Funding for Mike Johnson’s $18,000 Israel visit remains a mystery
In early 2020, before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) visited Israel with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and his wife — a trip that Johnson and the Jordans didn't have to pay for.
The Daily Beast's Roger Sollenberger, in an article published on November 30, reports that although the now-House speaker and Jordan "filed ethics reports stating that a small nonprofit group would cover all the costs," it is "still unclear how the trip was funded."
"According to filings with the House Committee on Ethics," Sollenberger explains, "the total costs for the tour — which Johnson later said felt to him like 'the fulfillment of a biblical prophecy' — came out to about $18,000 for the Johnsons and more than $16,000 for the Jordans. Costs included $450 nightly stays at the five-star King David Hotel in Jerusalem, chosen for 'location and availability,' according to the nonprofit behind the trip. That obscure nonprofit, called '12Tribe Films Foundation,' paid for the trip in full, according to the affidavits that the group provided to the congressmen."
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Sollenberger points out, however, that "the trip doesn't appear in 12Tribe's tax return that year."
"In fact, the nonprofit claimed that it incurred no travel costs at all in 2020, and made no payments for 'travel or entertainment expenses for any federal, state, or local public officials,'" Sollenberger reports. "The detailed itinerary, filed with the Ethics Committee, was almost exclusively helmed by 12Tribe's leader — Avi Abelow, a right-wing Israeli social media activist who lives in a West Bank settlement."
After Johnson was confirmed as House speaker, many articles vividly described his far-right Christian nationalist views — including his views on Israel.
Johnson and other white evangelical fundamentalists have a complex relationship with Israel. On one hand, the Christian Right considers itself very pro-Israel. But on the other hand, far-right Protestant fundamentalists — who are much different from Mainline Protestants — believe that anyone who doesn't accept their severe form of Christianity will suffer eternal damnation, including Jews.
READ MORE: Mike Johnson’s 'Christian Zionism' is 'fueled by fantasies of a cataclysmic war': analysis
According to Sollenberger, "12Tribe's tax statements show that the group spent a total $119,994 in 2020. The spending was further broken down into $52,399 in grants and $67,595 in other expenses. Those other costs were almost entirely split between 'information technology' ($23,030), 'contract services' ($21,768) and 'project fees' ($21,000). The group's stated mission is 'production of educational videos.'"
Read The Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).
