Christian pastors, influencers join 1,000-strong Israel mission backing Jewish state, fighting antisemitism
A delegation of 1,000 U.S. Christian pastors and influencers — the largest group of American Christian leaders to visit Israel since its founding — arrived last Tuesday as part of a Friends of Zion initiative.
The trip, organized in partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is designed to provide training and prepare participants to serve as unofficial ambassadors for Israel in their communities.
Dr. Mike Evans, founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center in Jerusalem and a confidant of President Donald Trump, said most Evangelical Bible believers are Zionists, making them a key ally in efforts to counter antisemitism.
"These devils that hate Jews hate Christians just as much. What is being said against the state of Israel is one hundred times worse than what the Nazis said on their party platform in 1920, and everyone is ignoring it. They don’t realize how dangerous this is," Evans told Fox News Digital.
"The new wars of the 21st century are media wars, ideological wars, economic wars and proxy wars. And while Israel has never fought an ideological war, its enemies have," he added.
Evans said members of the visiting delegation were vetted to ensure no hidden agendas and signed a pledge committing to stand in solidarity with the Jewish people. "We had over 2,000 apply; we chose those best suited for this first trip. These 1,000 pastors represent tens of millions of Americans and have major media and social media influence," he said.
The initiative was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Evans has known for 45 years.
"When we were on Mount Herzl, one widow was there sharing her story. Her daughter no longer has a daddy. Thinking that my little girl might not have her dad broke my heart. I connected on a deep personal level," Tamryn Foley, a member of the National Faith Advisory Board's executive team, told Fox News Digital.
The board is the largest coalition backing and advocating for people of faith, led by Pastor Paula White-Cain. Its mission is built on four pillars — protecting religious freedom, promoting a strong America, defending life at all stages and honoring family values — and it identifies the U.S.-Israel alliance as central to that agenda.
"I stand with Israel very strongly, and so does the group of pastors I work with. I don’t think we realized how big this event would be. We wanted to show support, and since we’ve been here, it’s been so much more than we thought," said Foley, who lives in Florida.
"I am going back home with a fire to make sure young people in my country know the truth. It’s one thing to understand something intellectually, and another to come here, meet people who have been affected, and connect with them on a heart level," she continued.
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"There is so much negative propaganda in our country. It’s loud, and we need to do a better job of educating young people. They’re capable of seeing through the nonsense and lies — I don’t think we give them enough credit. We need to present them with the truth and plant the seed for lifelong support for Israel," Foley said.
One objective of the training, he explained, is to reach young people — claiming countries like Qatar have turned against Israel by investing millions of dollars to spread antisemitic content through universities and digital platforms.
Evans said the Muslim Brotherhood, for example, has waged ideological warfare, describing it as a "powerful demon because it doesn’t clear customs, and you can’t kill it with a bullet.
"More than half of the Palestinian population embraces Hamas’ ideology of radical Islam," he claimed, "which isn’t based on land for peace but on establishing an Islamic state and eradicating the Jewish state."
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Evans noted that the Evangelical movement, representing 9.7% of the global population, has significantly influenced U.S. foreign policy through its belief that the biblical land belongs to the Jewish people.
"The president loves us and knows how we feel about Israel," he said. "We believe the president respects us and that we have his confidence and ear. We would not have had the hostages back without him. He will stand with us and will not cave in to Jew-haters’ intentions regarding Judea and Samaria or a Palestinian state. He will try everything he can to help Israel," Evans added.
On Wednesday, the delegation met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and visited the site of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre at the Supernova music festival, accompanied by former hostages Emily Damari, Tal Shoham, Moran Stella Yanai, and Aviva and Keith Siegel, who received the "Here Am I" Award for their advocacy work.
"We are seeking to unify — and demonstrate that unity — between evangelical Christian leaders in America, Israel and the Jewish people, and to counter any perception that this community is divided on the issue, because it is not," Pastor Mike Atkins, a member of the delegation, told Fox News Digital.
"The antisemitism that erupted had long been simmering beneath the surface on university campuses and in major European cities. This is an open stand against the lies, and a declaration of our commitment to truth," he said.
Atkins explained that the delegation has been exposed "at the highest levels" to firsthand insights — visiting the site of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, listening to victims and seeing the realities on the ground in Israel. Delegates, he said, have also received extensive information through symposium speakers on how to combat antisemitic deception and will continue to do so as they coalesce into a coalition.
"To the youth, I say: join the movement. Commit to never again allowing the poisonous deception of antisemitism to penetrate our culture. Take a stand, speak up and do not remain silent," he said.
"The best medicine for Jewish Derangement Syndrome, an acute form of bigotry and antisemitism, is for people to come to Israel and see and hear for themselves. These American spiritual leaders are committed to using their pulpits and influence to provide truth," Huckabee told Fox News Digital.
"Truth is the best antibiotic to combat the conspiracy theories and falsehoods said about the United States, its partnership with Israel and the Jewish people," he added.