Evangelicals cheer Trump administration's pro-Israel policies

Thousands of Christians gathered in Washington, D.C., earlier this week to honor Israel and to recognize what they consider to be President Trump’s heroic embrace of the Jewish State.

“There has never been a U.S. administration more supportive of Israel than the Trump administration. Frankly, it is not even close,” Israel’s Ambassador Ron Dermer said Monday night at Christians United for Israel's Night to Honor Israel. “…This is an administration that sees Israel as an ally and that treats Israel as an ally. Today, the alliance between Israel and America has never been stronger.”

Speaker after speaker at the rally praised Trump.

[Trump has] boldly stepped into political immortality. At home and in Israel, you will never be forgotten for what you have done for Israel and the Jewish people.

— CUFI founder John Hagee

"[Trump has] boldly stepped into political immortality. At home and in Israel, you will never be forgotten for what you have done for Israel and the Jewish people," said Pastor John Hagee, the founder and national chairman of CUFI. “For years CUFI was at odds with the previous administration on a wide range of issues, but since President Trump took office, we’ve seen one victory after another."

If Trump is considered a hero by many at CUFI, United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who was the keynote speaker at the event, was a rock star. Haley has stood up for Israel at the UN and pulled out of the Human Rights Council because she accused it of having an anti-Israel bias.

Haley received CUFI’s “Defender of Israel Award” along with enthusiastic support. Her biggest applause came after chants of Haley 2024, which she downplayed, saying her job at the U.N. was more than enough work, especially with a global rise in anti-Semitism.

“Even here at home, there are some troubling signs,” Haley said. “On many college campuses, the anti-Semitic BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions] movement has become a trendy cause for students and professors who should know better. Standing up against this global pressure campaign on Israel and the Jewish people goes to the heart of our friendship and the heart of America.”

While CUFI celebrated the welcomed change in tide from the Trump administration, Hagee noted the importance of quick action.

“Be bold. Be courageous. This is our hour to turn the world around,” Hagee said Monday to a crowd of more than 5,000.

The next day, the group was lobbying on Capitol Hill for three pieces of legislation on refugees, anti-Israel boycotts, and terrorists using civilians as human shields.

As it stands, Palestinian refugees, unlike other refugees from other countries, are given a unique status – they don’t lose the “refugee” label if they become a citizen of another country, and their children and grandchildren, etc. get refugee status. The CUFI Action Fund believes this definition needs to change so Palestinian refugees are treated like other refugees through the “UNRWA Reform and Refugee Support Act.”

The “Israel Anti-Boycott Act” would expand existing law to prohibit American companies from participating in boycotts organized by international organizations, such as the UN and the European Union.

The “STOP Using Human Shields Act,” a bi-partisan bill filed by Senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., condemns the use of human shields – a tactic employed by terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah – and requires the president to list and sanction terrorists and other individuals involved in using civilians as human shields.

These moves come on the heels of CUFI’s successful push last year for the Taylor Force Act, which stops taxpayer dollars from going to the Palestinian Authority if it continues to give monetary rewards to terrorists and their families.

CUFI is looking to get as much done as it can while the window is open for pro-Israel advocacy and to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship.