In Israel’s darkest hour, Evangelical leaders huddle in DC to discuss how best to amplify their voice and policy impact to stand with Jewish state
Nearly 100 launch Christian version of the ‘Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations’
WASHINGTON, DC — With upwards of 80% of Americans supporting Israel in the current war and wanting Israel to win, why has the White House waffled so much in its support of the Jewish state since the October 7th war erupted?
How can tens of millions of pro-Israel Americans – both Jewish and Christian – far more effectively push President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to support a total and decisive Israeli victory over Hamas in Gaza and over Hezbollah in Lebanon, and take a far tougher stand against the Iranian regime, which is on the verge of a nuclear bomb breakout?
And how should pro-Israel Evangelical Christians in particular dramatically amplify their voice, influence, and policy impact, when they have little or no access to – much less influence with – the Biden or Harris inner circles, and have no idea yet who will win in November?
These were the questions being discussed by dozens of Evangelical leaders from a wide range of backgrounds and denominations – including African American and Hispanic pastors and ministry leaders –who huddled in the nation’s capital this week.
These are not academic discussions, members of the group told ALL ISRAEL NEWS.
They are urgent and high stakes.
LAUNCHING A CHRISTIAN VERSION OF THE ‘CONFERENCE’ OF JEWISH PRESIDENTS
Nearly 100 Evangelical leaders have decided to launch a new organization called the Conference of Presidents of Christian Organizations in Support of Israel.
Among them are:
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council
former Rep. Michele Bachmann, who serves as the Dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University
Luke Moon, the new executive director of The Philos Project; and
Pastor Mario Bramnick, president of the Latino Coalition for Israel.
Together, these four helped organize the strategy meetings on September 17 and 18.
They want the group to serve as an umbrella organization for dozens of like-minded groups to come together and magnify their influence by working more closely together.
That, says the organization, would be patterned after the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations which for decades was run by Malcolm Hoenlein.
Enthusiastically supporting this new Evangelical version of the conference are prominent Jewish leaders who attended the opening session on Tuesday evening.
Among those speaking were:
David Friedman, former U.S. ambassador to Israel
Elan Carr, who served as the U.S. special envoy for Combating Anti-Semitism, who is now president of the Israeli American Council
Brooke Rollins, the president of America First Policy Institute
Caroline Glick, an Israeli American columnist for the Jewish News Service and a longtime ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
IS THE ‘CONFERENCE’ THE RIGHT MODEL?
Every Evangelical leader who attended the two days of strategy meetings agreed that a far more focused and unified effort to support Israel must be made.
But not everyone was convinced that the “Conference” of Jewish presidents was the right model.
I found a great deal of respect for Hoenlein, his decades of leadership of the “Conference,” and his many years of “faith diplomacy,” organizing and leading delegations of major Jewish leaders to meet privately with Netanyahu and other senior Israeli leaders as well as with a wide range of Arab and Muslim leaders.
Yet both in the meeting and among private conversations, many Evangelicals raised concerns about the divided and unwieldy nature of the “Conference.”
They noted that many Jewish organizations involved are quite left-of-center, often having major disagreements with each other on policy, as well as profound disagreements with Netanyahu on how best to advance and navigate U.S.-Israeli relations.
WHAT’S THE RIGHT WAY TO EXPAND THE INFLUENCE OF ‘AMERICAN CHRISTIAN LEADERS FOR ISRAEL?’
Several other important questions were raised early and dominated much of the strategy meeting.
One was this: Why would a Christian version of the Conference be necessary when an excellent pro-Israel umbrella organization already exists?
American Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI) – an initiative of the International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem (ICEJ) – was established more than a decade ago and is supported by more than 3,000 Evangelical, and other, pastors and ministry leaders.
ACLI is coordinated by Dr. Susan Michael, a highly respected faith leader who is the U.S. Director of ICEJ and has been active in mobilizing Christian support for Israel in the United States for more than 35 years.
She attended the strategy meetings and expressed her agreement that much more needs to be done and that she’s always happy to help advance the cause in unity with a wide range of leaders and organizations.
But Michael was not alone in trying to understand what the benefits would be of starting a new coalition from scratch.
Both in the meetings and afterward, Perkins, Bachmann, Bramnick, and Moon agreed that it was vital to talk more with ACLI and find ways to coordinate closely and not duplicate efforts.
