July 25, AD2025: The Death of Hulkamania, France and Palestine, The Fed Building, South Park, and Huckabee's Ire with Israel
Say Your Prayers: Terry Gene Bollea, August 11, 1953 – July 24, 2025
Dear Reader,
France and Palestine
France made the decision to recognize the State of Palestine, but that does not really help the Palestinians. This recognition does not grant actual sovereignty. The Palestinian Authority governs parts of the West Bank, while Hamas controls Gaza. This internal division weakens the practical capacity for unified governance or international negotiations. Both were elected and both are now illegitimate.
Fatah and Hamas are the two main Palestinian political factions, differing sharply in ideology, strategy, and governance. Fatah, founded in the 1950s by Yasser Arafat (died 2004), is a secular leftist nationalist faction in the Palestine Liberation Organization that runs the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. In contrast, Hamas, founded in 1987 during the First Intifada, is an Islamist movement with roots in the Muslim Brotherhood. Both have sought armed resistance against Israel and failed at it.
Hamas was elected in 2006 to lead the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Palestinian parliament, and it formed a government within the Palestinian Authority, but tensions with Fatah escalated into violent conflict. In 2007, Hamas seized control of Gaza but failed to take over the West Bank due to several factors: Fatah's firm hold on Palestinian Authority institutions there, the strong Israeli military presence that actively suppresses Hamas activity, geographic separation between Gaza and the West Bank, and international opposition to Hamas leadership. Additionally, Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank coordinated with Israel to prevent Hamas from gaining power, and public support for Hamas is generally weaker in the West Bank compared to Gaza—at least we think so. As a result, Hamas governed Gaza before the Gaza War, while Fatah retained control over the West Bank through the Palestinian Authority.
According to the Palestinian Basic Law, the presidency is limited to a four-year term with a maximum of two terms. Mahmoud Abbas was elected President of the Palestinian Authority on January 9, 2005, and officially took office on January 15, 2005. His term was set for four years, meaning it was scheduled to end in January 2009. There have been no elections since 2005. So he is not really the president, and Hamas is not really the government. Legally, the Palestinians have no government—just two parties who have not held elections since. So in both cases, we do not know what the Palestinians would want because neither side has held elections. While France has recognized a “State of Palestine,” the reality is that there is no legal government according to Palestinian law, so whatever is being recognized is not lawful.
But it gets worse. If the Israelis had an election tomorrow and a peace party came to power, they would have no one to make peace with. Israel is not responsible for that; the Palestinian leaders are.
The Palestinians passed on a peace deal in 2000 and on the September 2008 peace deal proposed by the Olmert government. The extremists in Palestine keep holding out for more rather than taking deals and using them to build a stronger Palestinian system. French President Emmanuel Macron can recognize a State of Palestine, but only Palestinians developing a responsible strategic culture can make it mean something.
Israel Alienates Christian Zionists
The Israel government has a problem, Jewish extremists are alienating the world’s largest group of Zionists: American Christians. After years of ignoring Palestinian Christians, Americans are taking note of mistreat suffered by Palestinians who are not Muslims. Anglicans in American and globally were incensed that a 24 year-old Anglican woman Layan Nasir was held without charge for eight months and only released in December 2024.
A July 18 2025 letter leaked from the American Embassy,
US Ambassador to Israel Michael Dale Huckabee threatened go public stating that Israel no longer welcomes Christian groups. The leaked letter was an embarrassment to Israel especially as Huckabee threatened retaliation. At issue is the behavior of Israel’s Interior Minister Moshe Arbel a member of Shas, a Haredi political party. Haredi are members of a branch of Orthodox Judaism characterized by strict religious observance, traditional lifestyles, and separation from secular society. Arbel disputed the characterization of Huckabee’s letter in one of his own. On July 21st the US Embassy released a message from Huckabee seemingly declaring the issue over:
After meetings with the Minister of the Interior and with the help of Prime Minister Netanyahu, I’m happy to report that the issue concerning visas for American Evangelical organizations has been fully resolved.
Starting in January, a change in the manner which visas for Christian organizations had been processed for decades led to serious challenges bureaucratically and financially for the groups. Upon arriving in Israel as Ambassador, I learned that the changes in the process were creating delays, costs, and significant burdens with paperwork. After a meeting with the Minister of Interior, we thought the problem was settled but organizations continued to have issues. I informed the Prime Minister’s Office of the problem and pointed out how detrimental it was to the relationship of the State of Israel with the American evangelical community.
