What do the highest echelons of government, media, corporations, entertainment, and academia all have in common? Many of them may signify the systematic total moral degradation of our society. Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Ehud Barak, Prince Andrew, Ghislaine Maxwell, Bill Gates, Alexander Acosta, Noam Chomsky, Steve Bannon, Les Wexner, Bill Richardson, Alan Dershowitz, Laurence Kraus, and many more may represent an oligarchy of evil. I speak of course of course of these leaders’ various degrees of connection to notorious pedophile and human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Notions that would have been dismissed as the ravings of a conspiracy addled mind wrapped in tinfoil a decade ago now appear considerably more plausible after recent revelations. Best case scenario, many incredibly influential individuals making decisions that impact hundreds of millions of people are ineffectual idiots who failed to see what was happening right under their noses: the horrific and disgusting trafficking over 1,000 women and girls.
One aspect of Epstein’s crimes and social network that deserves increased scrutiny for its ramifications on U.S. foreign policy is his dealings with Israeli government officials in what looks more and more to be an international blackmail campaign connected to the Israeli government. This connection to Israel may prove key to why Epstein’s story received little attention from mainstream media and the government for so long and why Epstein was given a sweetheart deal following his initial conviction.
I have written extensively on the way theology is weaponized to manipulate Americans into unquestioningly supporting the Israeli government. However, it seems increasingly likely that blackmail is another variable in this sickening equation.
Consider some of the facts that we know based on reporting from Drop Site News and others. Epstein’s girlfriend and chief accomplice in his human trafficking campaign, Ghislaine Maxwell, is the daughter of Robert Maxwell, whose connections to Israeli intelligence have been widely reported. She may have been perfectly positioned to connect Epstein to senior figures in Israeli intelligence. Ehud Barak the former prime minister and defense minister of Israel met with Epstein at least thirty times after Epstein’s 2008 conviction. It has been reported that Alex Acosta, the man largely responsible for Epstein’s sweetheart deal following his 2008 conviction, reportedly said that he was told to go easy on Epstein, because Epstein “belonged to intelligence.” It has been reported that Epstein had his properties rigged up with hidden cameras. Given the type of crimes that have been alleged to have taken place in his properties, is it really unreasonable to think that footage of the behavior of prominent figures was used to blackmail them?
I have never knowingly worked with Mossad, but I did serve as the Strategic Outreach Director for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Houston for over eight years, directing all of the Consulate’s outreach efforts to religious leaders and communities across six states. Based on the fact that there was very little consideration given to associating ourselves with individuals accused of grotesque sex crimes or covering them up (despite my repeated objections), none of the accusations of Israel’s connection to Epstein’s dealings would shock me.
Jack Graham is the pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church in DFW and former leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest protestant denomination in America. He was listed in the SBC Sexual Abuse Report, a third-party investigation conducted by Guidepost Solutions that concluded Jack Graham protected an alleged sex abuser from facing criminal charges in 1989. I read through this entire report to see if any of our contacts were involved. As stated in the report, Graham permitted the quiet dismissal of a music director who was accused of abusing a young boy without notifying the police. This individual was later convicted of abusing children, but he had already been employed by another church after leaving Prestonwood. Graham may have been able to prevent harm had he done the honorable and responsible thing by notifying the police following the initial incident.
Through my efforts, the Consulate cultivated a relationship with Pastor Graham in 2017. Consul General Gilad Katz met with him and spoke at the church. Following the revelations of the SBC report, I suggested to Consul General Livia Link-Raviv that we keep our distance. In 2024, Jack Graham hosted some of the families of Israelis taken hostage in the horrific attacks of October 7 for a special event at the church. Other individuals in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs set up this event on their own. It was not led by the Consulate. Link-Raviv was upset and asked me why she had not yet met Jack Graham when she found out about the event, and I reminded her about our decision to keep our distance following the abuse report. She responded, “But that was all the way back in the 80s.”
Joseph Fiorenza was the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. While in this role he oversaw the systematic coverup of the abuse of children, including the protection of the priest Manuel La Rosa Lopez, who was long on the payroll of the Archdiocese. This was part of a wave of abuse accusations and lawsuits. The Consulate was aware of these accusations, and we still invited Bishop Fiorenza at the insistence of Cardinal DiNardo’s office to attend a small event at Consul General Gilad Katz’s private residence celebrating the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the Vatican. It seemed the Archdiocese was excited to engage in the event, probably because few people wanted to be seen with their leadership at that time and it was a welcome distraction from the accusations and lawsuits. Following the event even more information surfaced, and when I explained this to Katz he simply responded “When does it stop with these people.” We continued to maintain this relationship with the Archdiocese and other Catholic leadership throughout the region.
Victory Christian Center in Tulsa Oklahoma was at the center of scandal involving the coverup of child abuse. This church was active in the Christians United for Israel organization (CUFI), and Consul General Gilad Katz wanted to visit the church to meet with them on a trip to Oklahoma. I told him about the scandal, and he still said to call to set up the meeting. I thought this was incredibly gross and would reflect poorly upon the Consulate, so I lied and said that I called, left messages, and emailed them, but that they were not being responsive.
Joni Lamb of Daystar, one of the largest Christian media networks in the world, was accused of serious wrongdoing, though was ultimately never charged. The consul general did multiple interviews coordinated through her show, and we even recommended her and her daughter-in-law for a women in media delegation to Israel. There was a major scandal where her son and daughter-in-law accused Joni of covering up their child, her grandchild, of being abused by a relative and engaging in spiritual abuse while covering this up by telling her son to ignore this because God speaks through her.
Mike Bickle was the head pastor at The International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City and resigned following a wave of at least seventeen allegations of abuse of women and girls. He is very pro-Israel and launched a creepy initiative where he prophesized that Israel was going to have a civil war. I do not recall any of our diplomats meeting with Pastor Bickle, but that was not for lack of trying. I was tracking him regularly and was in a zoom call with him hosted by Doug Stringer, who is on the Board of Promise Keepers, a major national Christian organization, and is a close ally of the Consulate. Pastor Stringer was a friend of Pastor Bickle and wanted the Consulate to build a connection. Another leader of IHOP spoke at an America for Israel event, so the church remains very much involved in pro-Israel work
Robert Morris was the pastor at Gateway Church in DFW. It has been extensively reported that he abused a child for years. The Consulate had no knowledge of these accusations before first making contact and establishing a relationship with Pastor Morris. Here he is interviewing Prime Minister Netanyahu and saying he felt like he was reading scripture when reading Bibi’s book. There is an entire Gateway Center for Israel led by Nic Lesmeister who solicited the Consulate to be invited to attend a private screening of raw Hamas footage which we obliged just months before the scandal broke.
Throughout my eight years working for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I saw firsthand how readily religious institutions overlook or obscure abuse when it threatens their authority. The way in which religion is often held in high regard or set aside as a subject unfit for criticism in American society often enables criminals to escape punishment. Christian narratives about forgiveness are routinely weaponized to minimize accountability. Spiritual authority allows predators to cloak their actions in divine sanction, adding a complex layer of spiritual trauma for their victims. Congregants’ tithes quietly fund legal settlements while leaders speak about compassion and grace from the pulpit.
It is into this environment where religious status grants insulation from scrutiny that Israeli diplomats so often build alliances. Not because of malice, but because the machinery of pro-Israel advocacy is indifferent to the moral fitness of the messenger, so long as they deliver the message.
