Evangelicals, 7 critical things to watch – and pray for – amid Netanyahu’s high stakes visit to Washington

DENVER, COLORADO — Last month, I was invited by an Evangelical Christian Member of Congress to attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a Joint Session of Congress. 

The speech is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. EST tomorrow, Wednesday. 

I was very honored and grateful to accept and have just boarded a flight heading to Washington.

Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden this Thursday at 1:00 PM EST. 

He is also scheduled to meet privately and separately with Vice President Kamala Harris.

All three are high stakes moments given Biden’s bombshell announcement on Sunday to drop out of the presidential race but remain president until January, Biden’s immediate endorsement of Harris to succeed him, and the attempted assassination of Donald J. Trump and Trump’s dominance in the polls right now. 

Israel is militarily and politically under attack from multiple directions, and U.S.-Israel relations have been terribly strained by bitterly sharp Biden criticisms of Netanyahu and Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza. 

What’s more, Netanyahu is under political attack from multiple directions, including key members of his right-wing coalition who are threatening to bolt and bring his government down. 

Even as a political thriller writer, it’s hard to imagine a more dramatic several weeks – indeed, several days.

But for those Evangelicals who love Israel, the next few days could prove no less dramatic.

WHAT SHOULD EVANGELICALS WATCH FOR? 7 CRITICAL QUESTIONS

I have no inside information as to what Netanyahu will say at the White House – or to Congress – or how he will navigate these tricky cross currents.

But here are seven critical things that I’ll be watching closely for, and that I encourage my fellow Evangelicals to watch for.

1. Will Netanyahu announce that a deal has been struck to get all or most of the hostages out of Gaza – including eight Americans – if so, what are the terms, and how close is Israel to achieving “total victory” in Gaza, as Netanyahu has insisted upon? 

2. What is Netanyahu’s vision for the “day after” the war in Gaza – and how specific will he be regarding what he’d like the U.S. role to be, who will provide security in Gaza, who will actually govern there in the near and long term, how will Gaza be rebuilt, and what role does he envisions Israel’s peace partners (Egypt, Jordan, the Gulf states, and Morocco) playing in all this?

3. Will Netanyahu lay out his vision for how to finalize an historic and transformative Israeli-Saudi peace and normalization deal – with Washington’s help – possibly before the end of the year? 

4. How will Netanyahu speak about his 40-year relationship with Joe Biden, and speak about Vice President Kamala Harris – and about Donald J. Trump in light of the assassination attempt against him – in a way that truly and carefully advances bipartisan support of Israel, rather than makes the growing partisan against Israel worse?

5. What will Netanyahu say about how Israel plans to neutralize the Hezbollah threat in Lebanon, the possibility that Israel may soon have to invade to push the terrorists away from Israel’s northern border, and exactly what Israel needs from the United States, including a faster resupply of American weapons and missiles interceptors?

6. What will Netanyahu say about the magnitude of the steadily threat to the U.S., Israel, and our Sunni Arab neighbors posed by the Iranian regime and the urgency of taking united action to neutralize the Iranian nuclear and terror threats before it’s too late? 

7. Will Netanyahu quote from the Bible as he describes Israel’s past and lays out his vision for Israel’s future? 

WHAT SHOULD EVANGELICALS PRAY FOR?

Evangelicals, please pray for:

1. The Lord to protect Netanyahu from any threats, protests or assassination attempts

2. Netanyahu to have the wisdom to know how to best advance Israel’s national interests, without regard for his own political interests

3. Vice President Harris to change her mind and attend Netanyahu’s speech to Congress – I think it’s unconscionable for her to skip it

4. U.S.-Israel relations to be dramatically strengthened, and anti-Israel voices to be sidelined and marginalized

5. A miraculous breakthrough and the release of all the hostages

6. An historic breakthrough and the finalization of a peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and a vastly improved strategic alliance between the Saudis and the U.S. 

7. The Lord to show each of us who are followers of Jesus how to bless Israel and her Arab/Muslim neighbors in real and practical ways, including through ministries like THE JOSHUA FUND, which my wife and I founded 18 years ago. To learn more, please go to https://www.joshuafund.com. 

Rest assured, ALL ISRAEL NEWS and I will have full coverage of Netanyahu’s historic visit to Washington.

Please check back for regular updates at www.ALLISRAEL.com and on our social media sites.

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