Glenn: Why do I care about the Middle East?

Why does Glenn care so much about the Middle East? Quite honestly, a lot of it has to do with the scriptures. Faith and family are the foundation of who Glenn is and why he does what he does. But it's not just Glenn - The Bible has been around for thousands of years and heavily influenced America and the Founders. Glenn explained why the Middle East and Israel are so important during a candid and powerful monologue to open tonight's Glenn Beck Program.

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As you’ll see in the next couple of weeks, I’m going to have some pretty frank conversations with you because my life is changing and needs to change some more. And I don’t think we’re all that different from one another.

What makes me different than most hosts on television is I’ll take you through the things that I’m going through because I don’t think we’re different. And I think they’re important. And tonight is a good example of the change in approach that I want to take on the program. I’m going to tell you why I care about things, not from a political standpoint, but why I care. And if you have a different reason, fine. But we have to be able to explain to people why things matter.

Before 9/11, I was a slug. I didn’t care about the Middle East. I didn’t know. I figured if it all went into a sinkhole…they want to blow themselves up all the time, whatever, I’m cool with that. I’m over here, they’re over there, whatever they want to do. But after 9/11, I admitted that doesn’t work, and there’s a lot that I don’t understand.

But I remember a listener called in and said what is happening to us? And I said I don’t know, but I vow to find out. And I will tell you, ever since that day, I’ve not stopped learning. I made a promise just as you did on that day, never again, and I’d figure it out. I’ve never stopped trying to understand the world around me, why the things are the way they are. That’s what led me to the idea of Progressivism and how bad it really was. And most importantly, not just why things are, but why I should care.

There are so many things that happen today, and you can’t care about all of them. So what is it that you have a gun to your head, what is it that matters to you? To me, what matters is my family and my God. That’s it. I like history because it teaches me what’s coming next, but the only thing that matters is my soul and my family.

So when it comes to the Middle East, I have something else I can look at, and you may disagree with it, but it’s important – if you disagree with the Bible that’s fine, whatever, but you have to understand the role it played in history, and why this matters. We are connected to Israel. We are wound in so deeply to Israel, and most people don’t even know it. The Bible and our own history shows us how, and I’m going to show you just a couple of things tonight.

And this is a history that I’m teaching to my own family because too many people no longer care about our history, no longer care about the history of, you know, God. They don’t care, and they’re trying to change our history to fit an agenda, and that’s what happened yesterday with Oprah Winfrey and now tonight with the Middle East.

Let me give you a little bit of history here, and excuse me, because I’m not the guy to go to on this, but in a real quick nutshell, biblical times, this is Israel. And Israel was split into two kingdoms, the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. The southern kingdom was Judah. That had Jerusalem, root Jew, right? The ten tribes were up here in the north. That’s the Lost Tribes of Israel.

Judah remained, and they were cut off from Jerusalem. They started worshiping false idols. They became spiritually bankrupt, and God says in Jeremiah, he’s like, you know, you’re becoming the whore of the earth. What are you doing? And you’re passing it around to all of the other nations of the earth. Stop it. And he tells Judah you tell them to stop it, and you two get along. And they don’t, and they’re warned – you’re going to be taken by the Assyrians, and you’re going to be taken into captivity. Well, that’s exactly what happened.

Judah remained, but the tribes in the north, they were taken, and they went throughout the Assyrian Empire. The Kingdom of Judah was not scattered. This is where the term Jew comes from, Judah. Assyria at the time was the most feared nation on earth. Their name was synonymous with atrocity. They skinned prisoners alive. They cut off body parts. They pulled out tongues and eyes. They put piles of skulls on display so everyone knew, don’t screw with us.

Here’s what I find very fascinating on who they were. When they were finally defeated, they had all of these, this tribe of Israel as captives. But when they were finally defeated, the Assyrians and the Israelites, they fled, and they went north. And they fled out of captivity through the Caucasus Mountains. The Caucasus Mountains are where you hear the word Caucasian, the Caucasus Mountains.

What’s interesting is the Assyrians who were very good, meticulous record keepers, and who were just brutal, they settled in Italy and in the Germany area and the Russian area where Fascism comes from. But the Israelites, the lost ten tribes, they went north, and they started to scatter the other direction, and they went to the coastlines, generally in the area where our pilgrims came from.

