Cavuto hosted Armageddon author Joel Rosenberg -- noted as a “Middle East analyst” -- who cited Ahmadinejad's apocalyptic vision while ignoring his own

Fox News' Neil Cavuto hosted Christian author Joel C. Rosenberg, who warned of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's “apocalyptic mind-set,” asserting that Ahmadinejad “is saying ... that the end of the world is rapidly approaching and that it's his mission to bring it about by destroying Israel and ... the United States.” But neither Cavuto nor Rosenberg disclosed that Rosenberg is the author of a book laying out his vision of the Apocalypse and has claimed that he had been invited to the White House, Capitol Hill, and the CIA to discuss the Rapture and the Middle East.


On the August 16 edition of Fox News' Your World, host Neil Cavuto interviewed Christian author Joel C. Rosenberg, whom he identified only as a “Middle East analyst,” regarding a recent Iranian "Holocaust cartoon contest," and why “many in the Western media aren't seeing” that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is as dangerous as Adolf Hitler. During the interview, Rosenberg warned of Ahmadinejad's “apocalyptic mind-set,” asserting that he “is saying ... that the end of the world is rapidly approaching and that it's his mission to bring it about by destroying Israel and ... the United States.” But neither Cavuto nor Rosenberg disclosed, as Media Matters for America has noted, that Rosenberg is the author of a book laying out his vision of the Apocalypse, or that Rosenberg has claimed that he was invited to the White House, Capitol Hill, and the CIA to discuss the Rapture and the Middle East, with White House aides purportedly marveling over how the apocalyptic events described in his novels keep coming true.

On the July 19 edition of the Jay Sekulow Live! radio program, Rosenberg said his book The Ezekiel Option (Tyndale House Publishers, July 2005) is “based on a 2,500-year-old Bible prophecy -- Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 -- in which Russia teams up with Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and a number of other Muslim countries to destroy Israel in what Ezekiel calls 'the last days.' " Rosenberg added: “It's too soon to say, honestly, that Ezekiel 38 and 39 are coming true, but I think it's drawing a lot of interest in what the Bible has to say about future events in that part of the world, given the parallels to those prophecies.” Additionally, in a column posted on July 17 on the leftbehind.com website, Rosenberg purported to break down the prophecy from Ezekiel by listing “what to ... watch[] for.” For his final bullet point, he wrote: “Even the G8 issued a statement defending Israel's right to exist. But the Scriptures are clear, Israel will be totally alone when Russia and Iran attack.”

And during a segment on the July 26 edition of CNN's Live From ... discussing the potential coming of the Apocalypse, as indicated by current conflicts in the Middle East, host Kyra Phillips asked Rosenberg whether she needed “to start taking care of unfinished business and telling people that I love them and I'm sorry for all the evil things I've done.” Rosenberg replied, “Well, that would be a good start.”

When Cavuto asked Rosenberg if he is “surprised there isn't the outcry when you show these images [Holocaust cartoons] that there was when you showed the cartoon images of Muhammad,” Rosenberg replied: "[N]o, because I think that, you know, Jews and Christians believe to -- you know -- you should love your neighbor; turn the other cheek, pray for those who persecute you, so you don't have the type of violent reaction that you have in the Muslim world."

Rosenberg's appearance on Your World marked the second day in a row that Cavuto interviewed someone who has advocated for a U.S. foreign policy that takes Apocalypse prophecies into account. As Media Matters noted, on August 15, Cavuto interviewed evangelical pastor John Hagee regarding the recent United Nations-brokered cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, providing him with a platform to advocate for a U.S. foreign policy strategy consistent with his apocalyptic vision. Hagee's reported belief that conflict between Israel and its neighbors signals a prelude to Armageddon went unmentioned throughout the interview.

From the August 16 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto:

CAVUTO: Welcome back. Iran is staging a Holocaust cartoon contest at a gallery in Tehran with mocking images of the Holocaust and Jewish people. Iran's president believes that the persecution of Jews during World War II by the Nazis is, quote, “a myth.” But my next guest says that Iran's Ahmadinejad is just as dangerous as Adolf Hitler. But many in the Western media are not seeing it that way. Joel Rosenberg is a Middle East analyst and author of numerous books, including The Copper Scroll. Good to have you.

ROSENBERG: Thanks Neil.

CAVUTO: Explain to me what they're saying and doing on the Holocaust.

ROSENBERG: Well let's start by saying that the cartoons that the Danes and others have done to mock Muhammad were wrong. But at the same time, the Iranians are trying to not just mock, but deny, a Holocaust while simultaneously preparing to launch another. The president of Iran is talking about genocide, wiping Israel and, frankly, the United States off the map. So this is part of this propaganda campaign they're waging -- prepare to rile up the radical Muslims into a Holocaust against Israel and ultimately against the United States.

CAVUTO: Are you surprised there isn't the outcry when you show these images that there was when you showed the cartoon images of Muhammad?

ROSENBERG: Well, no, because I think that, you know, Jews and Christians believe to -- you know -- you should love your neighbor; turn the other cheek, pray for those who persecute you, so you don't have the type of violent reaction that you have in the Muslim world. Look, again, the cartoons mocking Muhammad were wrong. But, this is a regime in Iran that is trying to bring about a new holocaust. Ahmadinejad is the new Hitler. Too many Americans, and particularly on the left, don't see that. They don't see the threat. Ahmadinejad is saying to people in Iran that the end of the world is rapidly approaching and that it's his mission to bring it about by destroying Israel and then destroying the United States. And that's the threat.

CAVUTO: But does he have more clout than prior leaders who spoke in this way, because at this point, he has a lot more money, his country has a lot more money? It's rich in a lot of oil money.

ROSENBERG: He does, and where is he spending it? He just signed a $1 billion deal with Russia to buy missiles and arms from Moscow. He is sending $100 million a year to Hezbollah. He is building the arsenal and the alliance to destroy Israel and to wipe out the United States, and that's what's so dangerous. People don't appreciate yet, particularly in the media --Mike Wallace for sure -- don't appreciate or understand the evil that is rising in Iran, and that's what I'm trying to write about in novels. That's what I'm trying to talk about -- is the religious, end-of-the-world, apocalyptic mind-set that Ahmadinejad has. You can't negotiate with someone, ultimately, who believes it's his mission to end the world.

CAVUTO: OK. Joel Rosenberg, thank you very much.

ROSENBERG: Thank you, Neil.

CAVUTO: We'll see where this goes.