Although the larger GOP is at odds over how far to support Israel in its battle against enemies, at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Conference, evangelicals said they were unwavering in their advocacy for Israel.
After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, Democrats were largely split on whether to support Israel or accuse the Middle Eastern nation of committing genocide in Gaza. In more recent years, the GOP has begun to split over support for Israel.
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Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, political commentator Candace Owens, and political strategist Steve Bannon have become some of the most prominent GOP critics of Israel.
But the evangelicals gathered at the Washington Hilton were unequivocal in their support for Israel.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), in conversation with Ralph Reed, the founder and chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, said “antisemitism is a canary in the coal mine for anti-Americanism.”
Stefanik gained national prominence for her questioning of Ivy League presidents during congressional hearings on pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, which led to several resignations. Former Columbia University President Minouche Shafik, former Harvard University President Claudine Gay, and former University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill all stepped down from their posts.
Later on, crowd members audibly gasped as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) read parts of the Democratic Socialists of America platform on Gaza.
“Free Palestine,” said Johnson, quoting the DSA platform. “For a free Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. End all military and economic aid to Israel. Prosecute U.S. and Israeli leaders responsible for the genocide in Gaza.”
President Donald Trump’s relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has slightly frayed in the run-up to signing a memorandum of understanding with Iran. The MOU stipulates that Israel will cease attacking Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Netanyahu has protested. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed Israel Defense Forces won’t withdraw from Lebanon despite U.S. pressure this week. But by Friday, negotiators between Lebanon and Israel announced the signing of a framework agreement after U.S. mediation in Washington.
Yet, several attendees at the conference told the Washington Examiner they wanted Trump to continue to stand behind Israel, even as he attempts to hold on to a fragile peace deal to end the Iran war.
“I’m a strong supporter of Israel,” said Jeff Ortiz, 70, a board member of Iowa’s Faith and Freedom Coalition. “I do worry … sometimes that America, in general, over the years — it’s not even just with Israel — has allowed ourselves to be everybody’s army.”
Ortiz also noted that the United States needed to back Israel because “otherwise I think they’d be wiped off the face of the earth.”
Polling has shown U.S. support for Israel is waning as the Iran war has continued, even among Republicans. An April survey from the Pew Research Center showed 58% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents have a more favorable view of Israel, while 41% had an unfavorable view of Israel. But among younger Republicans, there is a noticeable difference, with 57% of Republicans ages 18 to 49 having an unfavorable opinion of Israel.
The GOP’s splintering over Israel is notable given its unified response after the Oct. 7 attacks. Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign largely focused on an America First ideology, but the Iran war has frustrated some die-hard MAGA followers who are wary of another overseas war. Former Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was among the loudest critics of the Iran war before leaving Congress.
Even Vice President JD Vance’s recent comments warning Israel that the U.S. is the only powerful ally still backing the nation were just the latest sign of the GOP’s willingness to no longer coddle Israel. Yet lawmakers like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), a potential 2028 contender, have also been willing to chide anti-Israel conservatives like Carlson.
“I believe Tucker Carlson is the single most dangerous demagogue in this country,” Cruz said in March.
Many evangelicals pointed to Judaism’s connection with Christianity as the main reason they don’t want the U.S. to stop supporting Israel. According to the Bible, Jesus Christ was a Jewish leader whose Jewish disciples spread the teachings of Christianity globally.
“It’s biblical … the Bible says we should support Israel,” said Marcelle Jones, 76, a retiree from Pinnacle, North Carolina.
“Israel, No. 1, they’re a great ally of ours and they support us, and that is the Holy Land and I believe that it should be preserved and protected,” said Cindy Scott, 71, a retiree from Birmingham, Alabama. “So, yeah, I believe that we should support Israel.”
Other Republicans claimed Israel’s location in the Middle East makes it a strategic ally for the U.S. as negotiations with Iran remain haphazard. Earlier on Thursday, Trump declared on social media that Tehran violated the fragile ceasefire but was coy about what consequences Iran would face. “We’ll find out,” he told reporters after his speech at the Road to Majority Conference. Later, U.S. Central Command announced that a U.S. aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone sites in retaliation for an attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.
Despite the tensions between Israel, the U.S., Iran, and Hezbollah, Republicans aren’t abandoning Israel, although they do have some concerns about unlimited financial aid.
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Evangelicals are “probably the most loyal group to Israel,” John Pudner, president of the Wisconsin Faith and Freedom Coalition, told the Washington Examiner.
“Of the involved evangelicals, there is a sense that they are an ally, and yes, no ally is perfect,” Pudner added. There “shouldn’t be a blank check for anyone.”