The Christian organizations did not at any time ask for different or special treatment, but merely a return to what has been an efficient and satisfactory process for many years.
Attorney Calev Myers, an Israeli attorney who represents some 150 Christian groups in Israel, was instrumental in outlining the request and the Prime Minister’s Office was supportive and involved in the resolution along with the Minister of the Interior.
“I am delighted to report that the issue has been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction and the strong support that Israel enjoys from American evangelicals will continue,” stated US Ambassador Mike Huckabee. “I’m convinced the Interior Minister was not fully aware of the change being imposed and I’m grateful he has personally intervened to completely restore the long-standing process,” added Huckabee.
“American Christians are some of Israel’s strongest supporters, and the resolution of this issue among friends is a welcome outcome,” said Huckabee.
This is not the end of the concerns, however. Israeli Jewish settlers allegedly set fire to the grounds of the ruins of the historic Church of St. George and a Christian cemetery in the Christian Palestinian town of Taybeh. Despite locals calling the police, the Israeli police never showed up. Huckabee went to the town and made this statement:
Statement by U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee
Visit to the Community of Taybeh
Saturday, July 19, 2025Thank you to the people of Taybeh for giving us the opportunity to come and see first-hand some of the things that have happened.
One thing that we strongly agree on is that any desecration to a holy place – it doesn’t matter whether it’s a church, a mosque, or a synagogue – it’s unacceptable. To commit an act of sacrilege by desecrating a place that is supposed to be a place of worship, it is an act of terror, and it is a crime. There should be consequences, and it should be harsh consequences because it is one of the last bastions of our civilization, the places where we worship.
I myself am a Christian, but I would never desecrate a mosque or a synagogue. Those who would worship in a synagogue should never desecrate a church or a mosque, and those who worship in a mosque should never desecrate a church or a synagogue. It’s that simple. And what has happened here is an absolute travesty, and it’s my desire to do everything possible to let the people of this peaceful village know that we will certainly insist that those who carry out acts of terror and violence in Taybeh – or anywhere –- be found and be prosecuted. Not just reprimanded, that’s not enough. People need to pay a price for doing something that destroys that which belongs, not just to other people, but that which belongs to God. That is a sacrilege. It’s against the Holy.
I’m very grateful for the conversation that we were able to have here today. It was a very honest, candid conversation, and we heard things that we needed to hear today. What we needed to hear were the specifics, exactly what has happened. And we were supplied with information that was very helpful, and it was not general, but it was very definite.
I have a lot of our staff here from the Embassy who are with me today, and we come to express solidarity with the people who just want to live their lives in peace, be able to go to their own land, be able to go to their place of worship. This is a Christian community, largely, and it’s one that deserves respect and deserves to be treated with dignity. Nothing short of that.
I want to thank the Mayor for his kindness and his hospitality today. The people of the community have been remarkable in their gracious and nice welcome of us, and it means a lot. We leave from here, I hope, with a sense of friendship. We thank you very, very much.
At a time when many Americans have grown cold and disinterested in Israel, the Netanyahu government cannot afford to alienate Christian Zionists. If Israeli extremists do not realize their dependence on American Christian support, they are, like their Palestinian counterparts, strategically inept.
Israel cannot risk it.
Trump, Powell and South Park
“South Park Conservatives” is a term that was used to describe a loosely defined group of right-leaning individuals, often younger and libertarian-leaning, who rejected political correctness and liberal-Democrat aligned cultural norms while embracing edgy, irreverent humor—much like the tone of the animated show South Park. The term gained popularity after Brian C. Anderson published a book in 2005 titled South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias, arguing that a new kind of right-leaning cultural critic was emerging—more irreverent, media-savvy, and less tied to religious conservatism, but ,who were critical of progressive-Democratic identity politics, campus activism, and what they see as moralizing from the political left. It is fair to say that South Park Conservatives helped normalize irreverent, anti-PC discourse, which created space later exploited by President Donald John Trump. In 2003 the British commentator Andrew Sullivan predicted that “South Park Republicans” were the future. It took them until 2016 however.
It is therefore a major development that the actual show South Park have targeted and pilloried, President Trump, and the Paramount Network, in the most notable episode of the last decade and issued a mock apology to the US leader. It has generated international coverage and dominated much to the political conversation on social media. The timing of the episode’s release in the middle of the continued anger over the failure to release the Epstein files only magnifies the degree of the president’s fall in approval ratings. The Republicans are only being saved by the fact that the Democratic Party leaders have failed to redeem themselves from the perception they are out of touch and unconcerned with the economic issues impacting Americans.
