US religious freedom ambassador-designate Mark Walker pledged to promote interfaith unity and to combat antisemitism and Christian persecution during a Jerusalem and Western Wall visit on Monday.
The former North Carolina congressman told The Jerusalem Post that his first priorities as religious freedoms envoy – if confirmed by the Senate – would be to advocate against blasphemy and anti-conversion laws across the Middle East and Asia, and to expose and eradicate the slaughter of Christians by Islamic terrorist organizations like Boko Haram in Africa.
At a Waldorf Astoria meeting after the Western Wall visit, Walker also discussed with Dirshu (Torah-learning programs) founder Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter the global rise of antisemitism and the responsibility of faith and government leaders to promote religious freedom and interfaith understanding.
In a dialogue on how Israel and the United States could collaborate to strengthen tolerance and respect for all faiths, Walker indicated that he would seek to partner with the Israeli Foreign Ministry to advance global coexistence and freedom of religion initiatives.
“In a time when faith is too often used to divide, we must use it to unite,” said Walker. “The United States and Israel share a sacred duty to defend the right of every person to worship freely. Israel’s rich tapestry of faith communities – Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Druze – stands as a living example that diversity and democracy can coexist. I look forward to working with Rabbi Hofstedter and Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen these bonds and combat the rise of antisemitism around the world.”
US religious freedom representative visits Jerusalem
Walker had told the Post, before praying at the Western Wall, that he believed the schism in right-wing Christian circles on the issue of Israel to be exaggerated, and that it was more of a “splinter” than “schism.” A former pastor, the ambassador-designate said that he was still well connected to the evangelical Christian community, and an overwhelming majority considered Israel to be a friend.
With his own visit coming after Trump’s endeavors to end the Israel-Hamas War with a peace plan and ceasefire, Walker praised the president, as well as US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Jared Kushner, and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff for their hard work and genius. Walker met with American families of those held hostage by Hamas since the October 7, 2023, massacre.
“An honor to meet in Tel Aviv today with American hostage families. Ruby Chen is bravely fighting for the return of the body of his son, Itay,” Walker wrote on X/Twitter on Sunday. “I was moved by fellow North Carolinian Keith Siegel’s firsthand account of pure evil; and he suffered for 483 days. Keith continues to be grateful for President Trump’s work to bring him home earlier this year.”
Walker told the Post that he would do his own part to advocate for the release of hostage families still held by Hamas.
Before going to the Western Wall, Walker said that he would first pray for the welfare of his family, but he added “How do you come to Jerusalem and not pray for peace?”
Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz said in response to Walker’s visit that “The Kotel is a place of prayer for all nations.” He invited everyone to come to visit to understand the site’s spiritual importance, and how it was also inextricably connected to Judaism and the Jewish people. Yet Jews didn’t have a monopoly on God, explained Rabinowitz, unlike the vision espoused by radical groups.
“We can live next to one another,” said Rabinowitz. “We need to do everything to reject those that try to bring hate and terrorism” into the small quarters of the Old City.
Rabinowitz also welcomed Texas congressional candidate Valentina Gomez to the Wall on Monday. Gomez was on her own trip to Israel.
When asked about Gomez’s August video in which she set fire to a copy of the Koran, Rabinowitz said that he did not support such actions. Gomez said that she stood by all her actions and statements, noting that at the Wall, Muslims and Christians could pray freely, but the same courtesy was not afforded to Jews and Christians on the Temple Mount.
Gomez explained that she had come to Israel to be baptized in the Jordan River, “the same waters as Jesus Christ.”
The congressional hopeful said that she had been very well treated during her visit to Israel, and supported Israel because it was fighting against the same Islamic terrorist organizations that were the enemies of the US.
Huckabee had also been scheduled to visit the Wall with Walker, but had instead met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Kirya, the IDF’s central command base.