Palestinian-American Hesham Tillawi’s weekly cable television show, Current Issues, has become a sounding board for Holocaust deniers, white supremacists and conspiracy theorists seeking to broadcast their hatred and anti-Semitism into American homes.  Tillawi, who is based in Lafayette, Louisiana, has hosted a “who’s who” of American anti-Semites on his show, including former Klansman David Duke; white supremacist attorney Edgar J. Steele; Holocaust deniers Mark Weber and Bradley Smith and right- and left-wing anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists, including Willis Carto, Lyndon LaRouche and James Petras.  He has also interviewed Nahla Al-Arian, wife of Sami Al-Arian, a former professor who is currently in prison on a terrorism-related charge. Tillawi’s Palestinian nationalism and anti-Jewish canards have enabled him to bridge the gap between left- and right-wing extremism.

Born: August, 1959 Residence: Lafayette, Louisiana Organization: Co-founder of Crescent and Cross Solidarity Movement Education: Ph.D. in international relations from Bernelli University (according to his Web site) Ideology: Anti-Zionism, anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial Extremist Affiliations: Mark Glenn, David Duke Influences: Palestinian nationalism, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories Media: Weekly Current Issues cable television show; radio broadcasts on Acadiana Open Channel, Lafayette's public access station

In addition to inviting anti-Semites on his show, Tillawi has been a guest speaker at conferences held by anti-Semitic groups.  In 2007, he spoke about “Jewish power” and the conspiracy to divide Iraq at the “No More Wars for Israel” conference, organized by Mark Glenn, who runs a virulently anti-Semitic Web site, and at the conference for America’s Promise Ministries, a racist and anti-Semitic Christian Identity organization.  In 2006, he spoke at a conference sponsored by the anti-Semitic conspiracy-oriented newspaper American Free Press, published by Willis Carto. 

Tillawi is also the co-founder, along with Glenn, of the Idaho-based Crescent and The Cross Solidarity Movement, which presents itself as an interfaith forum dedicated to Muslim-Christian co-existence but demonizes Jews, Judaism and Zionism.