The right wing failed to nurture evangelical support for annexation

By TULY WEISZ

Published: AUGUST 16, 2020 12:35

A view shows the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the West Bank February 25, 2020. (photo credit: AMMAR AWAD / REUTERS) — A view shows the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the West Bank February 25, 2020.

(photo credit: AMMAR AWAD / REUTERS)

Over the summer as annexation appeared more and more likely, several media outlets began attributing America’s push for Israeli annexation on Trump’s efforts to impress his voter base.

Settler leaders are claiming to have been “betrayed” by the suspension of annexation announced as part of the Abraham Accords with the UAE.

Former defense minister Naftali Bennett decried the abrupt decision as “tragic” and blamed the Prime Minister, “It is unfortunate that Netanyahu missed a once-in-a-century opportunity to apply Israeli sovereignty,” he said.

However, if the Israeli right wing is disappointed that annexation is off the table, it only has itself to blame for not doing enough to nurture support among the most important pro-Israel lobbying group: Evangelical Christians.

Over the summer as annexation appeared more and more likely, several media outlets began attributing America’s push for Israeli annexation on US President Donald Trump’s efforts to impress his voter base. Haaretz ran a series of articles such as, “Trump Won't Just 'Allow' Netanyahu’s West Bank Annexation – He'll Force It,” claiming that the US president was pushing Israel to annex, “to appease his most loyal ace of base: Christian evangelicals.”

American Christians are indeed extremely committed to Israel’s welfare and security. It made perfect sense that President Trump, while battling social unrest and COVID-19, was looking for another Israel achievement to galvanize his base before the November elections. However, in hindsight, it is clear that Christian support for sovereignty over Judea and Samaria was overblown.

July 1st, the deadline for sovereignty to begin, came and went. The following day, Christian leader Mike Evans, founder of the Friends of Zion Museum and the Jerusalem Prayer Team Facebook page with 73 million followers warned on Ynet, "I believe that any aide advising the president to withdraw his support on application of sovereignty could jeopardize the president's chances of winning the elections… we will push any advisor urging him to refrain from supporting the application of sovereignty out of the White House."

As someone who has been teaching, reaching out to and building relationships with Christian Zionists for nearly a decade, I felt that Haaretz’s sensational headline was fake news and that Mike Evans was articulating his personal views, rather than speaking on behalf of American voters. The Christians I was speaking to in my role as founder of Israel365, were not paying close attention to the annexation issue, at all.

I reached out to the Christian pastors who I had brought to study Bible at the Knesset and to many of the “2020 Bridge Builders,” the top activists in Christian-Jewish engagement, and found that only a handful could even articulate the sovereignty issue, let alone were committed to advocating on its behalf.

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Pretty soon, it became clear that annexation was not the issue that President Trump was looking for. Texas Megapastor Pastor Robert Jeffres, who spoke at the US embassy opening ceremony in Jerusalem and is a leading voice on Trump’s faith advisory council, told the New York Times already on June 22nd, that most Evangelicals were “indifferent” to annexation. The issue quickly lost momentum, the July deadline came and went, and the hopes of hundreds of thousands of Israelis, is now suspended and off the table.

In the quest for a new energizing issue, the Trump administration shifted its sights from Judea and Samaria to Abu Dhabi. Within the span of just a few weeks, the right wing went from eagerly anticipating sovereignty to complaining about the missed once-in-a-century opportunity and pointing fingers at Prime Minister Netanyahu.

For the right wing, the loss of sovereignty over Judea and Samaria represents a tremendous failure of strategy over the past three and a half years of the Trump administration to open dialogue with Evangelical Christians on issues of shared importance.

To be sure, there are a few Israeli NGOs with ties to Evangelicals but for the most part, those are fundraising nonprofits and tour operators. There is not a single Jewish or Israeli organization, larger than a one or two man operation, whose mission is to educate and advocate for Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. No wonder that most Christian Zionists who pray every day for the peace of Jerusalem, don’t know the difference between Areas A and C, or fully grasp the political status of Hebron, Shiloh or Beit El.

The sudden suspension of annexation should be a wake-up call to all those who appreciate the support of millions of Christians from America and around the world. It is time to stop taking Evangelical support for granted. This is a short-sighted and dangerous mistake, especially when it comes to the younger generation, who are nowhere as committed to Israel as their parents and grandparents. Israel must look beyond the short term view of our millions upon millions of friends as being potential donors and tourists, or even allies in fighting against BDS.

If anyone “missed a once-in-a-century opportunity,” it wasn’t Netanyahu. It was the right wing community that takes for granted Christian support for Israel. Israel must take a much more proactive role in reaching out to educate and build lasting relationships with Evangelicals based on our shared values, if we don’t want to keep missing opportunities.

Rabbi Tuly Weisz is the director of Israel365.com which connects Christian Zionists to Israel through innovative digital outreach and education, each and every day of the year.