Why are young Evangelicals turning against Israel in record numbers? THE ROSENBERG REPORT takes a deep dive into root causes – Part One

Recent surveys reveal a concerning trend: The number of young Evangelicals who love and support the Jewish State is plunging. Evangelicals under 30 are nearly 150% less likely to express strong support for Israel than Evangelical Christians over the age of 65.

These findings are even more alarming at a time when Israel faces war and terrorism on multiple fronts.

“We’ve got to take this crisis seriously and get started now,” said ALL ISRAEL NEWS Editor-in-Chief Joel Rosenberg.

Rosenberg is dedicating a series of episodes of his weekly show, THE ROSENBERG REPORT, which airs on TBN, to this critical issue, believing that practical steps can be taken to reverse the trend.

“But before we can fix the problem, we must properly diagnose it,” he said.

How bad is the trend?

“For the last several years, my colleagues and I at ALL ISRAEL NEWS, The Joshua Fund, Chosen People Ministries, and the Alliance For the Peace of Jerusalem have been investing in a series of national surveys designed to better understand the difference between how young Evangelicals view Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict compared to their parents and grandparents,” Rosenberg said.

“The numbers are not good – and, in fact, they’re getting worse,” he stressed.

According to two Jewish American professors – Prof. Motti Inbari from the University of North Carolina and Dr. Kirill Bumin at Boston University – who appeared on his program last year, “only 33.6% of young Evangelicals conveyed support for Israel while 24.3% supported the Palestinians,” as recently as 2021.

In their book, Christian Zionism in the Twenty-First Century: American Evangelical Opinion on Israel, the authors show how the numbers declined between 2018 and March 2021, when they conducted their most recent survey.

Inbari explains that “the current young generation of American Evangelicals grew up in a very different informational environment than their parents and grandparents. While the older generations have witnessed Israel’s struggles to exist in a hostile Middle East, for the younger generation, Israel is portrayed as the aggressor while the Palestinians are victims.”

Rosenberg noted that the current situation is probably worse.

“Keep in mind that these surveys were all conducted before Hamas invaded Israel on October 7th, 2023 – and thus before Israel began its 18-month-long war in Gaza,” he warned.

Why is support from young Evangelicals drifting away from Israel?

“Look at what’s been happening on college and university campuses across America and the world since October 7th. We all agree that it’s absolutely sickening that secular young people are turning against Israel and against the Jewish people, but why are kids raised in Christian homes and Christian churches being swayed by these lies?” the TBN host wondered.

Rosenberg outlined seven key reasons Evangelicals should take notice. The first episode in his special series explored the first two.

Reason #1: Education starts at home

“The first and most important reason that Evangelical young people are turning against Israel is because their parents and grandparents are not carefully, consistently, and intentionally passing on what they know and believe from the Bible about God’s love for Israel and the Jewish people to the next generation,” said Rosenberg.

He argued that older Evangelicals should not expect future generations to know and believe biblical truths unless parents and grandparents take the time to patiently and persistently teach and pass them on.

“How can anyone believe in Biblical truths that they have not been taught?” he asked. “If we aren’t teaching our children and grandchildren the Biblical stories – right out of the book of Genesis – of when, how, and why God made His unconditional promise to bless Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants, and give them the land of Israel forever, then how are they going to know these stories, much less believe them?”

Reason #2: Lack of solid biblical teaching

The second major reason young Evangelicals are turning against Israel, according to Rosenberg, is the teaching they are (or aren’t) receiving in church.

“Very few pastors teach through the Bible, book by book, chapter by chapter,” he claimed.

“It’s not the only way to teach the scriptures, of course, but imagine if more pastors were engaged in systematic expository teaching through the books of Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.”

Rosenberg emphasized that it’s hard to miss the story and importance of Israel when studying the Bible systematically and trying to understand what the Apostle Paul calls “the whole counsel of God.”

The TBN host called on Evangelicals to consider what kind of “biblical meal” they are receiving – and what their children and grandchildren are being fed.

“Even if a pastor is faithfully teaching ‘the whole counsel of God’ – including the importance of Israel to all believers – let’s be honest: most kids aren’t sitting in the main service. They’re often attending Sunday School or youth group instead. So, they’re getting a totally different diet of teaching than the adults, right?” he asked.

To help address the issue, Rosenberg urged concerned Evangelicals to invite their pastors to lunch or dinner and explain why educating the younger generation is important to them.

“You could also share with them a link to this show to help jump-start the conversation,” he offered. “But even if they’re not interested – or don’t agree with you – remember that, again, education starts at home. Don’t completely outsource what your kids and grandkids learn about the Bible to your church.”

Watch the first episode in the series, "WHY ARE YOUNG EVANGELICALS TURNING AGAINST ISRAEL – AND HOW CAN WE WIN THEM BACK?" on the TBN website.

THE ROSENBERG REPORT airs Thursday nights at 9 p.m. EST and Saturday nights at 10 p.m. EST on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the most-watched Christian television network in the United States.