Rev. Johnnie Moore, an American evangelical Christian leader and staunch Zionist, has been named as the new executive director of the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF).
The GHF’s aid scheme in Gaza has been widely condemned by humanitarian organizations as not nearly sufficient to feed the desperate population of Gaza, and its aid distribution points have turned into death traps, as many Palestinians seeking food have been killed by Israeli forces while making the trek to the sites.
Due to the controversy over the aid scheme, the GHF’s previous executive director, Jake Wood, resigned right before the organization began operating in Gaza. Wood said it was “clear that it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon.”
Moore has been defending the GHF in a series of posts on X and has backed Israel’s claim that it wasn’t responsible for the Sunday massacre of 31 aid seekers near a distribution point in Rafah, despite evidence to the contrary. He has also expressed support for President Trump’s proposal for the US to take over Gaza, which would involve the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population, a plan the Israeli government says it intends to carry out.
“President Trump always sees war through the eyes of its human cost, & he thinks creatively — never bound by conventional wisdom. He stops wars & makes peace,” Moore said in a post on X that included a video of Trump discussing his Gaza plan.
“The USA will take full responsibility for future of Gaza, giving everyone hope & a future,” Moore added.
Moore has served as an advisor to Trump, and according to Haaretz, he is a “key conduit” between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and American evangelicals who support Israel.
Moore condemned the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over war crimes in Gaza, saying it was a corrupt act by “white-collar antisemites.” He has also smeared Munther Isaac, a prominent Palestinian evangelical pastor who lives in Bethlehem, as the “high priest of antisemitic Christianity.” He made the remarks in response to Isaac’s appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show.
In a statement announcing Moore as director, the GHF said, “An internationally respected advocate for peace, religious freedom and human dignity, twice appointed by President Donald J. Trump to serve as a Commissioner on the US Commission for International Religious Freedom, Moore brings decades of experience working in support of humanitarian causes.”
