we're already electing these people.
So we're at the point now where it's the staffer level. Let's make sure. They get them educated. We've got to explain to them why this anti-Semitism leads to, again, it's not just about anti-Semitism. It leads to violence.
It leads to people being killed. And ultimately, the Christians come next. And I bet most of those staff are kids. Identify with the Christian faith. That's right.
And I think what we will do in the next segment is we'll continue this discussion about the persecution and why. Yes, because we know about this. Our European office, we talk a lot about Christian persecution here for you, but the ECLJ office has some true experts. They're, of course, better suited regionally as well to go in and work with people on a daily basis in some of the hardest places in the world. And I want Greg Order to be able to tell you about that and the team.
It's not just about those of us you see on these broadcasts, or if you go to the ECLJ's website and people you see there, it's also the teams that we have built to combat persecution abroad. That's right.
And that's why. We have this freedom drive. And that's why we're showing you all this and why we have Gregor here. And it's a wonderful opportunity to have him in our studio in the United States because he's normally hard at work in France and around Europe and around the world. But we can show you why those experts that know what's going on in places like Nigeria and other countries that we have to point out and call out and try to get it to stop there, we also know where the rhetoric and the hate.
That starts to bubble up in Europe and the United States. We know where it goes and we won't stop fighting at home and abroad. Give today to the ACLJ during our ACLJ Freedom Drive and have your donation doubled. ACLJ.org/slash freedom. Welcome to Sekulow, final segment of the broadcast.
And I'm going to pitch it right to you, Jordan, because we were just talking about how the ECLJ fights not just in Europe. to affect policy and change and law there, but also around the world through our work at the UN and direct intervention in many places.
So I want to pitch to you on that so we can hear from Gregory. I wanted you to explain to we have experts on your team. uh in the the uh Arabic-speaking world, Who speak the language, who understand the issues on the ground, have the contacts.
So that, again, when we talk about Christian persecution happening internationally, this is not all coming for the ACLJ, but the European Center for Law and Justice, you've built a team that can go into places and find and get the truth, get the information to know how we can help people. And it's a great thing that we've been able to build that team that has those kind of resources. And it's because of the supporters out there who donate to the ACLJ so that we can fund the ECLJ, who can then go and get these experts working with us. to speak to the people directly. Yes, Jordan.
We have true experts on the persecution of Christians on the what we call the MENA region, which is Middle East, Northern Africa region.
So here, I would say, as European Center, we are really at the forefront Uh all the you know, Africa Northern African, Assyria, Turkey, Azerbaijan.
So we for us They are our direct neighbors.
So we go on the ground. We just done a mission in Morocco. uh to meet with all Christians. uh uh sub-Saharan Christians, uh Moroccan Christians, uh expats questions. For example, in Morocco, You cannot.
Be recognized as a Christian in Morocco. There are only foreign Christians officially.
So all Moroccans who converted to Christianity are illegal. and they must behave as the Muslims.
So, we are working with them. We push the issue, we make it known, we push it as UN Parliament. We want to use. All situation, all place. To work and to defend the Christians in all those countries, especially in the MENA region, which is our direct neighbors, Turkey.
Morocco, Algeria. They closed all churches in Algeria. Nobody cares about it.
So we want the persecution of Christians. At our borders in Europe, to be known in Brussels, to be known in our main cities and capitals, we want our governments in Europe, we want the EU, the Commission, to wait strongly, to use our diplomatic force, strength, our economy to impose respect for the minorities in those countries. And so this is really our strategy. To have this matter becoming a real important political issue In Europe. in Brussels.
And so we are working in all those countries. We have great uh colleagues. I'm thinking of one of them. He spent five years of his life in Egypt. He married a Coptic lady, so he knows perfectly the country.
We only work with persons who know the ground, we go on the ground. We go in the countries and we do this uh this legal work. and political work and mediatic work.
