John Henry-Westen, the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of LifeSiteNews, was recently removed from his position by the LifeSiteNews board. Then he got reinstated.
These moves caught much of the pro-life, pro-family, religious conservative world off guard. That’s saying a great deal, considering that pro-life and pro-family conservatives have seen all kinds of moral decline and degradation becoming the norm throughout the West. Pro-family fighters have witnessed same-sex “marriage,” rising defenses for pedophilia, and the increased push for assisted suicide. So little shocks us now.
What’s going on here? Should we be concerned? Why is one of the flagship pro-family (and anti-LGBT) news sites facing such leadership turmoil?
First, let’s talk about LifeSiteNews.
This Catholic-based news site has rigorously and accurately documented the downfall and decline of a De-Christianized West. For years, their commentary and confrontation on these matters commanded respect. They even republished the activist reporting from the organization I work for—MassResistance—because of our unwavering commitment against the LGBT agenda in all of its perverse forms.
LifeSiteNews did not back away from calling out moral corruption. To their credit, they were not only unafraid to call out the wrongs and evils of homosexuality and transgenderism. They were a welcome voice for social conservatives like me because they unflinchingly criticized the Republican Party, including President Trump, as they cozied up to so-called LGBT “conservatives” infiltrating the larger conservative movement. Their countercultural attack on mainstream conservatism gave me hope in spite of the growing fecklessness or cowardice of conservative leadership to oppose same-sex “marriage”, adoption, and the like.
So, what’s going on at LifeSiteNews? Is the leadership getting soft, embracing pro-“gay” messaging? Not a chance.
Rather, the news site has taken a dark turn on another set of issues.
For the last two years, I noticed the site’s publishing an increasing number of anti-Israel, anti-Zionist articles on many policy fronts. They were cataloguing the so-called war crimes of the IDF and blasting American politicians and foreign policy makers as puppets of Israel.
Here’s a sample:
Orthodox rabbi: Zionism a ‘cardinal sin’ for Jews, creation of Israel is ‘satanic’
Zionism: Rebellion against God?! | Rabbi speaks out
Why is a Catholic-oriented news site interviewing a Rabbi? And why are they going off on Israel and Zionism?
Oh, and it gets better (or rather, worse). They talk about the horrendous “Israel Lobby” that supposedly controls Washington:
GOP Congressman Thomas Massie exposes Zionist lobby’s power over Congress
Leaked audio exposes Israel lobby’s enormous power over the Trump administration
WATCH: Candace Owens exposes the Israel lobby’s stranglehold on America
For what it’s worth, Candace Owens has been exposed as an intellectual lightweight with a shaky grasp of the facts. She celebrated Andrew Tate, a serial pornographer under indictment for sex trafficking, while denouncing pornography. She also claimed that Hitler was not that bad.
Regarding the purported power of AIPAC, most of their funding goes to Democrats, and the Democratic Party has become increasingly hostile to Israel. As for Congressman Massie, his performance theater against big spending is starting to wear thin. He never called out the big spending from his fellow US Senators, and he voted for liberal Republican Tom Emmer to be the next Speaker of the House this year. The focus and subject matter of these reports leave much to be desired.
And sadly, LifeSiteNews has thrown itself into the USS Liberty conspiracy. (I refute those talking points here.)
In 2023, Patrick Delaney, one of the editors at LifeSiteNews, wrote, “Orthodox patriarchate condemns ‘Israeli radicals’ for attacking bishop, priest at Church of Gethsemane.”
Yes, there are Jewish radicals, as there are radicals in other religions. What is conspicuously missing from this coverage, however, is the widespread denunciation from other Jews against such abuses. In contrast, Islamic militants have committed all sorts of crimes and terrorism against innocents—Christian, Jew, Muslim—and there is no condemnation from residents in Gaza or Judea and Samaria of their hostilities.
For the record, the Israeli government has cracked down on hyper-orthodox adherents harassing Christians, and local Rabbis raised funds to help repair a Catholic church attacked by Jewish radicals, too.