This week, President Trump visited the Federal Reserve with Chair Jerome Powell to tour a renovation project he had criticized for being over budget. While Trump reiterated his frustration with high interest rates, he backed off threats to fire Powell, expressing hope that rates would be lowered soon. The two disagreed over the renovation’s cost, with Powell publicly correcting Trump’s figures. Despite past tensions, Trump said there was “no pressure” on Powell to resign and emphasized that lowering interest rates remained his main concern.
Train, Say Your Prayers, Eat Your Vitamins, Belief in Yourself - The Hulk Hogan Demandments.
The myth of Hulkamania died in July 2015, the man lived another decade.
Culturally, this is the biggest news of the week. Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea) was the biggest professional wrestling hero of all time - working for the World Wrestling Federation (the WWF) - and without him, professional wrestling would not be a multibillion-dollar business. Additionally, he reinvented himself in the 1990s and became the ultimate wrestling villain - in Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling (WCW) - and he could rightly claim to have made two separate companies the top global promotion. Yet, in his later years, he fell into the bad habits of the Baby Boomer generation. He did not retire gracefully, he did not show restraint, and he was indulgent and self-justifying. Exactly a decade before his death, Bollea’s legacy was tarnished and for many, permanently diminished.
On July 24, 2015, an audio recording leaked of Bollea calling himself a racist and using racial slurs to denounce his daughter’s African American then boyfriend. Since then, many fans have felt that their childhood memories were ruined by Bollea’s racist behavior, especially after growing up with him as the patriotic American hero who main-evented the first WrestleMania with African American acting star Mr. T. His partnership with Mr. T was part of the 1980s spirit of Ronald Reagan’s America, where racial tensions were lowering and a new, post–Civil Rights era American unity was growing.
Wrestling is different from other forms of theatrical entertainment, as with the superstars, the role bleeds into the person and vice versa. Dwayne Johnson once famously described his alter ego, The Rock, as 'The Rock is me. Dwayne Johnson. Just with the volume turned way up, the treble adjusted, the bass. Same guy.' Wrestling legend Ric Flair has been accused of 'living the gimmick' forever. But with Hogan/Bollea, being a racist was too much for the adult Hulkamaniacs who grew up with the demandments of 'train, say your prayers, and eat your vitamins.' To those who could not get over it, he became another symbol of indulgent boomer hypocrisy. It is one thing to be different from the persona and another to be the antithesis. Not everyone is unforgiving or unwilling to take Bollea’s apologies at face value, even as they questioned how he put himself is such morally compromising positions in the first place. It is strange coincidence that the man, Terry Bollea, died exactly ten years after he was fired from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE, formerly the WWF) for racial slurs. He did eventually return to the wrestling world and was welcomed back to WWE as the legend that he was, but he lost a lot esteem. July was a big month for him as on July 15, 2018, WWE announced Hogan was reinstated into its Hall of Fame noting that “After a three-year suspension, Hulk Hogan has been reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame. This second chance follows Hogan’s numerous public apologies and volunteering to work with young people, where he is helping them learn from his mistake. These efforts led to a recent induction into the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Alumni Hall of Fame.”
A Greek tragedy is a type of ancient play that depicts a noble hero's downfall due to fate, a personal flaw (hamartia), or the caprice of the gods. It explores themes like suffering, justice, and human limitations. I think the anger at Hogan was that we did not want to see a tragedy they just wanted their childhood hero. While there are many famous men society cannot wait to see fall he was perhaps the exception. No one wanted the tragedy, we wanted the myth and legend.
At his last appearance with WWE, in January this year, during the premiere of WWE’s long-running flagship show Monday Night Raw on its new home Netflix, the Los Angeles crowd overwhelmingly booed the man who, with former WWE boss Vince McMahon, turned pro wrestling into an international sensation, one that counts the current American president as a member of its Hall of Fame, and McMahon’s wife Linda is Trump’s Secretary of Education. While it may be shocking to recognize, politically and culturally the wrestling world Bollea helped create is historically significant. Perhaps he had time to reflect as the grim anniversary of July 24th approached. I certainly hope he will rest in peace, and that he took his own advice and said his prayers at the end.
((another late post this Friday, L’esprit de l’escalier, updated July 26, 2025 with clarifications about Hogan for the non-wrestling fans, I may still write a longer obituary.)
