Israel is not alone: The world has answered the lies about the Jewish people

(Oct. 18, 2026 / JNS)

For three years, since the horrors of Oct. 7, 2023, the Jewish people have endured not only the pain of unimaginable loss but also the disturbing spectacle of a world in which hatred of Israel has too often been excused, antisemitism has found new platforms, and the truth has been buried beneath propaganda.

I have watched this with profound sorrow. Yet I have refused to surrender to despair.

I founded Friends of Zion because I believe that standing with the Jewish people is not simply a political position. It is a moral responsibility, a matter of faith and a test of our humanity. When the Jewish people are threatened, when survivors are forced to defend their right to tell their stories and when the victims of terrorism are forgotten or their suffering denied, silence is not neutrality. Silence is a choice.

On Oct. 7, we chose to answer that silence.

From Jerusalem, we organized an international memorial event and a 24-hour live broadcast to honor the victims of Oct. 7, remember those whose lives were forever changed and deliver a message to the Jewish people that the world must never forget: You are not alone.

The response was extraordinary. The event and broadcast reached more than 250 million people across 176 countries. In the past week alone, content published on Friends of Zion’s social-media platforms generated more than 90 million views.

These numbers matter, but not simply because they represent an enormous audience. They matter because behind every view is an opportunity to challenge a lie, confront hatred, tell the truth and remind someone that the Jewish people have friends who will not abandon them.

Even more striking is where this message has reached. In Syria, approximately 1.3 million views were recorded. In Saudi Arabia, the figure was approximately 98,000. These numbers demonstrate that a message of solidarity with Israel can cross borders that diplomacy and politics do not always cross.

In Brazil, more than 8.5 million people were reached by the broadcast following an appeal from Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, a leading presidential candidate and supporter of Israel, who urged Brazilians to watch. Bolsonaro has declared that, if elected president, he would work to move Brazil’s embassy to Jerusalem.

This is what happens when people of conviction refuse to remain silent. A message that begins in Jerusalem can reach millions across the world. A public appeal can inspire people to look beyond the headlines and encounter the human reality of Israel and the Jewish people.

But I want to be clear about something. This was never about numbers alone. It was about people. It was about memory, courage, faith and the responsibility we share to confront evil.

An act of moral resistance

Oct. 7 was not merely another date in the history of the Middle East. It was a day of barbaric violence against innocent people, a day on which families were shattered, communities were destroyed, and the most basic promise of human civilization—that innocent people should be able to live without fear of murder and terror—was brutally violated.

The tragedy did not end that day. The families of those murdered continue to grieve. Survivors continue to carry wounds that cannot always be seen. Those who were held hostage and those who fought to rescue them have stories that the world must hear.

And yet, alongside this suffering, we have witnessed something deeply troubling: the willingness of people to forget, distort or dismiss what happened. We have seen how quickly the victims can disappear from public discussion while hostility toward Israel grows louder.

That is why remembrance must be more than a ceremony; it must be an act of moral resistance.

When we remember the victims, we affirm that their lives mattered. When we listen to survivors, we restore their voices. When we stand with Israel, we reject the notion that the Jewish people should have to face hatred alone.

Our gathering in Jerusalem brought together more than 2,100 people for an evening of remembrance and solidarity. We also brought approximately 1,000 Christian leaders to Israel to become Friends of Zion ambassadors, carrying this commitment back to their congregations and communities.

Their responsibility is not to repeat slogans. It is to educate, to speak honestly, to challenge antisemitism wherever it appears, and to ensure that the next generation understands what happens when hatred is allowed to flourish.

A personal commitment

My commitment to the Jewish people is deeply personal.

As a child, I witnessed antisemitic hatred within my own family. I watched my father direct that hatred toward my mother, and I experienced severe abuse myself. I have spoken about the trauma of those years, including an incident in which I was strangled and left for dead.

As a young boy, I tried to defend my mother. I was powerless to stop the hatred surrounding me, and I grew up wrestling with painful questions about my life and my purpose.

