Netanyahu, American Evangelicals and Israel

By Ron Duncan Hart

Benjamin Netanyahu has long had a close bond with American Evangelicals, who he has repeatedly called Israel’s best friends in the world.  Evangelicals tend to share Netanyahu’s political goals and have invited him  frequently to speak at their events, and he, in turn, has cultivated those close ties with them. 

During his recent trip to the United States in February, Netanyahu’s first meeting was with evangelical leaders in the Blair House, even before he met with President Trump. That he would meet with evangelical leaders before anyone else suggests the strength of the relationship between Netanyahu and American Evangelicals. In contrast, Netanyahu did not meet with Jewish leaders at any point in the week-long series of meetings that he had while in the U.S. The long-established protocol for an Israeli prime minister visiting a foreign country has been to meet with local leaders of Jewish organizations. Later in the week he did meet with a local group of young Jews, but why would Netanyahu give a cold shoulder to the leaders of American Jewish organizations by not meeting with them?

 John Hagee, who is the founder and chairman of CUFI (Christians United for Israel) was present at the meeting with Netanyahu and was quoted as saying, “it is always an honor to meet with the prime minister…as his nation defeats our shared enemies and defends our shared values.” He went on to say that the ten million members of CUFI stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Israel. Mike Huckabee, Trump’s evangelical nominee as ambassador to Israel, reportedly organized the meeting and invited Franklin Graham, son of Billie Graham, Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Tony Perkins, a Southern Baptist leader among others. One evangelical leader said that Netanyahu was the one person in the world who could unite Evangelicals globally. 

Evangelicals are a reliable voting block supporting policies favorable to Israel and rarely question the policies of the Israeli government. Evangelicals overwhelmingly support Israel in the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and in the larger Palestinian conflict. The ten million members of CUFI outnumber the 7.5 million Jews in the United States, and they solidly support Netanyahu and the current war in Gaza while many Jews question Netanyahu’s policies and the ongoing war. 

Theology is one dimension of the Christian Zionists' bond with Israel and Netanyahu. Eighty-two percent of Evangelicals believe that God gave the land of Israel to Abraham and his descendants forever, and they believe that the modern state of Israel is the realization of a biblical prophecy to prepare for the coming of the Christian messiah and the inauguration of a millennial golden age on earth. 

In a parallel world view 81 percent of ultra-orthodox Jews also believe that God gave the land of Israel to the Jews forever. The difference between Christian Zionists and ultra-orthodox Jews is that the former identify the modern state of Israel as God’s prophecy of a Jewish homeland while ultra-orthodox Jews believe that the current secular state of Israel is not the prophesied one. Arabs disagree with both the Jews and Christians and believe that Abraham’s first-born son Ishmael is the rightful heir to the land of Israel. 

American Evangelicals strongly support Israel in the war against Hamas and generally see militant Islamic groups as a threat. A Chicago Council Survey found that 64 percent of white Evangelicals agreed that Israel was defending its interests in the war in Gaza and was justified in its military actions compared to 32 percent in the general population. More than one-third of white Evangelicals thought that the United States was not aiding Israel sufficiently, compared to 20 percent in the larger population.

Some Christian Zionists support the idea of Israel annexing the West Bank and often use the biblical terms Judea and Samaria to refer to the West Bank. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) recently introduced a bill in the Senate to refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria on all official US documents. Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-New York) introduced the same bill in the House.

Eighty percent of Evangelicals voted for Trump as president and support policies favorable to Israel. The influence of Evangelicals on the current administration can be seen in appointments made by the current administration. Although it has been common to name a Jewish ambassador from the United States to Israel, Trump has named an evangelical pastor, Rev. Mike Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister and former governor of Arkansas. Huckabee backs Trump’s policies toward Israel and advocates Israel’s annexing of the West Bank. Rev. Johnnie Moore, a Jerry Falwell assistant and important evangelical leader, was recently named as the executive director of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the U.S. and Israeli-backed plan to deliver aid to people in Gaza. 

Commenting on Netanyahu not meeting the Jewish leaders during the week he was in the U.S., one was quoted in the Jerusalem Post as saying, “We were stunned and disappointed that Netanyahu will spend an entire week in the US but won’t meet with heads of Jewish organizations.” He has had a complicated relationship with the American Jewish community, going back to the confrontation over the egalitarian prayer plaza at the Western Wall. After American Jews have lobbied to support Israel at every opportunity and raised billions of dollars to support the country, many have expressed disappointment that Netanyahu’s would meet with evangelical leaders but not Jewish leaders.

Read NMJJ stories by Ron Duncan Hart

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