Laurie Cardoza-Moore, President of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN), spoke with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News about her long-standing campaign to expose antisemitism, particularly within American educational systems, and her broader efforts to combat anti-Israel narratives and disinformation.
“I’ve been fighting antisemitism since I was a teenager,” she recalls. “Thirteen years ago, a parent approached me with a textbook that included a deeply troubling justification for Palestinian suicide bombings in Jerusalem—portrayed as resistance to Israeli government policy. While the textbook did not explicitly name the location, we all understood it referred to the Sbarro Pizzeria bombing. That discovery prompted me to examine the entire textbook, and what I found was not just antisemitic and anti-Israel content, but also material that was anti-American and hostile to the Judeo-Christian values upon which our nation was founded.”
This revelation sparked a national campaign. “We began to raise awareness among parents, citizens, and elected officials,” Cardoza-Moore explains. “At the time, this was happening under the oversight of the Tennessee state legislature. Once lawmakers were shown the content, we were able to take action. That textbook was removed from schools, and the movement began to spread across the country.”
She says she personally met with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to present the issue. “I showed him the content being used in classrooms. We soon discovered that this was happening in Florida, Texas—many conservative, Bible Belt states. It became clear that children from kindergarten through twelfth grade were being targeted with antisemitic and anti-Israel material. People mistakenly believe these ideas are only found on university campuses, but they are being introduced much earlier.”
Cardoza-Moore says that among the conservative religious right, such narratives are firmly rejected. “They know their Bible and understand their responsibilities regarding Israel. We mobilized communities to examine their own children’s textbooks. That effort became a national movement.”
Her organization now focuses on influencing state-level education standards. “If we can shape the standards that define what and how children are taught, then publishers must follow them if they want to do business with state education departments. Governor DeSantis said, ‘If I’m elected, I will eliminate this curriculum,’ and he kept his word.”
She also praised President Donald Trump’s call to dismantle the federal Department of Education. “Thank God for President Trump. That department was established in 1976 and has been used as a vehicle to push propaganda for decades. Education must return to the control of states and local communities—where parents and citizens actually have influence.”
On foreign policy and ideological shifts, Cardoza-Moore expressed concern about the rise of isolationist sentiment. “This new isolationism is a pretext to marginalize Israel,” she warns. “They claim they oppose foreign wars, but the real goal is to leave Israel vulnerable and alone. We are witnessing a repeat of the 1930s in America. This cannot be tolerated.”
She is particularly critical of what she describes as the "woke right," naming figures such as Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and even Charlie Kirk. “These individuals are normalizing antisemitic rhetoric and questioning US support for Israel. Some are even interviewing known terrorist supporters and hostile regimes. Carlson, for example, has interviewed leaders from Iran and Qatar—figures openly committed to Israel’s destruction. This is deeply disturbing, especially given their influence within conservative circles.”
As a filmmaker, Cardoza-Moore says she is alarmed by the platform these individuals give to anti-Israel voices. “Carlson interviews pastors from groups like Christ at the Checkpoint who accuse Israel of occupation. As a Christian, he should know better. Candace Owens claims to be Catholic. They should understand the biblical imperative to stand with Israel. And yet they are using their platforms to spread disinformation to Christian, conservative audiences—audiences that shape the future of the Republican Party.”
Cardoza-Moore emphasized the urgency of confronting these narratives. “We must hold them accountable. If we fail to challenge this propaganda, we risk losing support from many Americans who are simply uninformed.”
Reflecting on the aftermath of October 7th, she expressed outrage at how some Americans responded. “To see Americans blame Israel, accusing it of being an occupying force—as if that justifies the atrocities committed—is beyond comprehension.”
She concluded the interview by discussing her deeply personal initiative: “The Lost Jews of the Inquisition.”
“This project is close to my heart. My own family descends from the Conversos—Jews forced to convert during the Spanish Inquisition. On his deathbed, my grandfather told his children, ‘We are Jewish.’ That revelation opened my eyes. Many Hispanic and Latino Americans, including recent immigrants, may also descend from those same roots—without even knowing it.”
Beyond ancestry, she believes this message is crucial for Christian education. “We must teach Hispanic and Latino Christians—whether or not they are descendants—about the history of the Inquisition and their biblical responsibility to stand with the Jewish people and the State of Israel in the face of rising antisemitism.”