Glenn Beck and His Tour Operators

Last week, Glenn Beck announced his “Restoring Courage” rally planned for Jerusalem. His Blaze website has further details:

The “Restoring Courage” event will take place August 24th at the excavation site at the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount.

Tickets for the primary location there are very limited. Only 600 are being made available to listeners in the United States. Only two tour operators have been designated to handle the the tickets and travel packages.

Beck was in Israel just recently – he reported that the Temple Mount “almost pulsated”, although it is unclear whether it always does that or whether this was a special sign given to Beck from God.

The two tour operators are the Utah-based Humanitarian Travel, which has rebranded itself as “Beck824” in honour of the event, and DuCar Tours, which specialises in the Holy Land. Ducar is run by Duke Westover and his family; Westover was the late Jerry Falwell’s executive assistant, and his client list includes Jonathan Falwell, Ergun Caner, Benny Hinn, and Mike Hukabee (Hukabee also provided a Foreword for Westover’s memoir, Wow! What a Ride). Last year, Beck gave the commencement address at Falwell’s Liberty University, during which he received – with the usual tears – an honorary doctorate.

In one of those interesting synergies between the Christian Right and law-enforcement in the USA, DuCar also offers counter-terrorism training trips to Israel for the American College of Forensic Examiners and the American Board for Certification in Homeland Security (and formerly, it appears, for Sheriff Mike Brown of the National Sheriffs’ Association).

Costs for the Glenn Beck trip, which be a 10-day tour, are “from $4,997 per person”, plus air-fares and taxes.