On Monday, a group of approximately twenty evangelical Christian leaders visited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Blair House near the White House, ahead of Netanyahu’s planned Oval Office meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

Pastor Mario Bramnick

“We were very honored to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu and key Christian leaders at this most historic time for America and Israel,” Mario Bramnick, pastor of New Wine Ministries Church in Cooper City, Fla. and head of the Latino Coalition for Israel, told Israel365 News that the group of evangelical leaders also met with some of the cabinet members.

“I believe that with President Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu—both leaders that have been called and commissioned by God—prophetic destiny of nations shall be established,” added Bramnick, who is also a part of the Conference of Christian Presidents for Israel.

Bramnick said that the group expressed “unwavering support for the nation of Israel” and that he told Netanyahu “that we applaud his unwavering courage and steadfastness in defending the nation of Israel against the unprecedented political war waged against him to criminalize Israel’s war efforts and deny the Jewish state the right to self-defense.”
Pastor Bramnick emphasized the dangers posed by the previous administration.

“The Biden administration waged an unprecedented political war against you and Israel, criminalizing Israel’s war efforts and effectively denying the Jewish state the right of self-defense,” Bramnick said. “I told the prime minister that our deep state had worked in conjunction with Israel’s deep state to oppose him and Israel. Truly, the Prime Minister not only defended Israel but defended the Judeo-Christian civilization.”

“He knows, as should all of Israel, that the 10 million members of CUFI stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Jewish state,” stated Pastor John Hagee, founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel, who was among the 20 evangelical Christian leaders meeting Netanyahu ahead of his planned Oval Office meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and a Southern Baptist leader, shared: “I was honored to join a group of evangelical leaders for a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu at the Blair House last evening to encourage him ahead of his various meetings this week.” He added, “Join me in praying for his meeting with President Trump today—that God would give both of these men divine wisdom as they discuss critical matters facing Israel and the Middle East.”

Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, remarked on meeting former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee: “I have known Mike for decades. He is a true friend of Israel and the Jewish people. I look forward to our collaboration in strengthening the unwavering alliance between the State of Israel and the United States.”

The gathering included prominent figures such as Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham and head of Samaritan’s Purse, and Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. The group also met with Caroline Glick, recently appointed International Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, and Danny Danon, Israel’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Discussions centered on Iran and the hostages in Gaza. The source revealed that when some expressed concerns about the hostage deal, Netanyahu acknowledged the risks but emphasized that “Israel had no choice.”

Notably, while Netanyahu arranged this meeting with evangelical leaders, a similar gathering with U.S. Jewish leaders was absent from his schedule. Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman emeritus of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, indicated that while a meeting between Netanyahu and Jewish leaders might be possible on Friday, it was “unlikely.” However, he noted that Netanyahu expressed interest in meeting with “young Jewish leaders” in Washington later in the week.

While most US Jews support Israel, many Reform and Liberal Jews follow in the footsteps of previous Democrat administrations that opposed Netanyahu and saw him as an adversary to their Two-State Solution agenda. Rabbi Tuly Weisz, head of Israel365, suggested that American Jews should take note.

“Guess who Netanyahu did meet with?” Rabbi Weisz said, “Evangelical leaders. Israel knows Christian Zionists today have our back more than old-guard Jewish organizations who are too busy bashing Bibi and Trump to recognize that our most important allies are our Christian friends.”

“It is time for the Jewish community to start paying attention to the shift taking place and build stronger relationships with our faith-based allies.”