Well, and I think that that shows the reach as well. When we talk about the ECLJ here to our audience, it is important to show it isn't just several lawyers, several French lawyers in one office that are writing briefs or things of that nature, that it is a robust operation that has experts and knows not just the ways to communicate, but also the customs and the traditions and ways to affect change that we are sometimes isolated from here in the United States and don't have to think about as often. But as you mentioned, they're your neighbors. Most people don't think about Morocco being right beneath France, just a very narrow strip of sea that separates you. Yes, they are right here.
So we know the communities and we work with all diminished Christians.
So we work with the evangelicals, converts, we work with the Catholics, with the various Orthodox.
So we have access, we know them, we have built trust. trust with them and we want to serve them. We want to serve them and we want, as I said, European governments to wait in. Because for it's not possible, you know, that nobody says anything about Algeria closing fifty, fifty churches. Closed.
Nobody cares. the fact that there are over three hundred Christians foreign Christians expelled from Turkey in the last three years. including American citizen. Only because there are Evangelicals. because you know they may be you know doing some Christian advocacy or politics pro-setilization.
And so nobody cares.
So we want to tho we want to have those issues very I mean known and uh and so we act in uh the Open Court of Human Rights to defend uh the Christians. Uh Christian churches in Turkey are uh expropriated. Uh we see the government trying to uh take the properties uh of the communities. We see the collapse of the number of Christians in a country like Turkey.
So we have many cases at the Japan Court of Human Rights. We support many cases. Algorithms control human rights against Turkey in support of the Creation.
So this is all the work we are doing. We are also doing work in other countries, Nigeria it has been said, Pakistan and so forth.
So it's really also through our UN status, so as an NGO recognized as the United Nations. we can also work worldwide. Yeah, so it's worldwide. I just want to explain that to you. It's worldwide at the UN.
Then you've got the regional institutions, the European institutions that are based in Strasbourg and Brussels. You've got what's happening then domestically in these countries. And of course, then what's happening so domestically in European countries with the rise of the immigration that's shifted a lot of this. This kind of taught about, you know, should these communities, Islamic communities, be able to run their own courts and legal systems inside Western Europe at the same time dealing with what is happening to the Christians in those countries who aren't getting The same status that the Muslims are in Europe, that they are not prioritized. It's something actually we're working on, Greg Orton.
Next, with this coalition we built with CPAC.
So, after the CPC designation of Nigeria, the next thing the U.S. is looking at pushing the U.S. to do on the South African farmers model is saying we need to prioritize refugee status for Christians who are being persecuted. And CC, we've been talking about that. There's a couple ways.
There's something called refugee status. There's parole as well, legal processes. The President can issue an executive order and say, you know what, we need to focus on bringing 5,000 or 10,000 of people who we know are not going to survive because of their Christian faith and prioritize them in the refugee process in the United States. That's the next kind of step we're working on. And I have great faith that, you know, when this gets to President Trump's desk and we, the language that's been created, we know he will take action to protect the most vulnerable.
Inside the United States and around the world. Yeah, so it's not just advocacy. We do advocacy and we do it very, very well, and that brings change. But we also say, here are some action items that we can do. And just like you said, if it's humanitarian parole, you know, here you have these Christians that are literally being slaughtered.
What can we do in the United States to help them? We can offer asylum options. And so that's... That's a practical step, and that's what we do. Again, not just advocacy.
We do that so well through the ECLJ and around the world, but we take practical steps to actually effectuate change. Folks, thank you so much for watching today. We had a lot of information, whether it be from Washington, D.C., with our government affairs department, showing what the timeline is and to get relief to Americans that are really struggling as a result of the Democrat-led shutdown, as well as our fight against anti-Semitism both here. And as you heard around the world through our European Center for Law and Justice, thank you, Gregor, for joining us in the studio today, and thank you, Cece. But folks, now is the time to support the ACLJ through our ACLJ Freedom Drive.
Your gift is doubled. Go to aclj.org slash freedom. Support the work of the ACLJ. This is the time to make that donation, that monthly donation, the amount you're comfortable with. Do that at aclj.org right now.
Becoming champion. Thank you. Hmm.
