by Sammy Stein (January 2026)
Glasgow Friends of Israel was established 10 years ago with a clear mission to advocate for peace for both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. True and lasting peace cannot be one-sided. It requires fairness, security, and recognition of the rights of all communities involved. Our supporters and activists work to advance a secure and enduring peace for both peoples. Importantly, GFI is not a religious organisation and is supported by Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and people of other faiths, or none at all. Every individual who shares our commitment to justice, truth, and dialogue is welcome.
Recently, over a thousand senior Evangelical Christian pastors and influential leaders from the United States took part in the historic Friends of Zion Ambassadors Summit, led by Dr. Mike Evans and supported by Israel’s Foreign Ministry. The delegation travelled to Israel to gain a first-hand understanding of the country’s security challenges, history, and social realities. During the visit, delegates met Israeli leaders including President Isaac Herzog and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, as well as other senior political and security figures. They received briefings on Israel’s strategic concerns, met freed hostages and survivors of terror attacks, engaged with bereaved families and attended solidarity events across Jerusalem, including prayers at the Western Wall. Delegates were also presented with materials to help portray Israel accurately in their communities across the United States.
However, less than 24 hours after returning home, many delegates and leaders were confronted with hostile messages on social media. These messages, often identical in content, suggested a coordinated campaign to discredit the delegation. Many contained false narratives, misinformation and even antisemitic conspiracy theories. This demonstrates a wider pattern showing that Christian leaders in the U.S. who openly support Israel are increasingly becoming targets of a systematic effort to intimidate them.
The reasons behind this targeted hostility are complex but revealing. Evangelical Christians have historically been among the most vocal supporters of Israel, particularly in the United States. Their support is often rooted in theological convictions, cultural affinity and a commitment to religious freedom. Many of these leaders wield significant influence over large congregations, media channels and university campuses, giving them a platform to shape public discourse and challenge prevailing narratives. For groups behind these coordinated attacks, this influence represents both an ideological and strategic threat.
Critics often portray Evangelical supporters of Israel as politically conservative or as advocates of an extreme Israeli policy, framing them as part of a monolithic bloc opposing progressive causes. Online campaigns exploit this perception, portraying delegates as extremists or enablers of oppression, despite the delegation’s focus on understanding Israel’s complex security situation and human stories. The messaging is designed to create fear, dissuade public advocacy and undermine credibility.
This phenomenon is sometimes referred to by participants as the “woke Reich,” a term describing organised campaigns aimed at intimidating Christians who publicly support Israel. These campaigns are both ideological and strategic, exploiting social media algorithms, mass messaging and viral narratives to create the appearance of widespread opposition. By targeting Evangelical leaders, the campaigns seek to weaken one of the most organised and historically steadfast communities advocating for Israel globally.
Despite these attacks, many delegates responded with resilience and renewed commitment. Rather than retreating, they reaffirmed their determination to stand with Israel and to counter misinformation in their communities. The summit reinforced both their understanding of Israel’s challenges and the importance of sharing accurate, firsthand knowledge with their congregations and networks. Several delegates pledged to actively challenge false narratives on college campuses, in churches and in broader public discourse, showing that attempts to intimidate supporters can sometimes strengthen their resolve.
The targeting of Evangelical Christians also reveals deeper currents in the contemporary information environment. In the age of social media, misinformation spreads rapidly, often without verification. Coordinated campaigns present false narratives as truth, creating confusion and polarising public opinion. Evangelical leaders are particularly vulnerable because their influence is both visible and trusted by millions of followers. Silencing or discrediting a small number of highly respected figures can have a disproportionate effect on wider public perception.
Furthermore, these campaigns reflect broader geopolitical and ideological struggles. Israel faces criticism ranging from legitimate policy debate to outright distortion and delegitimisation. Activists and networks opposed to Israel’s supporters target those who can shape international opinion, viewing Evangelicals as a potent force given their political and cultural influence. The campaigns are intended not only to attack Israel’s reputation but also to suppress voices advocating for balanced understanding and dialogue, particularly those challenging mainstream or “woke” narratives in academic and media spaces.
