Glenn Beck a Nazi Sympathizer, Seriously?

Commentary by Gabriel Rosenberg, the founder of WorldMediaMonitoring.com. This originally appeared on the Israel National News website on Oct. 9, 2013.

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For those of you who haven’t heard of Glenn Beck, he currently runs his own television and internet news network called TheBlaze. Previously he hosted his own show on the Fox News Channel, and he has authored many New York Times bestsellers.

During the conflict with Hamas in November of 2012, Glenn Beck recorded this "special message for Israel" which he concluded with:

“We are with you, you are not alone... you have many many friends here in America. This is a message also for Israel's leaders: do not be afraid, do not forget all the things that G-d has done for you. We will not forget you, we will not forsake you, we are brothers. The nation of Israel and its capital of Jerusalem lives forever.”

[sharequote align="center"]"You too have been fearless in defending Israel against the slanders that are hurled against it"[/sharequote]

Does that sound like a Nazi sympathizer to you? Well, it did not stop a major US newspaper from printing an op-ed accusing Mr. Beck of just that.

The Salt Lake Tribune (with over 100,000 subscribers) published an op-ed on their website titled “Glenn Beck’s Nazi exhibit” this past summer, calling Beck a “Nazi sympathizer” (it received over 3,200 comments). Moreover, in their print edition they published the same article with a new title, “Glenn Beck, the tea party, and neo-Nazism.” Four days later the website published a counter-opinion, but still has not retracted or corrected the many factual inaccuracies of the original, libelous op-ed.

The op-ed was commenting on Glenn Beck’s mobile "Independence Through History" museum that was a sold out event in Salt Lake City in early July. The exhibit displayed artifacts from the founding of America, as well as artifacts from the dark periods of world history.

The scandal does not lie with the author of the op-ed, but with the newspaper’s opinion editor Vern Anderson. That article should never have been published, and since it doesn’t seem that the Tribune will retract or correct the lies, after this much time has elapsed, I would like to present you with the real Glenn Beck.

Beck is a conservative libertarian, he has been on the radio for almost 30 years and on television for over 7 years. He is a member of only three organizations: his church, the NRA (National Rifle Association) and Christians United for Israel (CUFI).

About two months ago Beck gave the keynote speech at the CUFI’s Washington Summit. The event included famous speakers, from Congresswoman Michele Bachmann to Israeli PM Netanyahu. But Beck was the main event, and he delivered.

Beck described America’s “covenant” with the “G-d of Israel,” through the biblical and historical connection America has with Israel. The always-charismatic, candid, and impassionate speaker declared (once again) his allegiance to Israel and the Jewish people.

“Last time I was here, Mercury One and my wife and I donated $10,000 to help with CUFI on Campus,” he said. “And I spoke to my wife before I came and we were prepared to do $50,000, but I am asking you to be ten times what you think you can be, and I will put my money where my mouth is and write you a check tonight for $100,000.”

The crowd erupted in applause as Beck continued: “The students and our youth are the answer and the key. We must not just have a hand, a palm on their back — we must have our shoulders behind them and prop them up and do all that we can do. These are the days, and it’s exciting to watch G-d work! It will be amazing to see what G-d does in Israel. It will be amazing to see the miracles when our back is up the wall and we don’t think we can make it. This is it — watch not for His finger, not for His hand, but for the whole arm of G-d.”

To fully appreciate Beck’s friendship and support of Israel, we need to get a sense of his influence. His three hour (5 times a week) radio show draws about 10 million listeners per week. TheBlaze.com saw traffic of 13.2 million unique visitors and 116 million page views in July according to Google Analytics. TheBlaze.com has received over 2.5 billion page views since launching less than three years ago. On top of that he hosts The Glenn Beck Program every weekday on TheBlaze TV. Forbes recently ranked him as the 34th most powerful celebrity, and 7th in the money rank with a reported pay of $90 million.

Through his own charity organization Mercury One, Beck has set up and promoted many causes in support of Israel. Two causes that come to mind was the fund to equip IDF soldiers with warm clothes during the November 2012 conflict with Hamas, and Beck's help in fundraising for an underground hospital in Israel.

Beck has received three “Defender of Israel” awards from Zionist Jewish organizations. When Beck received that honor from the Zionist Organization of America in November of 2011, there was a pre-recorded message from Israeli PM Netanyahu, who said:

“I also want to congratulate Glenn Beck for winning the … Defender of Israel Award. Glenn … you stand for a lot. You too have been fearless in defending Israel against the slanders that are hurled against [it]. You’ve done that with considerable personal cost, but you’ve never backed off, you’ve never flinched, you’ve never walked away. And I want to tell you how deeply we appreciate this stand of courage and integrity.” (You can listen to the entire message here.)

Last month Beck dedicated an entire show to explaining why he cares about the Middle East and Israel. Beck outlined the ancient history of Israel, the Torah and the founding of America based on Judeo-Christian values. “We owe the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we owe our support and our allegiance,” Beck said and continued “…without the Torah, without the people of Judah, you have no law. Ours doesn’t exist. Our country doesn’t exist. Nothing exists. You get rid of the Torah, you get rid of the Bible, nothing works anymore.” You can watch highlights of that episode here.

The pinnacle of Beck’s commitment to Israel and the Jewish people occurred on August 24th of 2011 at the Temple Mount, Jerusalem. He was the first Christian allowed to hold an event on the Temple Mount since the Roman Empire. It was the final day of his “Restoring Courage”event that included three major events in Israel.

These were the faith-based “Courage to Love,” the night of history “Courage to Remember,” and finally “Courage to Stand” where Beck called for a global movement of people uniting behind the ideas of responsibility and freedom.

The execution of those events was no small feat. It required a staff of over 50, months of planning, and a great deal of courage. Because of the complexity and security concerns involved, Beck described the idea as “crazy,” but that it was something he felt he had to do.

It’s impossible for me to adequately summarize the importance of those events, but the goal was clear: stand with Israel. Thousands attended the events, including celebrities, politicians, and numerous heroes who were rightfully honored. The events were seen around the world.

I highly recommend watching Beck’s entire speech on the Temple Mount here, which he concluded with the following words:

“But I can promise you this. One day, your children and grandchildren will ask you: “What did you do when the world was on the edge again? What did you say when the West or Israel or the Jew was blamed again?”

"I promise you this: You will be able to look them in the eye and say: I had courage. On the 24th of Av, I committed to stand with courage… to walk… to march… arm in arm… behind G-d’s pillar of fire.

"G-d is with me, I fear not.”

Glenn Beck is one of the most powerful, influential, and courageous supporters of Israel and the Jewish people. We need to cherish that friendship and reciprocate by showing our support of him. You can do that by joining TheBlaze TV, listen to his radio show, or simply follow and interact with him on Twitter and Facebook.

Beck has made it abundantly clear that he stands with Israel and the Jewish people. Now I am urging you to stand with Glenn Beck.

Feature Photo Credit: Rob Kim/Getty Images

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