Meir Ozil is one of Israel's best-known journalists and satirical columnists, but he was very serious this week when he called on Israelis to urgently strengthen relations with evangelical Christians.
“In a world full of sick hatred for Israel, there are also signs of love,” Ozil wrote in a column for Maariv newspaper. “There are about 70 million evangelical Christians in the United States, and most of them support Israel.”
According to the famous journalist, it is important for Israel to wage a successful public battle in addition to the physical battle in Gaza. And there is no more important public relations battleground than the United States. “They are the most powerful country in the world, the third most populous country, they have a huge economy and a large army. I make it clear now that it is in our favor. If Israel wants to keep things that way, evangelical Christians are the key.”
But, Ozil asked, does Israel know how to properly evaluate and engage its Christian allies?
He suggested that Israel should pay more attention to pro-Israel Christians than to Jews in the diaspora, who are often lukewarm toward the Jewish state. He feels ashamed when he sees liberal American Jews attacking American Bible-believing Christians.
Ozil highlighted a recent segment on MSNBC in which Jewish writer and journalist Sarah Posner dismissed the outpouring of support from evangelical Christians after the Hamas invasion as selfish. Ozil responded: “When I see such ugly attacks, my heart breaks and I wonder what evangelical Christians think about their love for Israel being met with hostility, especially from the Jews.”
He noted that Christians in America and around the world are not only praying for Israel, but are also taking concrete political action by pressuring national governments and the United Nations. Christians are also at the forefront of lobbying national, state and local governments to combat the rising tide of anti-Semitism, especially on American campuses where many Jewish students feel harassed.
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