In 2024, Delaney wrote a particularly egregious article, claiming that Israel was conducting a “genocide” against the residents of Gaza following the October 7th, 2023 terrorist attack from Hamas:
Israeli soldiers celebrate the ‘torturing, humiliating, and mocking’ of Palestinians on social media
I refused to remain quiet in the face of these blatant lies. I wrote an extensive response email (republished here), refuting the libelous claims about Israel and American foreign policy vis-à-vis the Jewish State. I focused on the redefinition of “genocide.” I also pointed out that his using “Al-Jazeera” as a legitimate news source is suspect.
Delaney responded, and he provided a broad mixture of half-truths and misdefinitions to justify his dishonest arguments.
LifeSiteNews eventually printed my letter, along with Delaney’s response (InfoWars republished the article, too!), but referred to me as “William” and called me a “Christian Zionist journalist,” presumably as a smear. I wear such terms as a badge of honor. The most damning aspect of Delaney’s defense of calling Israel’s attacks on Hamas “genocide” rested on his contortion of the term to include any form of fighting in a combat zone!
With all of this information in the background, let’s get to the firing and rehiring (?) of John Henry-Westen.
LifeSiteNews Co-Founder and Managing Editor Steve Jalsevac released a statement regarding Westen’s departure:
While legal constraints prevent us from delving into extensive detail, I can share that the decision was influenced by several factors, including a 72% drop in readership from 2021 to 2024 during John-Henry’s tenure as CEO, a decline in monthly and new donors, and other business challenges. Additionally, an internal survey revealed significant concerns regarding staff sentiment and safety scores, which further informed the board’s considerations.
Nonprofits have to keep the money flowing, but should stick to their principles. A steep drop-off of nearly three-quarters of your readership is troubling.
I can guess why LifeSiteNews is losing readers and donors:
The Pro-Hamas, Anti-Israel Propaganda!
Truth matters in the fight against moral and sexual degradation. When a Catholic-based news site insists on pushing pro-terrorist propaganda, venturing into foreign policy conspiracy theories, they are embracing lies, one can expect that their once-faithful readership will be repulsed.
And now, we receive word that John Henry-Westen has been reinstated.
Surprisingly, the site issued a very short reinstatement statement:
The LifeSiteNews Board of Directors voted today to restore John-Henry Westen to his former position.
“John-Henry Westen has been recognized by the board as the President and CEO of lifesitenews.com Inc. subject to administrative review and investigation.”
C.J. Doyle of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts issued the following analysis:
“This is likely the only time in the history of corporate governance that a statement restoring a CEO showed even less cordiality than the statement which announced his firing.
The brevity, timing and language of the announcement all suggest a profound reluctance, or even resentment, on the part of those who issued it.
It was released at 5:47 EDT on a Friday afternoon, a time best suited to minimize publicity on a story that a corporation or a government agency wishes to bury.
The use of the word ‘recognized’, rather than the more usual ‘re-appointed’ is curious. It might suggest that the previous vote was somehow improper or legally defective.
The inclusion of the phrase ‘subject to administrative review and investigation’ suggests continued hostility towards Westen by the Board of Directors.
There is also a striking omission. There is no mention of Westen being restored as Editor-in-Chief of LifeSiteNews, a position specifically referenced in his termination announcement.”
LifeSiteNews is losing readers, then they bungled the removal of the CEO. C.J. Doyle’s analysis makes sense. Potential litigation often scares organizations into a quick, unexplained course correction.
But did the board fire Westen because of the website’s increasing embrace of anti-Zionist propaganda? One of the frequent commentators on the site, Peter LaBarbera, shared with me that Westen was not removed because of the anti-Zionist turn in reporting: “It wasn’t about the Israel bashers. They’re still there!” He encouraged me to reach out to one of their main contributors, who privately shared his criticism of the anti-Zionism turn in reporting, but that writer has not gotten back to me yet.
If the LifeSiteNews board of directors can’t see how their dishonest reporting on the Arab-Israeli conflict is affecting readers, then they should be fired!
If LifeSiteNews editors want to maintain life on their site to report the news, they need to get back to reporting … news! All the anti-Zionist propaganda, I submit, is the real turn-off, turning off the donations and views.
The larger question remains: why publish such anti-Israeli (and thus anti-Semitic) garbage? One suspects that the site, based in Canada, is trying to placate an increasing Muslim population. Perhaps they are buying into the engagement harvesting that comes with anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Whatever the reason, they need a major course-correction if they want to survive.