FOZ Founder Mike Evans Tells Netanyahu Evangelicals Are ‘Overwhelmingly United’ in Israel Support
By The Media Line Staff
Evangelical Christian leaders meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Palm Beach on Tuesday declared that support for Israel among evangelicals remains firm, despite growing political and ideological divisions in the United States.
Hosted by Mike Evans, founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center, the gathering brought together senior evangelical figures including Jonathan Falwell of Thomas Road Baptist Church, Dondi Costin, Thomas Heath, and Jay Strack.
Netanyahu framed the relationship as historically decisive, telling the group: “You are representatives of the Christian Zionists who made Jewish Zionism possible.” He added, “It’s hard for me to conceive the emergence of the Jewish state, the re-emergence of the Jewish state, without the support of Christian Zionists in the United States, also in Britain, but the main thrust was in the United States in the 19th century.”
In his remarks, Evans told the prime minister that evangelical backing for Israel is rooted in theology rather than party politics. “Despite growing political polarization in the United States, one reality remains consistent and deeply rooted: Evangelical Christians remain overwhelmingly united in their support for Israel,” he said. He added that this support flows from faith, saying believers hold that “you cannot love Jesus without loving the Jewish people because Jesus was Jewish.”
Recalling a decadeslong friendship with Evans, Netanyahu called evangelicals Israel’s closest allies. “We have no better friends, and I mean that sincerely,” he said. “You have stood by us through thick and thin.”
As part of the meeting, Evans outlined plans to expand evangelical engagement with Israel, noting that he recently brought 1,000 American pastors to Israel to serve as Friends of Zion ambassadors. He said another 3,000 pastors and 1,000 US university students are expected to visit next year.
Warning that Hamas is facing military setbacks but gaining traction in what he described as ideological and media arenas, Evans argued that narratives framed as human rights advocacy have helped normalize claims such as “Zionism is racism,” while social media campaigns driven by artificial intelligence and bot networks marginalize pro-Israel voices.
Echoing the theme, Netanyahu said Israel has fought “a seven-front war,” but now faces “an eighth front … the front for the hearts and minds of the people, especially young people in the West.” He argued the fight is broader than Israel: “I think it’s our common Judeo-Christian civilization’s battle,” and stressed, “We have to stand up and be counted. They have to hear our voice.”
According to Evans, US assessments indicate that Gulf states, including Qatar, are spending billions of dollars to weaken evangelical support for Israel.
Pointing to past efforts to silence evangelical platforms, he recalled that millions of accounts were removed from his Jerusalem Prayer Team network during a previous Gaza conflict. “We are truly fighting a war,” Evans said. “It is an ideological war. Demons don’t care about customs.”
Turning to what he cast as moral clarity versus equivocation, Netanyahu said, “Faith should speak its voice and terrorism should be confronted, not understood, confronted and defeated.”
Addressing Christian persecution across the Middle East and beyond, Netanyahu cast Israel as an exception: “One country protects the Christian community, enables it to grow, defends it and make sure that it thrives. And that country is Israel. There is no other, none.”
Separately, Evans criticized what he called a “woke right” movement that blends America First language with theological attacks on Christian Zionism, arguing it has confused younger Christians and eroded Judeo-Christian values.
To close the meeting, Evans told Netanyahu that Israel’s future remains secure, saying both God and President Donald Trump have kept their promises to the Jewish state. Netanyahu said he had spoken with President Trump the day before, and closed with a holiday message: “a belated happy Christmas … and on time, a happy New Year.”
Linked video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGo_kend-zc
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