The experience of the Friends of Zion Ambassadors Summit underscores a key lesson: advocacy for truth and justice often comes with risks, but these risks can be met with courage and solidarity. Those who engage in fact-based advocacy through education, public speaking, or community leadership play an essential role in countering misinformation and fostering understanding. The Evangelical leaders who attended the summit have shown that, despite online attacks and intimidation, they are committed to using their platforms to promote accurate knowledge, dialogue and reconciliation.
Support organisations like Glasgow Friends of Israel play a vital supporting role. By providing verified information, resources and networks for advocacy, groups like ours enable individuals to act confidently and effectively in support of peace and coexistence. The cooperation between communities across borders, whether in Scotland, the United States, or elsewhere, demonstrates that advocacy for Israel is not just local but global. Sharing accurate information, challenging false narratives and fostering respectful dialogue are crucial to countering campaigns that seek to distort the truth and GFI could not possibly achieve these goals with the support of our Christian Friends.
Ultimately, the targeting of Evangelical Christians highlights both a challenge and an opportunity. It shows that standing up for Israel in today’s media environment requires courage, clarity, and persistence. At the same time, it demonstrates the potential for informed advocates to shape public opinion, challenge misinformation and build bridges of understanding. By responding to intimidation with education, advocacy and solidarity, these leaders and the organisations that support them, can strengthen efforts for a more informed and balanced discourse.
The Friends of Zion Ambassadors Summit illustrates what can be achieved when committed individuals engage directly with the realities on the ground. By equipping leaders with firsthand experience, accurate information and practical tools for advocacy, such initiatives empower participants to counter misinformation and promote understanding. For Glasgow Friends of Israel, this reinforces the importance of supporting informed advocacy and encouraging people from all backgrounds to contribute to truthful and balanced dialogue about Israel and the wider Middle East.
Standing with Israel, supporting accurate information and fostering constructive dialogue are essential not only for the well-being of Israelis but also for the wider cause of peace and coexistence. The coordinated attacks against Evangelical leaders remind us that truth often faces opposition, but they also demonstrate the resilience and determination of those committed to advocacy based on fact and understanding. By learning from these experiences and continuing to provide support, education, and resources, communities can ensure that informed voices prevail over misinformation and that efforts toward lasting peace remain strong and credible.
Table of Contents
Sammy Stein was born a Jewish Palestinian, a description that causes much confusion with people. In 1948, he and all other Jewish Palestinians living in Palestine became Israeli citizens. He now lives in Glasgow and has two daughters, two grandchildren, and is married to Vicci. Sammy is Chair of Glasgow Friends of Israel, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in May 2025.
Follow NER on Twitter @NERIconoclast
4 Responses
Some reading that may be helpful for backgrounding.
John Roy Carlson, “Cairo to Damascus”. He witnessed the Arab Muslim assault on nascent Israel in 1948. He interviewed Hassan al-Banna, in Egypt. He shows clearly that from the outset the Muslim war on the Jewish state is a Jihad.
James Parkes was an Anglican clergyman. HIs history of the Land of Israel is beautifully written; and clearly shows the continuity and persistence of indigenous Jewish attachment to – and presence within – the Land, even in the darkest periods of Muslim imperial occupation.
Jacques Ellul’s ‘Un Chretien Pour Israel”: recommended, for anyone who can read French. This book desperately needs to be translated! It is in fact the ONLY book in all of Ellul’s extensive oeuvre that has NOT been put into English. It needs to be translated, ASAP, and circulated as widely as possible… in particular, the chapter on ‘Propaganda’, which has not dated one little bit… Ellul’s discussion and scathing denunciation of the ways in which the French media misreported the first Lebanon War in the late 1970s/ early 1980s, could be read, today, pretty much without altering a line, as a discussion and denunciation of the ways in which the Gaza war was misreported.
And Martha Gellhorn’s classic article, “The Arabs of Palestine” (in the title of the article she uses ‘palestine’ in its original sense, as a geographical label), which appeared in 1961… She is very clear-headed, with a functioning bullsh*t detector, that stands her in good stead when she encounters dramatically-declaiming Arab mohammedans making extraordinary claims. She goes off and fact-checks. And she ended up coining the term ‘madhattery’ to describe the outright nonsense that so many of them spouted.
