How will pro-Israel Evangelicals react to the post-Bibi era?
The formation of a new government to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu is a political earthquake that will shake the pro-Israel Evangelical community in the United States and around the world. After serving as prime minister for 15 years, with the last 12 served consecutively, Netanyahu is the only Israeli premier most Evangelicals know. He is certainly the most respected and trusted. More than that, Bibi is beloved by the vast majority of the 60 million Evangelical Christians in the United States, and by many of the 600 million Evangelicals worldwide. Most Evangelicals do not know Naftali Bennett, the incoming prime minister. Nor do they know Yair Lapid, the incoming foreign minister. Indeed, most never heard of them until this month, so there is no trust there yet. Such trust can be developed because, above all, Evangelicals love and support Israel unconditionally. They want the best for the Jewish state, regardless of who leads the country. But trust will take time and a concerted effort. cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); });  if(window.location.pathname.indexOf("656089") != -1){console.log("hedva connatix");document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";}  For starters, it would be useful for the leaders of Israels new government to realize why Evangelicals have come to love Netanyahu so much. A champion of Israeli security  Ever since he burst on the American scene as Israels deputy ambassador to the United Nations during the Gulf War in 1991, appearing frequently on CNN and other TV programs, the vast majority of rank-and-file Evangelical Christians at the grassroots level were drawn to Netanyahu. They see him as a stalwart champion of Israel security, peace and prosperity, and thats what they want in an Israeli leader. They deeply admire Netanyahus courageous and decisive stand against the terrorist masters in Tehran  whom they believe pose an existential threat to the State of Israel  and against radical Islamist terrorist movements around the region, from Hamas to Hezbollah to the Muslim Brotherhood to the Islamic State and beyond. They cheered when Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress and courageously spoke against former president Barack Obamas dangerously flawed nuclear deal with Iran. They applauded when he consistently confronted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbass corruption, complicity with terrorists, and congenital resistance even to direct peace talks, much less actually negotiating a peace treaty. For decades, they stood enthusiastically with Netanyahu in the effort to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem and to persuade the US to recognize Israels sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and they were grateful when those efforts bore fruit. And they were thrilled that under Netanyahus leadership Israel signed peace and normalization agreements last year with four Arab governments: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. Evangelicals believe that Netanyahu deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his participation in the historic and game-changing Abraham Accords, and they are right  he does. Consistently cultivating Evangelical leaders  Whats more, senior Evangelical leaders came to know Netanyahu personally. They have met with him, interacted with him, asked him their questions, and had him speak at their conferences, events and churches. More than any other leader in the history of Israel, Netanyahu actively courted and cultivated relationships with Evangelical leaders for 30 years. Because he believed Evangelicals who are deeply immersed in the teachings of the Bible  who truly know and love the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and believe in the prophecies about the rebirth of the State of Israel and the ingathering of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland  are Israels most important, faithful, loyal and strategic allies in the world. Evangelicals have, therefore, responded enthusiastically to Netanyahus requests to help him bolster political support and congressional funding for Israel in Washington, fight antisemitism across the globe, and defend Israel in the mainstream media and on social media. Whats more, they have responded generously to his requests that they bring more Christian tourists to Israel, give more charitable donations to care for the poor and needy in Israel, and build a larger movement of prayer for the peace of Jerusalem, in keeping with King Davids admonition in Psalm 122:6. Operating as global statesman  Today, Evangelicals see Israel suddenly  and in their eyes, unexpectedly  losing not just another prime minister but a powerful and effective global statesman. Indeed, Netanyahu has become a global brand who wields far more international influence than a country of fewer than 10 million citizens would seem to warrant. Over the past several decades, he has learned to play on the world stage with political giants of our age. Netanyahu can pick up the phone and get Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Mohammed bin Salman, Narendra Modi, Boris Johnson, Angela Merkel, and others on the line. He can jump on a jet and meet with any of these power players at a moments notice. He knows them. They know him. He meets with them regularly. And love him or hate him, these world leaders respect Netanyahu, and know that he does not mess around when it comes to Israels security. Evangelicals have little exposure to, or context for, the messy political in-fighting in Jerusalem, the allegations of Netanyahus corruption, or the frustrations that even many of Netanyahus long-time allies have his his personality and style of management. Most are not aware that the leaders of almost all the center-right parties in Israel are former Netanyahu chiefs of staff, top advisers, or cabinet members who now refuse to work with him any longer. In short, most Evangelicals are not ready to say, Bye bye, Bibi.  Now, however, they must. For the sake of the country and this important alliance, I hope so. Most Evangelicals, for example, will be pleasantly surprised to discover that:   Naftali Bennett is, in many ways, Netanyahus proteg,   Bennett served in the same IDF Special Forces unit as Netanyahu,   Bennett served as Netanyahus chief of staff and was once one of his closest political allies,   Bennetts ideology and policies are almost exactly the same as Netanyahus,   Bennett served in Netanyahus cabinet in multiple positions, including as defense minister and as education minister, and   Bennett wanted to join a Netanyahu-led right-wing government, but it was Netanyahu who was unable to cobble together the necessary 61 seat majority. Likewise, most Evangelicals will be surprised to learn that Yair Lapid used to work very closely with Netanyahu, and that:   Lapid served in Netanyahus cabinet as finance minister,   Lapid is a centrist, not a radical left-winger, and   Lapid actively and successfully courted many right-wingers to join this new change government, not just Bennett and his Yamina Party, but also Gideon Saar (who used to be the number two official in Netanyahus Likud Party), and Avigdor Liberman (who used to be Netanyahus chief of staff). I have not yet met with Bennett but have gotten to know some of his team. However, I have met with and interviewed Lapid over the years, and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and incoming justice minister Gideon Saar (whom I consider a personal friend), as well their advisers. While I dont agree with them on every issue, I like these men. I believe they are honest, principled, candid and care deeply about steering Israel in the right direction. I also believe that if they are positive and proactive in reaching out to the Christian community, participate in interviews with Christian media, and invite Christian leaders to meet with them, they will be warmly welcomed by Evangelicals and truly strengthen this critically important alliance. The writer is a dual US-Israeli citizen and a New York Times best-selling author with five million copies of his books in print. Based in Jerusalem, he is also founder and editor-in-chief of All Israel News (allisrael.com) and All Arab News (allarab.news).