I’ve devoted my life to expressing why Christians have a moral and biblical imperative to support Israel, but it’s been pointed out to me on several occasions that many of the arguments made in support of the Jewish state apply whether or not one is a Believer. Christian support for Israel begins with the Bible. We are mandated by God to stand with His Chosen People and to stand up to antisemitism wherever and whenever it is found.

For the Believer, Israel is the only nation on earth created by a sovereign act of God. As chronicled in Genesis, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1) and deeded the land of Israel to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 15:18, 17:2-8, 26:3). God says that those who bless Israel will be blessed (Genesis 12:3) and He commands that we pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).

Moreover, as Christians, our faith would not exist were it not for the Jewish people. Our Savior and his family are Jewish. The prophets, the patriarchs, the disciples, and the Apostles were all Jewish. There isn’t a Baptist in the bunch. Jesus never denied his Jewish roots, and neither should Christianity.

While Bible-believing Christians are theologically predisposed to supporting Israel, our Zionism does not end there. As Americans, as people who value life and liberty, both morality and patriotism point toward standing with Jerusalem.

Shared Values

The U.S.-Israel relationship is not an alliance of convenience. As the world’s sole remaining superpower, we are at times compelled to engage with countries whose domestic and foreign policies make us a bit uneasy. This is the unfortunate reality for the one nation that sits at the head of the international table. But it is decidedly not the case when it comes to Israel.

The U.S.-Israel relationship is something to be celebrated. It speaks well of our country that President Harry Truman recognized the Jewish state just 11 minutes after its independence. It likewise is a point of pride that the United States has stood with Israel since her modern rebirth. We have stood with Israel through wars against adversaries that have sought — and continue to seek — Israel’s wholesale destruction, and when she is victimized by an international community often led by corrupt, antisemitic, and totalitarian regimes.

It speaks well of us because Israel is a diamond in the rough. She is an oasis of liberty in one of the most illiberal regions in the world. Israelis value human and civil rights. They have a vibrant democracy and civil society. They embrace the melting pot of cultures and experiences that make the Jewish state unique. Put simply, Israelis and Americans speak two different languages but share one set of values.

For Christians, our values are rooted in the Bible. But even for those who do not believe but still have the moral clarity to see the world through the American or Western lens, Israel is a nation to be cherished.

Strategic Interests

Historically, many of America’s closest allies have needed American soldiers to make the greatest sacrifice in defense of those nations, lest they be overrun by the world’s most evil regimes. Europe would be nothing of what we know it to be today were it not for the brave Allied effort to defeat the Nazi regime. South Koreans would know nothing but hardship were it not for the sacrifices of American men and women.

Israel, however, has never and will never ask America to fight her battles for her. No American soldier has ever taken up arms in defense of the Jewish state. The Israelis do it themselves. They do so even against overwhelming odds. Because of God’s enduring blessing, they have survived and thrived.

As Americans, we do invest in Israel’s defense through military assistance. And we receive a great return on this annual financial investment in Israel’s defense. Israeli technological innovations, forged only as a result of the existential fires surrounding it, have improved American armed forces’ capabilities to fight and to deter our own adversaries. Israeli military technological advances have also saved American lives — for example, through the aptly nicknamed Israeli battlefield bandage, or the Israeli-developed armor that has been placed on various American military vehicles and borne the brunt of Iranian IEDs. Likewise, the Israeli-developed and jointly-produced Iron Dome missile defense system is currently being readied for deployment to protect American soldiers.

It is also worth noting that the vast majority of U.S. aid to Israel is spent right here at home, thereby aiding U.S. industry, ensuring good-paying American jobs, and helping to prepare our U.S. military if, God forbid, a larger fight ever comes.

America’s investment in Israel doesn’t just start and end with technology. Israeli intelligence sharing is second to none and maximizes the likelihood that the American people are kept safe from freedom’s bloodthirsty adversaries. And perhaps most importantly, when Israeli soldiers fight terrorists like Hamas and Hezbollah, they are contributing to the safety and wellbeing of every American, because these are not just our shared enemies in theory, they are terrorists who have taken American lives and would do so again if they have the opportunity.

From a purely national security perspective, the return on our investment in Israel stretches from technology to intelligence, and from fighting shared enemies to deterring tomorrow’s foes. In short, maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge in the Middle East is in the vital and direct national security interests of the United States of America.

A Light Unto the Nations

Israel’s technological know-how is not just limited to the battlefield. In fact, many of the products you use every day incorporate or rely on Israeli innovations. On the IT front, USB drives, instant messenger technology, and the original protection against computer viruses and malware were all developed in Israel. Medically, Israel is responsible for a host of innovations, including a camera pill that helps with gastroenterological diagnoses, a battery pack “exoskeleton” called ReWalk which enables those who suffered spinal injuries to walk again, and a flexible stent which is used to treat coronary artery disease.

Israeli technology is everywhere. We use it in our cars if we use the Waze GPS app and on our farms through micro or drip irrigation. It’s no wonder the Jewish state has earned the nickname “the Startup Nation.”

