Amid escalating tensions between Israel and the Evangelical Christian community, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told some 400 influential Christian leaders over the weekend that they are the Jewish state’s greatest friends.
Netanyahu took part in a virtual conference orchestrated by Mike Evans, the founder of Friends of Zion. This was Netanyahu’s first video conference with the community since returning to the premiership last year.
“You are the greatest friends the Jewish state has. I will never forget it, and the vast majority of Israelis strongly agree with me,” the prime minister told listeners, to reassure them following reports that the country had stopped providing clergy and work visas to the permanent staff of some of the community’s most prominent organizations.
In addition, there have been several instances in recent months in which extremist Orthodox Jews spat on or attacked Christians while they were praying or gathering in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu said that Israel is safe for all visitors and that specifically, “when our Christian friends come here, you are embraced.”
During the call, Netanyahu also spoke about the Iranian threat and the need for the country to develop a strong economy and military.
He also noted that Israel is boldly working toward a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia.
“I cannot guarantee it, but we are giving it a good try,” Netanyahu said.
The importance of Evangelical Christians for Israel
Evangelical Christians, considered former US president Donald Trump’s strongest supporters, were instrumental in achieving the Abraham Accords. Several prominent Evangelical leaders worked behind the scenes with the president’s Jewish and diplomatic team to forge the agreement. It became known as the Abraham Accords, because the biblical Abraham is the forefather of both the Jewish and Arab peoples.
“The prime minister has great admiration for the Evangelicals of the United States in light of what they achieved for the State of Israel,” Evans told The Jerusalem Post. “All of the Trump initiatives came about because of [the Christians.]
“As long as Benjamin Netanyahu is prime minister, Christians have nothing to worry about no matter what anyone says in his government to the contrary.”