Ben's Personal Pilgrimage through the Holy Land in Modern-Day Jerusalem
The Ben Ferguson Podcast
iHeartPodcasts
4.9 • 4.7K Ratings
🗓️ 7 November 2025
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
1. Personal Journey & Safety in Israel
- Ferguson recounts multiple canceled trips to Israel due to war and COVID, emphasizing his determination to finally make it.
- He describes feeling safe in Israel despite recent conflicts, encouraging tourism and solidarity.
2. IFCJ’s Humanitarian Work
- Food Aid: IFCJ delivers over 3 million meals annually through soup kitchens, food boxes, and cards.
- Support for the Elderly: Programs that provide community, purpose, and income for elderly citizens, many of whom are immigrants living below the poverty line.
- Emergency Response: Distribution of bulletproof vests, armored vehicles, and ambulances to first responders and civilians during crises.
- Rebuilding Efforts: Renovation of kindergartens and hospitals damaged in attacks, especially in communities near Gaza.
3. Religious & Cultural Coexistence
- Eckstein and Ferguson discuss Israel’s religious diversity, noting that 20% of the population is non-Jewish, including Muslims, Druze, and Christians.
- They highlight the peaceful coexistence in Jerusalem, where mosques, churches, and synagogues exist side by side.
4. Political Commentary & Concerns
- Ferguson expresses concern over rising antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment in the U.S., especially among younger conservatives.
- He criticizes prominent figures like Tucker Carlson and organizations like the Heritage Foundation for promoting isolationist views.
- Eckstein frames the issue as spiritual warfare, referencing biblical prophecy and the importance of moral clarity.
5. Military Service & Patriotism
- Ferguson admires Israel’s mandatory military service, linking it to national pride and civic responsibility.
- Eckstein shares a personal story about her daughter joining the Israeli army, emphasizing faith, duty, and sacrifice.
Please Hit Subscribe to this podcast Right Now. Also Please Subscribe to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson and Verdict with Ted Cruz Wherever You get You're Podcasts. And don't forget to follow the show on Social Media so you never miss a moment! Thanks for Listening
X: https://x.com/benfergusonshow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:05.1 | I am coming to you live from Jerusalem on my pilgrimage here to Israel. |
| 0:11.3 | And I can tell you, it has been nothing but an unbelievable trip to be here. |
| 0:16.7 | I was sitting here before, and I'm going to have a guest in a moment, the president and the global CEO of IFCJ, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. |
| 0:25.5 | Yeah, Exstein is going to join me, but I just wanted to kind of lay the land for you. |
| 0:29.2 | This is the fifth time that I had planned a trip to come to Israel, and the first four times had been canceled because of different things. One time it |
| 0:40.4 | was COVID and the other three were because of war and outbreak and attacks had happened and so |
| 0:45.4 | it put it on pause. In fact, I was even supposed to this summer bring my entire family to Israel |
| 0:51.4 | as a guest of the Israeli government and just go on a pilgrimage with |
| 0:56.3 | all of us that obviously got canceled for because of the war. But this time I was coming over |
| 1:02.6 | and I was helping on getting here. So I get on the plane. I'm sitting on the tarmac for five, |
| 1:06.6 | I think it was about five hours. And they canceled the flight. And I walked up to the pilot. |
| 1:11.2 | I was like, there's no way I'm getting out of here tonight. |
| 1:13.1 | Going to make my flight in Newark to go over to Tel Aviv. And he was like, dude, I'd get off this plane right now. He was like, I got two different, he goes, you've got two different people on the plane. They're about to time out. So I get off the plane, go back home, sleep, get back. |
| 1:26.2 | I was like, I'm going. |
| 1:27.0 | I'm not canceling this trip. |
| 1:28.2 | And now I am here. |
| 1:30.0 | I'm going to talk'm not canceling this trip, and now I am here. |
| 1:30.0 | I'm going to talk a little bit during this conversation about what I've seen here, |
| 1:34.3 | but I do want to bring in and have a really interesting conversation with a Yale X-teen, |
| 1:39.7 | who is with IFCJ. |
| 1:42.2 | You live basically the majority, by the the way welcome and so nice have you |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.