Evangelical Christians stand up for Israel, call on Biden to do the same
Tens of millions of Evangelical Christians are expected to pray for Israel in their churches on Sunday in response to the barrage of rocket attacks aimed at the country.
By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMANUpdated: MAY 15, 2021 21:37EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN pilgrims and tourists reach for the sky at a 2019 religious retreat in Nazareth(photo credit: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS)
Tens of millions of Evangelical Christians are expected to pray for Israel in their churches on Sunday in response to the barrage of rocket attacks aimed at the country by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.“Like usual, in a nanosecond, millions of Evangelicals activated, beginning with their leaders,” Rev. Johnnie Moore, who helped organize former US president Donald Trump’s Evangelical advisory board in 2016 told The Jerusalem Post. “Evangelicals pressed pause on their lives to defend the State of Israel and the Jewish people against Hamas terrorists and their Iranian backers. Our community pushed back online in response to the disinformation coming from the terrorists, reached out to politicians obsessively, and this weekend tens of millions will pray for Israel in their churches.”Indeed, across Twitter and Facebook, scores of posts by Christian leaders could be found calling for an end to Hamas aggression and for President Joe Biden to demonstrate more vocal support for the State of Israel.“Israel needs Christian support more than ever,” said Pastor Jentezen Franklin. “Today is not the day to watch our televisions and shake our heads. Today is the day for each of us to do everything in our power to bring peace, security and stability to the Holy Land. We have to remember the power we have in prayer, the power we have in giving, and the power we have politically.”Many Evangelicals disseminated releases to the media, too.“As Christians, we support the people of Israel because they are God’s chosen,” wrote Jason Yates, CEO of My Faith Votes, in a release. “As Americans, we celebrate the State of Israel as an ally and the only democracy in the Middle East… We call on President Biden to publicly stand with Israel without equivocation and make his position clear – the United States will not tolerate terrorism in any form, domestic or abroad.”Similarly, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, stressed that “there is no moral equivalency between the actions of the terrorists in the Gaza Strip and the democratic State of Israel defending its citizens” in response to statements made by the White House for both sides to de-escalate.He wrote in an email communication that, “it is time for the Biden administration to step up as a leader of the free world and condemn the actions of these extremist groups with moral clarity. People of faith everywhere need to know that the United States does not look with apathy at such heinous violations of human rights.”The reverend said the more than 40,000 churches in the US and Latin America were “watching and waiting” for the president to make good on his commitment to the Jewish people and social justice, including ensuring that “there is no daylight between Israel and the United States.”“One way President Biden can demonstrate that commitment is to respond to the letter issued… by over 40 senators demanding his administration immediately suspend all negotiations with Iran.”
On Thursday, 43 Republican senators sent a letter to the president. In addition to calling on him to cease negotiations, they asked Biden to halt sanctions reliefs on Tehran due to its ties with Hamas.“The non-partisanship long taken for granted on Israel is being squeezed by... enormously powerful, socialist politicians and cultural forces on the progressive Left: like certain Hollywood celebrities, social justice activists and representatives AOC [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib,” Moore told the Post.“Evangelicals make up at least one-third of the electorate,” he said. ”They, with their Jewish friends, represent the great political firewall to keep far Right and leftist antisemitism and anti-Zionism on the margins and to keep these issues at the forefront of American politics and always nonpartisan. If we cannot keep it nonpartisan then, at least, we’ll settle for bipartisanship.”