Judah kept the Torah alive. Those who were taken captive by the Assyrians, Caucasians over the mountains, and they started to populate the western part of Europe. All of Western civilization is based on the laws of Israel. And our entire history is directly tied to this moment. Our pilgrims thought that they were completing the journey out of captivity from Moses.

The Statue of Liberty reflects this. On her base, she’s got a broken chain. She’s carrying the tablets. She has the rays of light. That’s God’s light. She’s a symbol really of Moses, and she is depicting his descent from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments, what keeps us solid, the Ten Commandments, the law of God.

Okay, that’s just one, but I contend these symbols are everywhere. And you can believe ’em or not. It doesn’t really matter to me. I’m talking about me, why I care. Let me show you this. If you’re anywhere around the president, Air Force One, or you’re sitting here in the office, you’ll see this flag. And we see this flag sitting behind the president a lot, but nobody really ever looks at this flag, and what this flag really means.

What’s on this flag? And I’m just going to show you a couple things. There’s more, and we’re going to get into it later. We know about the olive branch for peace and the arrows for war. There’s much more to tell about this. There’s 13 olives and 13 leaves, the 50 stars around the shield, from many one, but what’s this? And what does this have to do – why would I be telling you this when we’re talking about Israel?

Well, when Joseph from the Bible, when Joseph is with his brothers, he tells his brothers that he had a dream, and he said I had a dream where the sun, the moon, and the stars all bow down to me. You mean like the sun, the moon, and the stars? That’s what this is, the sun, the moon, and the stars. Nobody talks like that. Nobody says the sun, the moon, and the stars unless it’s biblical, so is the concept of unity biblical – out of many, one, one God.

There’s strong symbolism with the number 13 being represented everywhere, 13 arrows, 13 stripes, 13 stars, 13 olives, 13, 13, 13. Yeah, I know, well that’s the 13 colonies. That’s what everyone will tell you, and that is one answer, but there is another one that many people believe. Thirteen, what else is 13? Twelve disciples surrounding Jesus, but more importantly, I think, the 12 tribes of Israel.

Well, there’s only 12 tribes, Glenn. What do you do with 13? Hmm, except the tribe of Joseph split into Manasseh and Ephraim, and those were in northern Israel. That’s the northern Kingdom of Israel. That’s the 13 tribes. Okay, hogwash. That’s all garbage. Okay, you say that’s not what any of these symbols mean on this flag. Okay, that’s reasonable, okay.

Let me take you to not the Presidential Seal; let me take you to the Great Seal of the United States. It’s the same eagle, right? Except where you have the sun, the moon, and the stars, what replaces it? Well, it’s this thing here. I don’t even know what that thing is. You don’t know what that is? I know, that’s pretty hard. It’s 13 stars again but strangely 13 stars in the shape of the Star of David. Wow, why is that in the shape of Star of David?

Well a couple of reasons – one, Haym Solomon. He was the guy who helped us. We are bound; we owe the people of Israel – Haym Solomon, that’s why it’s in that triangle. Now, what’s this surrounding it? I don’t know. Well, when Moses led his people out of Egypt, what did they follow during the day? Oh, cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. That’s what this means.

By the way, you can find the image on the back of your one dollar bill, and if you really think that’s a stretch, if you really think okay, Glenn, that’s crazy, well, you’re right. That one was done in, I don’t even know when. In the late 1800s is when they finalized this, and then I think it was, I don’t know, Wilson or one of them that finally said okay, we’re really going to use this one all the time.

So let’s go back to the original seal, the one that Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin and John Adams recommended. It wasn’t this. It was instead that one. Tell me that one, Moses leading the Israelites across the Red Sea by a pillar of fire. Hello? Look at the clouds around the fire in the center in exactly the same position as the eagle. Listen to me, the slogan that they wanted to have was opposition to tyranny is obedience to God, opposition to tyranny, to pharaohs, is obedience to God.

They felt Moses was the figurehead of America. So why am I telling you all of this? Man, I have been called an anti-Semite by everybody under the sun for the last six years. As soon as I started caring, the Muslim extremists started calling and writing, and we had to have security because Glenn Beck has gotta stop saying these things and stop saying that Muslim extremists are violent, or I will cut off his head myself. That was my favorite quote the FBI gave me from one extremist.

No, you’re not violent – you’ll cut my head off to prove that you’re not violent? Nobody wants to be a pariah. I didn’t care a few years ago, but after 9/11, I promised I would find out what was going on. So what is it? We are a nation that is based on Judeo-Christian values and the Bible, period. You might not buy into the olives and the branches and everything else. It’s fact. It’s fact. But there’s no way to deny that the majority of our laws come directly from the Scriptures, right directly from Deuteronomy.

