The bond that exists between Israel and Western civilization will not be broken, despite the massive wave of misinformation and lies being spread against the Jewish state in the wake of the fallout from the war against Hamas in Gaza, Israel’s ambassador to the United States said this weekend.
“There’s a tsunami out there, and in Israel, we’re being accused of the worst kind of crimes,” Yechiel Leiter told a gathering of Christian students in Washington. “Nonetheless, the bond that exists between Israel and Western civilization won’t be broken.”
The envoy who lost his son during the nearly two-year-long war against Hamas in Gaza that was triggered by the Hamas massacre in southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, noted that if Israel had bombed population centers as is so often portrayed in the international media, his son may well have been alive today.
The gathering of American Christian student leaders from across the United States and Canada was part of an Israel advocacy session organized by the American nonprofit organization Passages ahead of the new academic year.
American campuses nationwide were the scene of often violent antisemitic demonstrations in the first year and a half of the war.
“The dominant narrative on college campuses has been totally hijacked and bears essentially no relationship to the reality on the ground, to the reality of Middle Eastern history, to what’s going on in Israel and the broader Middle East,” said Will Scharf, White House staff secretary in the Trump administration. “And I think fighting back against that narrative is just incredibly important, not just for Jewish students, but really for all Americans who believe in Judeo-Christian values, who believe in I think the values that we all share. We can’t let them win on this.”
“Our Christian student leaders have been on the frontlines standing in solidarity alongside those in the Jewish and pro-Israel community facing hate and lies since the Oct. 7 massacre,” said Zach Bauer, CEO of Passages. “To fight lies and hatred, it is vital that our students are able to disseminate truth and compassion on their campuses, and this is what we are teaching them.”
“Unfortunately, due to irresponsible international actors, parts of the media, NGOs, and global decision-makers, Israel is being libeled and attacked on multiple fronts, and painted as evil and heartless,” said Rivka Kidron, co-founder and board member of Passages. “It is vital that our students have all the tools at their disposal to stand for the truth, stand for peace and stand for Israel.”
Dubbed the “Christian Birthright,” Passages has brought more than 11,000 Christian students from North America to visit Israel in the last decade to strengthen their religious identity and to build bridges of friendship with Israel and the Jewish people
“Your efforts to bring young Americans to Israel to foster understanding, and to build bridges of faith and friendship, are nothing short of inspiring,” Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy to the Mideast, told the gathering. “You are nurturing the next generation of leaders who will carry this torch forward.”
