Leaders of global Christian Zionist organizations express ‘unconditional love and support’ for Israel at Knesset gathering

JERUSALEM—Several Evangelical leaders stood up in the Knesset to pledge the unwavering support and love for the State of Israel from Christians around the world, emphasizing that their connection to Israel is not tied to politics or personalities.

“Christians around the world don’t support Israel because of who sits in the prime minister seat or in the 120 seats of the Knesset,” said Rebecca Brimmer, CEO of Bridges for Peace, based in Jerusalem. “We support Israel because we love the God of Israel.”

The Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast brought Christian leaders to the Knesset for a gathering that could not have come at a more crucial time. Last week, relations between Evangelicals and Israelis became strained after a prominent Christian leader publicly pledged to fight Naftali Bennett should he succeed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when the new government is sworn in on Sunday.

Jürgen Bühler, president of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, said he arrived at the Israeli parliament this morning with a “heavy heart.”

Bühler noted that as long as Christians have had access to read the Bible for themselves, they have discovered the truth about the Jewish people and God’s promises to Israel. He named several historic “Bible-believing Christians who stood with Israel not because of political circumstances, but because of their faith in the Word of God.”

“And on those shoulders we are standing here today. What they all had in common was that, independent of what was happening to the Jewish people, independent of who was the prime minister – there was no prime minister yet – they gave their unwavering support to the Jewish people,” Bühler said.

Bühler said he wanted the members of Israel’s Knesset to know that he called leaders of Christian communities who represent millions of Christians from around the world.

“And I asked them, ‘Will the new election… impact your friendship (with Israel)? And the common reaction was, ‘Why should it impact our friendship with Israel?’ We continue to stand with you. There is an unwavering, growing support among Evangelicals around.”

Knesset Member Matan Kahana – a member of Bennett’s Yamina party and who is expected to be the minister of Religious Affairs in the upcoming government – was moved by the support of the Christian world, as he has been in the past.

He recalled coming back from a sortie during the previous Israel-Hamas conflict in 2014 and being greeted by a Christian leader who gave him a hug and a donation.

“The fact that he took the first plane and came to Israel (during a war) – that was the most important thing for me, to know that your guys are steadfast friends that are standing by our side and are explaining what is happening in Israel, that we are not the aggressors,” he said. “It was so important for me and, during the war, it helped me as a squadron commander to know there are decent people all over the world supporting us.”

The Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast is a Jewish-Christian initiative pioneered by former Knesset Member Robert Ilatov and Albert Veksler. Since 2017, hundreds of Christian supporters of Israel have come to Jerusalem each year to take part in the annual event – setting a record of 650 delegates in 2019. In 2020, the event was forced online due to COVID restrictions and drew 1.5 million viewers worldwide.

This year, a smaller crowd comprised mostly of local believers attended the event in person at the Friends of Zion Museum while millions were able to connect online and on God TV.

In a huge boost to the Jewish state, the president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, announced in a recorded message that in two weeks he will officially inaugurate his country’s embassy in Jerusalem.

“As I have stated before at this gathering, as I have stated in Jerusalem before the World Jewish Congress, as I have stated in national capitals around the world and as I stated in our own capital city, of Tegucigalpa, as long as I am president of Honduras, Honduras will remain a trusted, loyal and close friend to Israel,” he said. “Please join me in praying that this relationship continues to grow and stand.”

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also greeted viewers by video touting the historic Abraham Accords that America helped to broker while Pompeo was head of the State Department.

“What a year it’s been for the peace of Jerusalem,” he said. “I believe, indeed, that it was these values that allowed us to facilitate the making of peace between Muslim countries and Israel. In the historic Abraham Accords, those nations’ leaders made peace and each spoke of their faith and the holy places of worship inside of their countries. What very few people thought was possible came to be with God, because indeed with God, all things are possible.”