And the Bible comes from Judah, not the northern tribe, the southern, Judah. They were supposed to preserve it, and they did. The people of Jerusalem, we owe our existence in many ways. We owe our laws to them. Do you really think that we – I am a religious guy. Others who are not will think this is hogwash, but I don’t care anymore. I haven’t for some time. I’m stating who I am.

We owe the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we owe our support and our allegiance, not blind allegiance, and I’m not talking about putting troops down on the ground. We have to be on not only their side but God’s side. When Thomas Paine wrote about his disbelief in God, Franklin felt compelled to write him, giving him a scathing critique. It was like father and son.

Here’s part of it. He said, he wrote to his adopted son, if you will, Thomas Paine, “I would advise you, therefore, not to attempt unchaining the tiger, but to burn this piece before it is seen by any other person; whereby you will save yourself a great deal of mortification by the enemies it may raise against you, and perhaps a good deal of regret and repentance. If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be without it?”

Samuel Adams wrote the same thing. He wrote, “When I heard you had turned her mind to a defence of infidelity, I felt myself much astonished, and more grieved, that you had attempted a measure so injurious to the feelings, and so repugnant to the true interest of so great a part of the citizens of the United States.”

Here’s what he’s saying, how dare you? You have actually grown up, and you have benefited from a society that has Judeo-Christian values. You don’t have to go to church. You don’t have to like church. You don’t even have to like God. But to condemn God and try to say to the rest of society that’s nonsense, how dare you? The only reason why we exist is because of God.

I feel like I have to shake the shoulders of some of my friends and look ’em in the eye and say 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. Then what are our laws based on? Opinion, man’s opinion. Oh, well that’s good.

This is why I care about Israel and what we’re going to do tonight. If Israel goes, if the Bible goes, you need an entirely new way to govern, because ours is nonsense then. And that’s exactly what all the powerful on the earth would like. I want you to take a second and look at what they want to replace our government and our system with. They’ll tell you right now well, we’ll just kind of wing it. Oh really?

When they really get down to it, they’re all saying that the State Capitalism, as they call it, Communist China, State Capitalism, the model of China, that’s what the future is going to be. May I remind you, may I beg you, that system has people throwing themselves off of buildings. That system is evil. And we have gone dead inside, and we don’t even know it anymore. I don’t want to live that way.

The other model that is currently out there and being talked about is sharia law. Oh, well that’s crazy. Is it? Not for a billion people on earth based on the Qur’an. I don’t want that either. The other model will be something that nobody really has articulated yet. Don’t be silly. We’re not going to do either of those. Well, give it to me, because I’ve never sold a house, even a crappy house, with absolutely no idea where my family is going to live. Have you? Because I haven’t. Until you can show me the address of where we’re headed, I’m not moving. What are we doing?

Sorry, one thing I don’t want to do is get my blood pumping. I want you to sit down with your kids, and I want you to teach them. I want you to teach them American history like we told you last night. Thank you, Oprah Winfrey, sincerely. Thank you for reminding us about Emmett Till so we could remind America who he really was. And then I want you to teach your kids biblical history, because it is our history, and it matters as I will show you tonight.

 

'Rage against the dying of the light': Charlie Kirk lived that mandate

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Kirk’s tragic death challenges us to rise above fear and anger, to rebuild bridges where others build walls, and to fight for the America he believed in.

I’ve only felt this weight once before. It was 2001, just as my radio show was about to begin. The World Trade Center fell, and I was called to speak immediately. I spent the day and night by my bedside, praying for words that could meet the moment.

Yesterday, I found myself in the same position. September 11, 2025. The assassination of Charlie Kirk. A friend. A warrior for truth.

Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins.

Moments like this make words feel inadequate. Yet sometimes, words from another time speak directly to our own. In 1947, Dylan Thomas, watching his father slip toward death, penned lines that now resonate far beyond his own grief:

Do not go gentle into that good night. / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Thomas was pleading for his father to resist the impending darkness of death. But those words have become a mandate for all of us: Do not surrender. Do not bow to shadows. Even when the battle feels unwinnable.

Charlie Kirk lived that mandate. He knew the cost of speaking unpopular truths. He knew the fury of those who sought to silence him. And yet he pressed on. In his life, he embodied a defiance rooted not in anger, but in principle.

