In a recent podcast episode, Tucker Carlson asked, “Where do Christians feel more comfortable in Qatar or Israel?” If his foolish comments weren’t so dangerous, they would almost be laughable.

Carlson said,

But if the deeper question is, “Where do Christians feel more comfortable in Qatar or Israel?”, I mean, it’s sort of hard to know what people actually think. So maybe the best way to measure that is by where they live. So there are twice as many Christians living in Qatar as there are in Israel. Twice as many. At least twice as many. Did you know that? Again, not promoting Qatar. I’m not moving there. But there are twice as many Christians living there. So if it’s like an ISIS state where people are beheaded for proclaiming the name of Jesus, why are there twice as many in Qatar as there are in Israel? And why are there so many Christian churches in Qatar? All, or at least most, on land granted to them by the government. Again, not promoting Qatar, just saying if you’re telling me that this is a country whose values are so far from mine that even to go there is a crime of some kind, you’re lying. Or we have very different values. Extremely different values. So why are they telling me that?

His words are lies in sheep’s clothing. He is defending a regime that has made its name not on religious freedom, but for its support of the Muslim Brotherhood — which the Trump administration is in the process of designating a terror group.

Carlson, who has spent two years attacking my home of Israel, based his argument on the fact that more Christians live in Qatar than in Israel.

Yes, there are roughly twice as many Christians in Qatar as in Israel — about 400,000 versus 188,000. But let’s get the facts straight. The Christians living in Qatar are almost entirely migrant workers, people who have no legal rights as citizens.

Carlson asks, “And why are there so many Christian churches in Qatar?”

There are exactly six government-sanctioned churches in Qatar. Six churches serving hundreds of thousands of people. And to make it even worse, they are all right next to each other under the close supervision of the government.

To be clear, it is illegal for Qatari citizens to convert from Islam to Christianity, and Qataris are not allowed to enter Christian churches. In fact, every person entering a church in Qatar must submit an ID.

The migrant workers who do attend often live and work under conditions that have been widely condemned as modern-day slavery.

Contrast that with Israel, a country where Christians are fully recognized citizens, including my community of indigenous Aramean Maronite Christians. We vote, we serve in the military, and we even hold elected office in the Knesset. Israel’s Christians are not confined to a single gated area or monitored by state authorities. We are free to worship openly, participate in society, and contribute to the nation’s cultural and political life.

There are more Baptist churches in Israel (17) than there are total churches in Qatar. In fact, Israel is the only country in the Middle East where the native Christian communities are growing. Carlson took the only possible data points to show anything positive about Christian existence in Qatar and still got it all wrong.

As a Christian Israeli working to inspire the next generation of believers in our homeland, I can say with confidence: Israel protects religious freedom in ways that Qatar can only dream of.

Qatari Christians live in fear, are under constant surveillance, and have no path to citizenship or full participation in society.

Christians must understand where true freedom exists and where it is merely an illusion sold by regimes with an agenda and their influencer mouthpieces.

For Israel’s Christians, faith and citizenship go hand in hand. For Christians in Qatar, faith comes at the price of subjugation, invisibility, and in many cases, abuse.

We must call out lies like this, not just for Israel’s sake, but for the safety and understanding of Christians worldwide. Truth matters, and it will set you free.

* * *

Shadi Khalloul, founder and chairman of the Israeli Christian Aramean Association, is one of Israel’s most compelling voices for coexistence, minority rights, and Christian identity in the Middle East.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

New shocking details have emerged in the case of a suspected member of the notorious Venezuelan prison Tren de Aragua, who federal authorities have charged with attempting to run over U.S. immigration officers in Portland.

One Border Patrol agent pulled a gun and fired a “defensive shot” at the vehicle, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The suspected gang member and his passenger, a suspected Tren de Aragua-tied prostitute, sped off.

The Daily Wire obtained newly unsealed charges filed against the driver, Luis David Nico Moncada, who is now charged with aggravated assault of a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon and depredation of federal property in excess of $1,000.

Moncada, who crossed the border illegally during the Biden administration and later received a deportation order, was driving the alleged prostitute in a red pickup truck when he was pulled over by six Border Patrol agents.

Four of the agents approached Moncada, who appeared “anxious and visibly moving around in the driver’s seat,” and asked him and the alleged prostitute to exit the vehicle.

Instead, Moncada reversed his car and hit an unoccupied Border Patrol vehicle “with enough speed and force to cause significant damage,” according to the charging documents. He then put his car in drive, “and continued the forward/reverse maneuver multiple times, striking the Border Patrol vehicle multiple times.”

One of the agents fired their gun at Moncada before he fled the scene.

Another agent on scene told federal investigators he feared Moncada could strike the agents or another car, according to the charging documents.

Photos included in the documents appear to show that the Border Patrol vehicle’s bumper was torn off, both headlights were destroyed, the front driver-side quarter panel was dented, and the driver side rear-passenger door and quarter panel were dented.

Credit: The Department of Homeland Security

Moncada called 911 after fleeing the scene. When responding authorities applied a tourniquet to Moncada, he repeatedly stated “f*ck ICE.”

Both Moncada and the alleged prostitute, later identified as Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, were hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

In a later interview with the FBI, Moncada “admitted to intentionally ramming the Border Patrol vehicle in an attempt to flee, and he stated that he knew they were immigration enforcement vehicles,” according to the charging documents.

Zambrano-Contreras also crossed the border illegally under the Biden administration and was required to check in with ICE after she was released, but never did, according to the charging documents.

She was allegedly involved in a shooting on July 7 tied to a bad prostitution deal. Before the shooting, Zambrano-Contreras called Moncada “to pick her up” and then contacted “a friend … who always carried a gun.”

The friend, who is identified as “Alex,” showed up at the scene with several other men who proceeded to break into an apartment where the alleged customer was holding the alleged prostitute’s earnings and belongings.

Agents were looking to arrest Zambrano-Contreras when the shooting occurred on Thursday.

Authorities had also tied the shell casings recovered that day to a shooting that took place three days later. That shooting involved a car purchase gone wrong involving Tren de Aragua members.

The Portland shooting took place one day after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. Before the shooting, the woman appeared to be blocking a road with her vehicle.

Federal agents were then seen approaching her vehicle and ordering her to get out of the car, before she backed up and pulled her car forward.

An agent who appeared to have been hit by the car fired a fatal shot at the woman.

The Department of Homeland Security called the incident “an act of domestic terrorism.”

“This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement who are facing 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats,” the agency said.

The incident sparked mass protests across Minneapolis.