Pastor John Hagee, the founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), addressed the nearly 300,000 attendees of the “March for Israel” on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 14.
“As we gather here today in Israel’s darkest hour since the Holocaust, the Jewish people again search the globe for friends,” he said. “I am here to deliver a singular message: Israel, you are not alone. I want you to shut that loud enough for them to hear it in Jerusalem. Israel, you are not alone.”
The crowd then started chanting “Israel you are not alone” multiple times.
“While the Jewish state faces the greatest danger since her rebirth 75 years ago, we pray for the people of Israel and the leaders of Israel. May God give you the wisdom of Solomon and the courage of King David and the victories of Joshua. You, the leaders of Israel, and you alone, should determine how this war is to be conducted and concluded. You decide,” said Hagee, pointing his finger forcefully. “No one else.”
He said “Israel has shown the world that it overcame the tragedy of the Holocaust through the power of hope. Israel has demonstrated the courage to make peace with its neighbors. Israel has always proved that it has the strength to wage war against its enemies, from the five Arab armies that tried to destroy the newborn state in 1948 to Hamas and Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy armies.”
Hagee addressed “my Jewish brothers and sisters,” and said “it is tempting to look at the present darkness and think that nothing has changed. However, things have changed. More than 40 years ago, I joined forces with an Orthodox rabbi, Rabbi Scheinberg, to bring Christians and Jews together in mutual love and respect.”
Hagee recounted that “we stood shoulder to shoulder, and we made this declaration: If a line has to be drawn, then draw that line around both Christians and Jews. We are one. We are one. We are one.”
The crowd began chanting the statement of interfaith unity as well.
Organizers said nearly 300,000 people were estimated to be at the march with another 250,000 tuned in to a livestream.
‘There is no middle ground in this conflict’
“Today, we extend that line around everyone who is gathered here. We must all stand united with one voice and boldly declare over and over: ‘Israel you are not alone,’” Hagee said. “After the Oct. 7 massacre, we must all make choices. We either choose to love life, or we choose death. We choose peace or terror. We choose Israel or Hamas. There is no middle ground in this conflict. You’re either for the Jewish people or you’re not.”
Hagee urged the audience to consider history—pointing from the Pharaoh to Haman to Adolf Hitler and labeling them “antisemitic cowards” who are “remembered only for their failed attempt to destroy God’s chosen people. And Hamas is going to suffer the same fate.”
The pastor warned enemies of the Jewish state that “making threats against Israel is nothing more than a self-fulfilling prophecy about yourself. When you speak of Israel passing away with a sudden storm, you’re only speaking of your own demise. Where is Israel and the Jewish people, that despite the efforts of Iran and Hamas and Hezbollah to destroy the Jewish nation, Israel lives, Israel lives, Israel lives.”
It inspired the crowd to start chanting Am Yisrael chai, “the people of Israel live.”
Hagee said “Israel may be shaken, but she is not shattered. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob guarantees Israel’s deliverance will come as proclaimed every year during Passover. It says in every generation they rise against Israel to destroy it. And the Holy One, blessed be he, saves Israel from their hands.”
Referencing the Bible, he said “he that keepeth Israel, neither slumbers nor sleeps. To those who seek to justify the slaughter of Israelis by demonizing the Jewish state, Israel is not merely a state. When millions of Zionists mention Israel, they don’t just mean the only freedom-loving democracy, Israel is this and more.
“Israel is the apple of God’s eye. Israel is the shining city on the hill. God says of Israel: ‘Israel is my first-born son.’ Jerusalem is the city of God. Jerusalem is the shoreline of eternity. Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel today and forever.”
The pastor noted that “those of us standing here and millions of other Christians were not here during the Holocaust, but we’re here now. And we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Jewish people. We stand until those 240 hostages are returned to their homes.”
This again prompted chants from the audience, now calling for the release of the hostages.
Hagee called for Hamas and Hezbollah to end up in the ash heap of history “along with Haman and Hitler.”
He concluded that “there is no substitute for victory, may God bless Israel, may God bless the United States of America, may God bless the Jewish people, and may God bless all who have gathered here today until we overcome the tyranny of the Middle East. Israel, you are not alone today, tomorrow, and forever. God bless the Jewish state.”
