Evangelical Leaders Hit With Online Barrage After Friends of Zion Mission to Israel By The Media Line Staff More than 1,000 prominent evangelical Christian leaders returned to the United States this week from a high-profile solidarity mission to Israel and quickly found themselves at the center of a fierce online campaign, with their social media […]
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The Media Line: Evangelical Leaders Hit With Online Barrage After Friends of Zion Mission to Israel
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Evangelical Leaders Hit With Online Barrage After Friends of Zion Mission to Israel
By The Media Line Staff
More than 1,000 prominent evangelical Christian leaders returned to the United States this week from a high-profile solidarity mission to Israel and quickly found themselves at the center of a fierce online campaign, with their social media feeds flooded by identical hostile messages and conspiracy theories. The delegation, organized by Dr. Mike Evans in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was billed as the largest group of American pastors to visit Israel since the state’s founding.
During the weeklong Friends of Zion Ambassador Summit, participants met senior Israeli officials, received security briefings, and visited religious and historic sites in Jerusalem and elsewhere. The visit unfolded during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which erupted after Hamas fighters killed around 1,200 people and abducted roughly 250 hostages in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Soon after returning home, delegates reported coordinated attacks accusing Israel of genocide, branding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal, denying any strategic value in the US-Israel alliance, and circulating antisemitic claims about secret blackmail and even supposed assassinations.
Fox News host Mark Levin responded to the backlash, saying the vast evangelical community recognizes the movement he described as the “Woke Reich” and is angered by efforts to punish Christians who openly support Israel.
The founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center said the pattern of attacks suggests either artificial-intelligence-driven bot networks backed by Qatar or the ripple effects of Tucker Carlson’s antisemitic messaging. Evans asked US Ambassador Mike Huckabee to record a video addressing the main accusations so it could be sent directly to the roughly 1,000 pastors.
He added that the organizers remain committed to strengthening ties between church leaders and Israel. “This delegation came to Israel with open hearts and a shared mission,” he said. “No coordinated digital campaign will silence those who stand for truth.”