Picking up his torch

Washington, Jefferson, Adams — our history was started by men who raged against an empire, knowing the gallows might await. Lincoln raged against slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. raged against segregation. Every generation faces a call to resist surrender.

It is our turn. Charlie’s violent death feels like a knockout punch. Yet if his life meant anything, it means this: Silence in the face of darkness is not an option.

He did not go gently. He spoke. He challenged. He stood. And now, the mantle falls to us. To me. To you. To every American.

We cannot drift into the shadows. We cannot sit quietly while freedom fades. This is our moment to rage — not with hatred, not with vengeance, but with courage. Rage against lies, against apathy, against the despair that tells us to do nothing. Because there is always something you can do.

Even small acts — defiance, faith, kindness — are light in the darkness. Reaching out to those who mourn. Speaking truth in a world drowning in deceit. These are the flames that hold back the night. Charlie carried that torch. He laid it down yesterday. It is ours to pick up.

The light may dim, but it always does before dawn. Commit today: I will not sleep as freedom fades. I will not retreat as darkness encroaches. I will not be silent as evil forces claim dominion. I have no king but Christ. And I know whom I serve, as did Charlie.

Two turning points, decades apart

On Wednesday, the world changed again. Two tragedies, separated by decades, bound by the same question: Who are we? Is this worth saving? What kind of people will we choose to be?

Imagine a world where more of us choose to be peacemakers. Not passive, not silent, but builders of bridges where others erect walls. Respect and listening transform even the bitterest of foes. Charlie Kirk embodied this principle.

He did not strike the weak; he challenged the powerful. He reached across divides of politics, culture, and faith. He changed hearts. He sparked healing. And healing is what our nation needs.

At the center of all this is one truth: Every person is a child of God, deserving of dignity. Change will not happen in Washington or on social media. It begins at home, where loneliness and isolation threaten our souls. Family is the antidote. Imperfect, yes — but still the strongest source of stability and meaning.

Mark Wilson / Staff | Getty Images

Forgiveness, fidelity, faithfulness, and honor are not dusty words. They are the foundation of civilization. Strong families produce strong citizens. And today, Charlie’s family mourns. They must become our family too. We must stand as guardians of his legacy, shining examples of the courage he lived by.

A time for courage

I knew Charlie. I know how he would want us to respond: Multiply his courage. Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins. Out of darkness, great and glorious things will sprout — but we must be worthy of them.

Charlie Kirk lived defiantly. He stood in truth. He changed the world. And now, his torch is in our hands. Rage, not in violence, but in unwavering pursuit of truth and goodness. Rage against the dying of the light.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck is once again calling on his loyal listeners and viewers to come together and channel the same unity and purpose that defined the historic 9-12 Project. That movement, born in the wake of national challenges, brought millions together to revive core values of faith, hope, and charity.

Glenn created the original 9-12 Project in early 2009 to bring Americans back to where they were in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. In those moments, we weren't Democrats and Republicans, conservative or liberal, Red States or Blue States, we were united as one, as America. The original 9-12 Project aimed to root America back in the founding principles of this country that united us during those darkest of days.

This new initiative draws directly from that legacy, focusing on supporting the family of Charlie Kirk in these dark days following his tragic murder.

The revival of the 9-12 Project aims to secure the long-term well-being of Charlie Kirk's wife and children. All donations will go straight to meeting their immediate and future needs. If the family deems the funds surplus to their requirements, Charlie's wife has the option to redirect them toward the vital work of Turning Point USA.

This campaign is more than just financial support—it's a profound gesture of appreciation for Kirk's tireless dedication to the cause of liberty. It embodies the unbreakable bond of our community, proving that when we stand united, we can make a real difference.
Glenn Beck invites you to join this effort. Show your solidarity by donating today and honoring Charlie Kirk and his family in this meaningful way.

You can learn more about the 9-12 Project and donate HERE

The critical difference: Rights from the Creator, not the state

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When politicians claim that rights flow from the state, they pave the way for tyranny.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) recently delivered a lecture that should alarm every American. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, he argued that believing rights come from a Creator rather than government is the same belief held by Iran’s theocratic regime.

Kaine claimed that the principles underpinning Iran’s dictatorship — the same regime that persecutes Sunnis, Jews, Christians, and other minorities — are also the principles enshrined in our Declaration of Independence.