In addition, Israel’s innovations will go well beyond helping build a better life in industrialized nations. Israel’s Watergen, for example, which pulls drinking water out of humidity in the air, along with Israel’s highly efficient desalination plants, have the potential to ensure that no person should suffer from a lack of the most important resource on earth: water.

The approach to the world that leads Israelis to often focus on lifesaving technologies and help developing nations is rooted in the ancient Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam, which translates to “repairing the world.” In Isaiah 49:6 God declares that the children of Israel shall be “a light unto the nations.” Israel does this by embodying the spirit of Tikkun Olam. And they do so not just through technology and innovation but also by effectively serving as the world’s first responders.

Think of a tragedy in recent memory that grabbed world headlines. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 may come to mind. The 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The 2011 Fukushima disaster. Or perhaps the 2021 Miami-area condo collapse. At every one of these horrible moments, and many more, Israel was among the first to offer and deliver help. When tragedy strikes, the experience of the Israeli Defense Forces in traumatic situations, the tenacity of the nation of Israel, and the heart and soul of the Jewish people are seen clearly by all who are paying attention. Israel is always there — saving lives, providing comfort, and repairing the world.

International Threats Against Israel

Sadly, Israel’s contributions to the world mean nothing to her enemies. There are many in this world who hate the Jewish people more than they love life. They do not share our values; in fact, the concepts of life and liberty are anathema to Israel’s — and America’s — enemies.

Elsewhere in this monograph, you’ll be able to read in depth about Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, but the antisemitic rage that fuels anti-Israel hatred must be addressed.

Radical Islamic terrorist organizations, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, seek Israel’s destruction. At times, they hide behind buzzwords like “resistance” and blame Israel for forcing terrorists to murder innocents. Likewise, the Palestinian Authority (PA) continues to pay stipends and pensions to terrorists and their families in order to incentivize violence against innocent people. The PA, like its brethren at Hamas and elsewhere, seek to justify this “pay-to-slay” program by blaming the victim: Israel.

As Americans, we all have an important responsibility not to be fooled or taken in by the silver-tongues of terrorists or their apologists. They want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, and when the Western cameras aren’t rolling, they say so, time and again.

Some conscientious and decent people like to believe that virulent antisemitism is limited to the Middle East. It isn’t. In recent years we’ve seen a tide of antisemitism sweep not just across Europe but also here in the United States. Universities have become hotbeds of antisemitic activity. Pro-Israel students associated with Christians United for Israel’s campus division, who dare stand alongside their Jewish brothers and sisters in support of Israel have been harassed, bullied, and even attacked on American college campuses.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, acts of antisemitism have reached record highs year after year in the United States. And the consequences, from the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh to the attack on the synagogue in Poway, California, have at times been deadly. In our own country, our Jewish neighbors are often afraid to walk down the street. This is an abomination.

Modern American antisemitism is the ideological kin of the same hatred that fuels the radicalism and violence of terrorists like Hamas and Hezbollah, and the same repugnance that gave rise to Adolph Hitler’s Third Reich.

Sometimes antisemitic attackers wave Palestinian flags, sometimes they dress in khakis and a polo shirt, but no matter under what banner they choose to cloak themselves, they are bigots, they are sinners, and they represent an evil that must be stopped.

Perhaps the most organized antisemitic effort in the United States is the movement to Boycott, Divest from, and Sanction (BDS) Israel. This movement aims to achieve with boycotts what Hamas, Hezbollah and their ilk have failed to achieve with bombs: to destroy the state of Israel.

BDS activists claim they are simply anti-Zionist, not antisemitic. But Zionism is the word that encapsulates the idea that the Jewish people have a right to self-determination. Therefore, anti-Zionism is antisemitism, no matter the fig leaves or polite lexicon the BDS movement employs. BDS must be stopped. That is why, with South Carolina leading the way while Ambassador Nikki Haley served as governor there, more than 30 states have advanced measures that ensure our taxpayer dollars do not subsidize the antisemitic BDS movement.

Finally, we must acknowledge that not even the church is immune to being seduced by the world’s oldest hatred. In fact, the threat to the children of Israel that has fueled many of the most abhorrent acts of antisemitism for over a thousand years is the doctrine of Replacement Theology. This is the idea that the church has replaced Israel in the eyes of God. And it is flat out wrong.

God is a promise keeper, not a promise breaker. The promises that He made to Abraham and his descendants remain as true today as they were on the day they were uttered. God has not and never will abandon His people. Anyone who argues otherwise has failed to understand the most basic concept of the Bible: God’s word endures forever.

Thus, we end this chapter where we began. As Believers, we acknowledge God’s everlasting promise to His Chosen People. We accept the truth of His word. But even for those who don’t, even for the secular humanist, or the purely self-interested national security hawk, standing with Israel is right for our country.

As a Believer, I know that should we ever turn our back on Israel, God will turn His back on us. I know that we are blessed through His Chosen People. And as an American, I have witnessed the blessing of blessing Israel and am grateful for it.

Let us resolve, therefore, to support the U.S.-Israel relationship, to stand with our ally in her time of need, and to combat antisemitism whether it is found in the hallowed halls of Congress or in our own churches. And let us never forget these two simple truths: All who have stood against Israel find themselves on the ash heap of history, and all who have blessed Israel are remembered for their good deeds, on earth and in Heaven.