Those who openly seek a repetition of the real, planned, and systematically executed genocide of six million Jews during World War II are not operating in the past—they are active in the present..
In February 2024, neo-Nazis marched in a Florida park holding signs reading “Jews love genocide”* and calling for “a future for white children.” This was not provocation for debate; it was explicit genocidal propaganda, echoing the same ideology that culminated in Auschwitz.
([Neo-Nazis holding sign saying ‘Jews love genocide’ protest in Florida park. The group also held a placard calling for ‘a future for white children’. The JC, February 20, 2024. [https://www.thejc.com/news/usa/neo-nazis-holding-sign-saying-jews-love-genocide-protest-in-florida-park-ng3tldp9])
This incident exposes a broader and deeply cynical trend: genuine genocidal movements now invert reality by accusing Jews—and Israel—of genocide. The accusation is not merely false; it is a deliberate act of historical erasure and moral inversion. By weaponizing the language of genocide against Jewish self-defense, these actors attempt to launder antisemitism into respectable discourse while obscuring the very real threats Jews continue to face.
Calling Israel’s existence or actions “genocide” [pallyweid] while neo-Nazis openly glorify extermination is not moral clarity—it is complicity in distortion. Real genocide has a history, a methodology, and victims. Trivializing it to attack Jews does not advance justice; it advances the same hatred that once led to industrialized murder.
The Blood Trail of Islamist Death Cult: From Tehran to Gaza.
The Regime Behind the Carnage: Iran’s War on Its Own People and on Israel.
Iran’s Hypothetical Atrocities and Its Proxy War Against Israel.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has a dark history of brutally suppressing its own people, with estimates suggesting that in just two weeks of crackdowns (Jan/2026), it massacred between 20,000 and 50,000 unarmed civilians. Extrapolating this rate over two years yields a staggering 1.04 million to 2.6 million potential deaths—a chilling reminder of the regime’s capacity for mass murder against innocents, far exceeding even the most tragic conflicts.
This same ruthless regime fuels terrorism through its backing of genocidal Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza, providing weapons, funding, and training as part of its “axis of resistance” to destabilize the region and target Israel. On October 7, 2023, “Palestine” regime Hamas launched a barbaric invasion, massacring over 1,200 Israelis and taking hundreds hostage in acts of unspeakable cruelty, including rape, torture, and the slaughter of families. This unprovoked assault forced Israel into a defensive war to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure and secure its citizens from endless rocket barrages and threats.
In a cynical strategy to garner international sympathy, Hamas and PIJ deliberately embed their military operations—rocket launchers, tunnels, and command centers—amidst civilian areas like hospitals, schools, and UN facilities, using Gazan civilians as human shields to inflate casualties and demonize Israel’s precise responses. Despite these tactics, Israel’s military has gone to extraordinary lengths to minimize harm, issuing evacuation warnings, creating humanitarian corridors, and adhering to international law, even as Hamas diverts aid and holds its own people hostage to its ideology of destruction.
As of late 2025, Israel eliminated over 25,000 terrorists, early 2026, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry claims around 67,000–71,000 deaths, though these figures include combatants and are often inflated or unverified; independent analyses suggest the true toll, while heartbreaking, reflects the consequences of Hamas’s war crimes rather than Israeli aggression. Israel’s fight is not against Palestinians but against Iranian-backed extremists who prioritize jihad over peace, sacrificing their own to perpetuate conflict.
In the face of such evil, Israel’s resilience and commitment to defending democracy shine through, underscoring the moral clarity: a sovereign nation protecting its people from genocidal threats, while the world must hold Iran and its proxies accountable for the bloodshed they engineer.
All Christians must stand with Jews against anti-Semitism, Evangelical, nominal, Catholic, Protestant, all of us for one simple reason: Human decency combined with a determination that there can never be another Holocaust.
Moreover, while condemning Jew-hatred from all quarters, we must not be shy in pointing out who the major modern purveyors of anti-Semitism are. While not every single Muslim on the planet is guilty, most anti-Semitism today is coming from Islamic quarters.