In America, rights belong to the individual. In Iran, rights serve the state.

That claim exposes either a profound misunderstanding or a reckless indifference to America’s founding. Rights do not come from government. They never did. They come from the Creator, as the Declaration of Independence proclaims without qualification. Jefferson didn’t hedge. Rights are unalienable — built into every human being.

This foundation stands worlds apart from Iran. Its leaders invoke God but grant rights only through clerical interpretation. Freedom of speech, property, religion, and even life itself depend on obedience to the ruling clerics. Step outside their dictates, and those so-called rights vanish.

This is not a trivial difference. It is the essence of liberty versus tyranny. In America, rights belong to the individual. The government’s role is to secure them, not define them. In Iran, rights serve the state. They empower rulers, not the people.

From Muhammad to Marx

The same confusion applies to Marxist regimes. The Soviet Union’s constitutions promised citizens rights — work, health care, education, freedom of speech — but always with fine print. If you spoke out against the party, those rights evaporated. If you practiced religion openly, you were charged with treason. Property and voting were allowed as long as they were filtered and controlled by the state — and could be revoked at any moment. Rights were conditional, granted through obedience.

Kaine seems to be advocating a similar approach — whether consciously or not. By claiming that natural rights are somehow comparable to sharia law, he ignores the critical distinction between inherent rights and conditional privileges. He dismisses the very principle that made America a beacon of freedom.

Jefferson and the founders understood this clearly. “We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights,” they wrote. No government, no cleric, no king can revoke them. They exist by virtue of humanity itself. The government exists to protect them, not ration them.

This is not a theological quibble. It is the entire basis of our government. Confuse the source of rights, and tyranny hides behind piety or ideology. The people are disempowered. Clerics, bureaucrats, or politicians become arbiters of what rights citizens may enjoy.

John Greim / Contributor | Getty Images

Gifts from God, not the state

Kaine’s statement reflects either a profound ignorance of this principle or an ideological bias that favors state power over individual liberty. Either way, Americans must recognize the danger. Understanding the origin of rights is not academic — it is the difference between freedom and submission, between the American experiment and theocratic or totalitarian rule.

Rights are not gifts from the state. They are gifts from God, secured by reason, protected by law, and defended by the people. Every American must understand this. Because when rights come from government instead of the Creator, freedom disappears.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

POLL: Is America’s next generation trading freedom for equity?

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A recent poll conducted by Justin Haskins, a long-time friend of the show, has uncovered alarming trends among young Americans aged 18-39, revealing a generation grappling with deep frustrations over economic hardships, housing affordability, and a perceived rigged system that favors the wealthy, corporations, and older generations. While nearly half of these likely voters approve of President Trump, seeing him as an anti-establishment figure, over 70% support nationalizing major industries, such as healthcare, energy, and big tech, to promote "equity." Shockingly, 53% want a democratic socialist to win the 2028 presidential election, including a third of Trump voters and conservatives in this age group. Many cite skyrocketing housing costs, unfair taxation on the middle class, and a sense of being "stuck" or in crisis as driving forces, with 62% believing the economy is tilted against them and 55% backing laws to confiscate "excess wealth" like second homes or luxury items to help first-time buyers.

This blend of Trump support and socialist leanings suggests a volatile mix: admiration for disruptors who challenge the status quo, coupled with a desire for radical redistribution to address personal struggles. Yet, it raises profound questions about the roots of this discontent—Is it a failure of education on history's lessons about socialism's failures? Media indoctrination? Or genuine systemic barriers? And what does it portend for the nation’s trajectory—greater division, a shift toward authoritarian policies, or an opportunity for renewal through timeless values like hard work and individual responsibility?

Glenn wants to know what YOU think: Where do Gen Z's socialist sympathies come from? What does it mean for the future of America? Make your voice heard in the poll below:

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism comes from perceived economic frustrations like unaffordable housing and a rigged system favoring the wealthy and corporations?

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism, including many Trump supporters, is due to a lack of education about the historical failures of socialist systems?

Do you think that these poll results indicate a growing generational divide that could lead to more political instability and authoritarian tendencies in America's future?

Do you think that this poll implies that America's long-term stability relies on older generations teaching Gen Z and younger to prioritize self-reliance, free-market ideals, and personal accountability?

Do you think the Gen Z support for Trump is an opportunity for conservatives to win them over with anti-establishment reforms that preserve liberty?