Over time, I came to believe that those experiences had given me a responsibility. I could not change what had happened to me as a child, but I could decide what I would do with my life. I have often explained that I felt called to defend the Jewish people because, as a child, I could not defend one Jewish person against hatred.

That conviction became the foundation of my life’s work. It shaped my work as an author, my commitment to confronting antisemitism and my founding of Friends of Zion.

I have never regarded this mission as a passing response to a political crisis. It is a commitment rooted in conscience and faith, as well as in my understanding that the relationship between Christians and the Jewish people carries a profound moral responsibility.

Faith that remains silent in the face of hatred is not enough. It must lead to action.

Standing with the Jewish people

An estimated 750 million Christian Zionists around the world believe in Israel’s right to exist as the Jewish state, and see the Jewish people and the land of Israel through the lens of their biblical convictions.

That represents an extraordinary potential for good. But potential means little unless it is translated into action.

Christians must be willing to speak when antisemitism becomes fashionable. They must be willing to defend the truth when it is unpopular. They must educate their children, challenge falsehoods in their communities and refuse to allow the Jewish people to become isolated in the international arena.

The global response to our Oct. 7 initiative demonstrates what is possible when people act on their convictions. More than 250 million people reached across 176 countries is a remarkable achievement. However, the real measure of its importance will be what happens next.

Will those who watched continue to speak up? Will the pastors who returned home educate their congregations? Will those who witnessed the stories of Israeli survivors refuse to let them be forgotten? Will people who say they stand with Israel be prepared to demonstrate that commitment when doing so carries a personal or political cost?

Those are the questions that matter.

Solidarity cannot be limited to a single broadcast or a day of remembrance. It must become a sustained commitment to truth, education and moral courage.

I have spent decades building relationships with Israeli leaders and working to strengthen the bonds between Israel and Christian communities around the world. I have seen how faith, friendship and personal conviction can bring people together across national and cultural boundaries.

The Oct. 7 initiative brought that conviction to life. From Jerusalem, the message traveled through television networks, churches, homes and digital platforms. It reached audiences in countries without diplomatic relations with Israel. In Brazil, millions responded to a public appeal to watch. In Syria and Saudi Arabia, the message also found an audience.

We should not mistake views for political change, nor should we assume that everyone who watched agrees with every message presented. But we should recognize the significance of reaching people who might otherwise never encounter these stories or hear this expression of solidarity.

The truth matters

Every opportunity to tell the truth matters. Every person who learns the stories of the victims and survivors matters. Every voice raised against antisemitism matters. And every Christian who chooses to stand beside the Jewish people sends a message that hatred will not have the final word.

The world faces a choice.

We can allow the memory of Oct. 7 to fade beneath the relentless noise of politics and propaganda, or we can use that memory to strengthen our commitment to truth and human dignity.

We can look away when antisemitism appears in our communities, or we can confront it. We can treat support for Israel as a convenient position to adopt when it is popular, or we can demonstrate that friendship means standing together even in difficult times.

I believe the answer must be clear.

The victims of Oct. 7 deserve to be remembered. The survivors deserve to be heard. The Jewish people deserve the same security, dignity and right to national self-determination that every other people seeks for itself. And antisemitism must be confronted wherever it appears, regardless of its source or political disguise.

On Oct. 7, we sent a message from Jerusalem that reached more than 250 million people across 176 countries. But our work is far from finished. The broadcast has ended. The responsibility has not.

I will continue to use every platform available to me to confront antisemitism; defend the truth; and strengthen the bond between Christians and the Jewish people. I call on Christian leaders, political figures, media organizations and people of conscience everywhere to do the same.

History will not judge us only by what we said on the days when standing with Israel was easy. It will judge us by whether we stood firm when the Jewish people needed friends most.

On Oct. 7, millions heard our message. Now we must ensure that it becomes a lasting movement of action, education and courage.

Israel is not alone. The Jewish people are not forgotten. And we must never allow the world to surrender to antisemitism.