A delegation of American faith leaders came to Israel for a week-long intensive tour to express their unwavering support to Israel amid White House calls for a Palestinian state.
Pastor Mario Bramnick, head of the Latino Coalition For Israel and leader of the delegation, lamented the stance of the Biden administration which is pressuring Israel into a unilateral two-state solution. He added that creating a Palestinian state would be a “reward for genocide.”
Pastor Bramnick described how many Christians had taken the Oct. 7 attack as a call to action, demanding of them to fulfill Psalm 121 which states that “he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep”. But after witnessing Israel at war, he was more concerned about the fate of the US.
“I am more worried about America because Israel has an unconditional covenant of God’s protection,” Pastor Bramnick said. “I believe we’re in a spiritual existential threat in America. If we turn our backs against Israel, we have no hope for God’s favor, grace, or protection only of the wrath and judgment of God.”
The Pastor noted that their visit to Israel came just before the Jewish holiday of Purim.
“I believe the church and the Jewish people are standing together at an Esther moment when we are facing a wave of Hamans. Like Haman used Ahasuerus, the haters of Israel are using the governments of the United States and European Union in an attempt to destroy the Jewish people.”
“This is our moment, it is for this time, that Christians, like Esther, have to stand up against these anti-Israel decrees in the month of Adar to raise our voice to reverse every Haman decree against Israel, against the Jewish people. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy but God came so that we might have life and have life more abundantly.”.
The group visited many sites that would be considered controversial and dangerous, including Judea and Samaria.
The faith leaders ascended to the Temple Mount with Rabbi Yehudah Glick during the Muslim period of Ramadan which is usually a period of intensified Islamic violence. Normally, the Israeli government closes the Temple Mount to non-Muslims during Ramadan but it is being kept open this year.
The solidarity mission was joined by Southern Baptist pastor and U.S. politician Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Ellie Cohanim, who served as deputy special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism during the Trump administration.
The group met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and separately with former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who would likely occupy a key diplomatic position if his former boss Donald Trump returns to office. The faith leaders also received a security briefing and toured key strategic areas, including the Gaza envelope, Israel’s north and Judea and Samaria.
“Israel needs to make its own decisions without external pressures, and we expressed that to the prime minister, who is representing the will of the people as evidenced by the Knesset resolution opposing any imposition of a unilateral two-state solution at this stage of the game,” Bramnick told JNS.
Bramnick referred to the 99-11 Knesset vote to back the Israeli government’s decision to reject any unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Credit: Courtesy.
Israel’s government felt compelled to hold the vote due to what it deemed credible reports that the Biden administration planned a major push for a Palestinian state despite Israeli opposition.
There has been growing tension between the United States and Israel as the White House has heightened its criticism regarding the number of civilian casualties in Gaza and the need for more humanitarian aid to the Strip.
The US government has also demanded strictures be placed on any Israel Defense Forces operation in Rafah, Hamas’s last stronghold in the Gaza Strip.
The tension reached a peak this week with a Politico report suggesting that the White House is considering conditioning U.S. military aid to Israel on whether Israel enters Rafah, though the administration quickly refuted the report.
However, President Joe Biden told MSNBC over the weekend that Netanyahu “is hurting Israel more than he is helping.”
Netanyahu hit back, telling German newspaper BILD on Sunday that his policies are supported by the majority of Israelis and they are in Israel’s interests.
“[Israelis] also support my position that says that we should resoundingly reject the attempt to ram down our throats a Palestinian state,” Netanyahu said.
Delegation member Sara Carter, an investigative journalist and Fox News contributor told JNS: “I’m here with this solidarity mission because Israel and the United States are fighting a common enemy. The enemy that wants to destroy not just Israel, but the Western world.”
“Our administration right now in Washington, D.C., has failed miserably the American people and our allies. I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu as well as the Israeli people need to know that there are people in America that are willing to stand up for the same principles that they are fighting for here in Israel,” she said.
Donna Jollay, Christian relations director of Israel365, an Orthodox Jewish group that builds bridges between Jews and Christians, accompanied the delegation. She explained that the mission was not only political but also spiritual as many of the participants felt a desire to repent for how the US has treated Israel.
“The objective was not only to stand with Israel but to also own responsibility for the actions of the United States,” Jollay said to Israel365 News. “The current administration has used our tax dollars to fund UNRWA to the tune of over one billion dollars since 2021. That means that US taxpayers funded the worst slaughter of the Jewish people since the Holocaust. That weighs so heavily on our spirits and in our souls. We’re concerned for our nation, and we’re also concerned for our church. We believe that if Christians understood the situation, they would be motivated. But the mass media and the enemies of God, have been so smart and so strategic at capturing the narrative.”
“There was a groundswell of support in the beginning, but that did not last very long and Israel now feels abandoned by its friends,” she added. “So we are working with leaders in Israel to develop plans, strategies and opportunities to help the lovers of Israel to stand with her in this dire hour,” she added.
“The absolute best thing that people can do is to come to Israel and that is another crucial element of this delegation. We are witnesses that Israel is miraculously safe even while she is in the fight for her life and it means so much to [Israelis] for us to be here,” she concluded.
Danielle Mor, the Global Philanthropy Director for Christian Friends of the Jewish Agency for Israel, also joined the group.
“We realize that Christian support for Israel stems from a deep belief that Israel is part of God’s plan and that Israel has a special place in God’s heart,” Mor told Israel365. “Even as the founders of Zionism were working to establish the state, Christian faith leaders supported them, seeing it as prophetic.”
“The Jewish Agency has been blessed with these connections over the years in all sorts of practical ways. We’ve also seen it time and again in different votes and in different political moves that were done in the houses of power all around the world.”
“We’ve especially felt that the complete and utter anguish that the Jewish people all over the world is feeling is shared by Christian friends around the world. Our Christian allies have been praying and rallying, acting as witnesses by coming to visit Israel. They volunteer in our time of need and do everything they can to help and support us.”
“When the Jews see this coming from Christians, it helps us heal,” Mor said.
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