By Gabe Groisman, JNS
Hearing Pastor John Hagee state with conviction, “If a line has to be drawn, then draw that line around both Christians and Jews. We are one,” is powerful, clear and moving.
The American political landscape is continuously shifting, but some things remain constant. The growing support of the evangelical Christian community in the United States for Israel is a constant that impacts national politics more profoundly than many realize. It is no exaggeration to say that without the evangelical Christian community, U.S. support of Israel would look different today.
Nowhere is this support more visible than at the annual Christians United for Israel (CUFI) Summit in Washington, D.C., the largest pro-Israel gathering in the country. Some 3,000 Christians (and a handful of Jews) from across America come together every year, led by Pastor John Hagee, his wife, Diana, and their daughter, Sandra Hagee Parker, to express their support of Israel in our nation’s capital.
Hearing Hagee, the founder of CUFI, state with conviction: “If a line has to be drawn, then draw that line around both Christians and Jews. We are one,” is powerful, clear and moving.
For them, standing with Israel is not a choice; it is a religious imperative. They pray for the peace of Jerusalem, donate generously to Israeli causes, speak out loudly against antisemitism and powerfully lobby the U.S. government to support Israel.
This movement is not fringe. It represents millions of Americans, and it is growing.
This stands in stark contrast to the claims by some who are weaponizing Christianity to attack Jewish people and the Jewish state. Of course, none of this is new. Replacement theology, which is the belief that the Christian church has replaced the Jewish people as God’s chosen covenant community, rendering God’s promises to Israel and the Jewish people as obsolete, is making a comeback. Once used as an excuse for crusades and inquisitions, today it is being used by podcast hosts and others in politics and media to support their isolationist, anti-Israel, and at times, antisemitic viewpoints.
Thankfully, most American Christians either increasingly marginalize or outright reject replacement theology, but it remains influential in certain circles. Its resurgence in any form should concern everyone, however. Instead, those who espouse replacement theology as a tool to divide the growing relationship and partnership between the Christians and Jewish communities should be rejected outright.
The bond between American Christians and Jews extends far beyond support for Israel. It includes a shared commitment to religious liberty, school choice, family and other core traditional values. This week’s CUFI Summit highlights the strength of that alliance. Working together to bolster this partnership, while fending off the naysayers, isn’t just the right thing to do; it is essential.
