The American Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI) network – the U.S. branch of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) – has coordinated meetings and future conferences with pastors and Christian leaders across America via a series of webinars that expose, address and work to fight the "explosive growth" of anti-Semitism from coast to coast.
Weeding out anti-Semitism
ICEJ USA director Dr. Susan M. Michael is looking forward to continuing discussions as Christian leaders set up action plans to combat the sentiment and attacks against Jewish people and Israel that are proliferating across the country.
"These webinars were designed to introduce Christian leaders to the issue and pave the way for continued educational programs, as well as opportunities to mobilize our members against this growing problem," Michael explained in her network's press release.
Not only is anti-Semitism at its worst point in 40 years – since attacks on Jewish Americans were first recorded – the rise of COVID-19 has also given anti-Semites more fuel upon which to cast false blame on Israel and its descendants.
"In 2019, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) recorded more incidents of assault, vandalism and harassment against American Jews than in any year since they began tracking such incidents in 1979," ACLI recounted. "Since then, coronavirus conspiracy theorists have blamed Jews for the pandemic – to either dominate the world or make money off the antidote – and protestors have been heard chanting anti-Israel and anti-Jewish slogans in the streets."
With President Donald Trump being the most pro-Israel president in U.S. history, the spike in anti-Semitism and apathy over the issue confounds many Christians – and they are becoming especially concerned with President Joe Biden, who is expected to usher in his pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel administration.
"How could this be happening in the United States, where support for Israel and the Jewish people – from the president and Congress down to thousands of churches and millions of citizens – is so strong?" Michael pondered. "This rise in anti-Semitism is alarming; however, what has me the most concerned is the lack of outrage against it."
Let the experts do the talking ...
U.S. State Department special envoy Elan Carr and U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom member Gary Bauer – president of American Values and chairman of Campaign for Working Families PAC – were among the experts discussing the response of the U.S. government to the global spread of anti-Semitism.
Other topics explored include pinpointing where anti-Semitism is most rampant in the U.S., while Liora Rez with StopAntiSemitism.org focused on addressing the presence of anti-Semitism in social media and how posts on this platform have influenced the Jewish culture and all of American society.
In addition, The Line of Fire Host Dr. Michael Brown – founder of the FIRE School of Ministry – and Christian author, Dr. Gerald McDermott, will discuss anti-Semitism around the globe with Israeli government officials.
"The Christian demographic is the one with the political and moral strength to stand with the Jewish community and push back against this hatred," Michael insisted. "However, many are unaware of the severity of the problem."
At the same time the United States passed 500,000 coronavirus-related deaths a media watchdog has noticed a remarkedly different tone in the media that was not around when Donald Trump was being blamed for the death toll.
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Church in the age of COVID continues to be an online experience for many, if not most Americans. Conventional wisdom says it is unlikely that church attendance will ever return to the way it was before the pandemic.