Some of those present suggested that perhaps the new Evangelical “Conference” should create a “Cabinet” or steering committee of a dozen or so of the most influential pro-Israel leaders in the Evangelical community that would be responsible for shaping policy, mobilizing the grassroots, and speaking in the media and in Washington for the broader Evangelical community on Israel and Middle East issues.
WHERE ARE REV. JOHN HAGEE AND CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL?
Another important question was discussed: Where is Christians United For Israel (CUFI), the organization founded by the Rev. John Hagee that boasts that it is “the largest pro-Israel organization in the United States, with over 10 million members.”
Since October 7th, Hagee has appeared on Fox News to talk about Israel.
Hagee also spoke at a pro-Israel rally in Washington last November organized by the Jewish Federation.
Last month, CUFI launched a campaign to combat antisemitism.
Yet numerous Evangelical leaders who attended the strategy meetings said they have been baffled that Hagee and CUFI have not been much higher profile – and much more aggressive – in wielding their political muscle in defense of Israel over the past year.
Senior CUFI leaders were invited to attend the Washington gathering but did not attend or send a representative.
“I’m not sure where CUFI is these days, but they seem strangely quiet in the greatest fight of Israel’s modern existence,” one Evangelical, who asked not to be named to be able to speak candidly, told me. “None of us understand what’s going on but their absence has created a vacuum of leadership.”
WHAT IS THE BEST AND RIGHT WAY FORWARD FOR PRO-ISRAEL CHRISTIANS?
It is this very vacuum of leadership among pro-Israel Evangelicals that prompted these strategy meetings in Washington in the first place.
Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of The Congress of Christian Leaders, attended the meetings and participated in the discussions as an observer.
Though at this point he hasn’t chosen to become officially involved in the new Evangelical “Conference,” Moore expressed his commitment to help any like-minded group working to fight the grave resurgence of antisemitism, including those who mask their antisemitism in anti-Zionism.
Moore told me he was grateful that Perkins, Bachmann, Bramnick, and Moon organized these meetings and he agreed that Christian Zionists urgently need to up their game.
However, he noted that there was not yet a unified consensus among those he spoke with on the best path forward.
“This is one of a number of similar initiatives being organized all over the world where the leaders of millions of Evangelicals are asking, ‘What more can we do?’” Moore told me.
“Each initiative is slightly different, involving slightly different priorities and groups, but they are all united in one clear conviction: it’s time for hundreds of millions of Evangelicals to get organized,” he said.
“It’s time to make it clear to their elected representatives – and also to antisemites from the street corners to the UN General Assembly – that picking a fight with Israel or the Jewish community is picking a fight with hundreds of millions of Christians and we won’t stand for it. You have to get through us to get to our Jewish neighbors.”
INTERVIEW WITH LATINO CHRISTIAN LEADER MARIO BRAMNICK
Following the meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, I sat down for a one-on-one interview with Pastor Mario Bramnick, president of the Latino Coalition for Israel.
Here is a portion of our conversation, lightly edited for clarity.
ROSENBERG: Mario, what are you trying to achieve? Let's start with that objective.
BRAMNICK: To call us, as presidents of Christian organizations and other key Christian leaders, to do more in support of Israel in the current political climate, in the face of the rising anti-Israel, antisemitic sentiment that we're seeing in universities and on our streets. It is so critical that we need to unite. I don't think any one organization – there's many great organizations doing a lot of work alone – will be able to bring forth what's necessary to turn the tide of this anti-Israel sentiment in America.
ROSENBERG: It seems like what you're trying to say – and listening to the last 3.5 hours or so – is that there's a need for a far more effective and laser-like focus from the most senior leadership in the Evangelical pro-Israel community in terms of our messaging and social and policy impact. Is that a fair assessment?
BRAMNICK: That is. And the name – Conference of Christian Presidents for Israel – came out of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations that's been in existence for several years. And they have had an influence on the world. And if the Jewish population is 2%, and the Christian population in America is 30% – not that all of the Christians in America are pro-Israel, but a substantial percentage of the Christian population is in support of Israel – we can and should do more to coalesce our voice, our support on a grassroots basis, on policy, and on the executive and legislative branches both in state and national government. It's quite a voice. We need to use it better.
ROSENBERG: What was the goal of these meetings here in the Washington, D.C., area this week?
BRAMNICK: Well, we had the reception last night [Tuesday]. And, in addition to forms of Evangelical leaders, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman was here. Brooke Rollins, the president of America First Policy Institute, also spoke to us. Elan Carr, who served as the U.S. special envoy Combating Anti-Semitism, was here. He’s now president of the Israeli American Council. And Caroline Glick, the Israeli American columnist, was here yesterday and today.
So, we laid out the need and vision pretty much last night and got into more specifics today. As you saw, we're at such a critical crossroads. Nobody ever would have thought that America would be where it's at right now vis-a-vis Israel, or imagined how necessary it would be to have to defend Israel so much more than in the past. You know, in the Bible we see that God had Queen Esther in a place of prominence before the Haman Decree [which ordered the total annihilation of the Jewish race]. We've seen a lot of Haman Decrees from the enemies of Israel and the Jewish people in our lifetime. But we're worried that there may be a more intensive decree coming. And I think this is God's way of waking up the Esthers and the Mordechais to stand against any negative opposition to Israel, the statehood of Israel, and the safety and freedom of the Jewish people.
ROSENBERG: True – and in some ways it strikes me that this was a room of Mordechais. By that, I mean that Esther actually was the queen. She was in the palace. While she didn't have final decision-making authority, she was in the royal family. She had the ear of the king. Mordechai did not. If the king was going to listen to Godly wisdom and sound thinking at all, Esther was the right one to speak the truth on love to him. But Mordecai has a critical role to play. He needed to understand the magnitude of the threat to the Jewish people. He needed to pray and fast. But he also needed to be the critical influencer at a critical moment. He needed the courage and channel to speak to the Queen, explain the situation to her, urge her to pray and fast, and encourage her to speak directly to the King to stand with the children of Israel and stand against the slaughter of the Jewish people. None of us are presidents or prime ministers. We’re not kings or crown princes. Nor are we married to such powerful leaders. But we can humbly and prayerfully serve as Mordechais, speaking truth to power, and that's a very critical role right now.
BRAMNICK: Absolutely. I think everyone would agree that what we're seeing in America, we've never seen before. It’s very troubling for our nation on many, many fronts, and specifically for Christians, on many, many fronts. There is an anti-Christian sentiment that's rising in America, as well as an anti-Jewish sentiment. It's the same forces that are coming against people of faith. So, standing with the Jewish people – standing Christians and Jews together as one – is something I’m very passionate about and an important element of what we’re trying to accomplish.
ROSENBERG: Okay, so, just to be clear, Mario, you had a number of very influential Jewish leaders speaking last night and today, interacting with dozens and dozens of Evangelical leaders. But most of the Evangelicals are not ready to formally go public with your initiative, to create a Conference of Presidents of Christian Organizations in Support of Israel. They're still trying to understand exactly the structure. They’re trying to understand why it should be different from Christians United For Israel (CUFI) – or Americans Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI) – or whether it should really be an updated and enhanced fusion of the two. They also need to see the first set of policy positions and statements that you and your colleagues are drafting. But the point was, you had a strategy meeting and you believe you are ready to launch, or close to being ready.
BRAMNICK: Correct. At this point, we have a summary of what we would like to accomplish. Our next steps are going to be working on the mission/vision statement, core values, and circulating it to the pastors.
EXCERPTS FROM THE INVITATION SENT TO EVANGELICAL LEADERS
We cordially extend this invitation to you to join us on our launch of the Conference of Presidents of Christian Organizations in Support of Israel on September 17th and 18th.
We are inviting the top 100 presidents of Christian Organizations and influential Christian leaders to join in launching this important coalition. These leaders represent tens of millions of evangelicals in America and this coalition will advance pro-Israel policy at the executive, legislative and state levels, and mobilize major grassroots efforts to strengthen the United States-Israel relations at this critical crossroad in our nation’s history and will build a firewall against the unprecedented rise of antisemitism in America.
No one organization alone will be able to accomplish what a coalition of the leading Christian voices can, on behalf of the US-Israel alliance and in combatting antisemitism.
We are honored to have with us at the launch former U.S. Ambassador to Israel the Honorable David Friedman; President of the Israeli-American Council and Former Special Envoy Combatting Antisemitism, the Honorable Elan Carr; and Vice Chairman of the Conference of Jewish Presidents, Malcolm Hoenlein.
Joel C. Rosenberg is the editor-in-chief of ALL ISRAEL NEWS and ALL ARAB NEWS and the President and CEO of Near East Media. A New York Times best-selling author, Middle East analyst, and Evangelical leader, he lives in Jerusalem with his wife and sons.
