More Christians are supporting Israel after the Hamas terrorists' invasion and massacre on Oct. 7, NPR reported.
Although evangelicals have supported Israel for decades, other Christian groups are rallying around the Israelis after Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 240 hostage.
In the days after Oct. 7, millions of dollars in donations were sent to organizations and ministries in Israel to respond to emergency needs, Christianity Today reported.
"What I am seeing is that this is even less and less political, it is less and less about Zionism or about particular policies, and I'm seeing more and more of a kind of feeling that Oct. 7 was like a watershed civilizational moment," said Faydra Shapiro, the executive director of the Israel Center for Jewish Christian Relations, NPR reported.
"What if it were us? What is right for us as Christians? Here is a chance for us to show that we've learned something from history."
Evangelicals believe Israel is key to an end-times prophecy that will bring about the return of the Christian messiah. Many Christians support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God's chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland.
"In the scripture it instructs us to support Israel, and sometimes the best time to support someone is when they're grieving," Shawn Landis, an evangelical Christian from Pennsylvania, told the Associated Press. "Friendship is not just about being there for the good times, it's also about the rough times."
Christian groups such as the Philos Project, Christian Friends of Israeli Communities, and HaYovel say their work has taken on a renewed importance since Oct. 7.
David Ndayishimiye, a 21-year-old evangelical, wanted to do something amid the rise of antisemitism. He visited Israel on a trip organized by the Philos Project.
"I was really looking into a way to support Israel, because ever since I was young, since my teenage years, I had an urge to stand with Israel, because I'm a Christian," Ndayishimiye, a University of Missouri graduate student, told NPR. "I think that if we stand with Israel we'll be on the right side of history. That's my belief."
HaYovel launched Operation Ittai after the war in Gaza began, and as of May 8 had raised almost $3.7 million of its $29 million goal to go toward defense equipment in the other Jewish settlement communities in the West Bank.
"It really becomes a moral duty to stand with the Jewish people. We see Israel really fighting alone now. The international community is giving Israel a really hard time and that's hard for us to see," Joshua Waller, the director of operations for HaYovel said, NPR reported.
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Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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