U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee convened over 1,000 American evangelical pastors at the December 2025 Friends of Zion Ambassadors Summit in Jerusalem, commissioning them to actively promote Israel and counter anti-Israel narratives in churches across the United States. The summit, the largest delegation of American Christians visiting Israel since 1948, reflects the growing influence of Christian Zionist advocacy in shaping U.S. public opinion and faith-based engagement on the Middle East.

Huckabee told the pastors that each of them carries a responsibility to ensure Americans understand that modern-day Israel corresponds directly to the biblical Israel, emphasizing that the land was given to the Jewish people according to scripture. He framed their mission as an information campaign to spread “the truth about Israel,” rooted in theological interpretations from Genesis 12:3 and Ezekiel 36, which link supporting Israel to fulfilling prophecy.

The ambassador’s remarks reinforced the Christian Zionist perspective that backing Israel is not only a moral imperative but also a fulfillment of divine promises. Participants at the summit received strategic guidance and advocacy training to effectively communicate Israel’s historical and modern significance to congregations and wider American audiences.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which organizes and partially funds these trips—allocating approximately $16 million annually—views such delegations as a vital component of international support-building, leveraging the shared faith-based connections between American evangelicals and the Jewish state. Huckabee’s commissioning of the pastors signals a coordinated effort to strengthen Israel’s image abroad while ensuring that U.S. church communities remain aligned with pro-Israel perspectives.

By mobilizing this hand-picked network of pastors, Huckabee is advancing a strategic, faith-driven information initiative, ensuring that religious advocacy becomes a central element of U.S.-Israel relations and public understanding of the biblical and modern significance of the Jewish homeland.