The Church can break antisemitic stereotypes, stand with Israel and Jews: 'Our love will speak volumes'

WASHINGTON — A Jerusalem correspondent whose wife and daughter were forced to ditch their car and seek shelter from a barrage of missiles launched by Iran explained the Church’s role in defending Israel and the Jewish people.

Daniel Cohen of Real Life Network is a Jewish believer in “Yeshua” who resides in Tel Aviv with his wife and three children. Cohen was one of several speakers featured on the "Israel: Past, Present, and Future" panel on the first night of the Pray Vote Stand summit.

With the 2024 presidential election on the horizon and Israel fending off attacks from Hamas and Hezbollah, the correspondent stated that the Church must operate as if there is a “spiritual war” happening. 

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He spoke about Israel withstanding Iran’s latest missile attack and successful operations to eliminate Hezbollah terrorists. Israel intercepted most of the missiles, but there were several impacts in the Central and Southern parts of the country.

Cohen stated that the “way God is protecting Israel is biblical,” something the residents of the mostly non-religious Tel Aviv have no problem believing. During the panel discussion, the correspondent revealed that God had spoken to Him and instructed the Jewish father to tell summit attendees not to miss this “historic moment.”

“It's an opportunity for the church to stand up, to stand with Israel, and to love your Jewish neighbors because their hearts are open,” Cohen said. 

The father and husband shared that while he was traveling to the United States last Tuesday, he received a message from his wife in Israel letting him know that when she went to pick up their daughter from gymnastics she hadn't received the alert about Iran firing 190 ballistic missiles into Israel.

A video Cohen shared during the panel showed his wife using her body to shield their 10-year-old daughter and prevent her from seeing the missiles lighting up the sky. Cohen’s wife and daughter survived, and the father admitted he was tempted to return home after learning what happened, but his wife encouraged him to stay and attend the summit. 

Israelis are used to having to seek shelter from rocket and missile attacks, but Cohen declared that what Iran did is “not normal.” This year, Israelis commemorated the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, an event that Cohen asserted was worse than what many might have seen from footage released of the massacre. 

“So, I just encourage you to know this is a historic moment to break the stereotype that the Church is antisemitic,” he told attendees. “You have an opportunity right now.” 

Another speaker on the panel, A.J. Nolte, director of the Institute for Israel Studies at Regent University, added that Evangelicals “are known for [their] love of Israel.” He advised that the love of Israel and the Jewish people should “not stop at the water’s edge,” warning that even many Jews in America feel as if their “house is on fire.” 

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, who led the panel, agreed that Christians should support Israel and Jews, stating, “Our love will speak volumes.”

“Just by standing with the Jewish people, standing with the Jewish state, and standing against the antisemitism that we see in our own country, that will speak volumes,” Perkins said. 

Anti-Israel activists set up a series of encampments on college campuses throughout the country last spring in response to Israel launching a war against Hamas in Gaza. Jewish students on many college campuses reported that the activists harassed them and blocked them from going to class. 

Multiple panelists also referenced the Biden-Harris administration’s insistence that the war between Israel and Hamas should end with a two-state solution. Critics of this solution warn that this would reward terrorists for attacking Israel, and it also doesn't address the hatred many Gazans feel toward Jews. Others have also noted that Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, and Hamas rose to power not long after.