The first-ever Ambassador’s Summit in Israel brought more than a thousand pastors and Christian leaders to Jerusalem this week in what organizers called a historic commissioning to stand with the Jewish state. The weeklong gathering, organized by American evangelical leader Mike Evans in partnership with Israel’s Foreign Ministry, included tours of communities hit by terror and meetings with survivors and former hostages.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee addressed the delegation with a blunt appeal for pulpits everywhere to “be on fire with the truth,” urging clergy to return home equipped to counter anti-Israel narratives and rising antisemitism. The summit’s message was unambiguous: this was not a tourist trip but a mobilization of spiritual leaders to confront a growing ideological war and defend Jewish life and history.
Organizers say the gathering — the largest assembly of pastors in Israel since the state’s founding — was meant to flip the script on an era where misinformation and hostile narratives dominate social platforms and many classrooms. Their aim, as stated by leaders, is to counter antisemitism and fake narratives with truth and biblical witness, sending back leaders who will preach from the facts they heard and the people they met.
This summit should be applauded, not second-guessed. For years the cultural left and technocratic gatekeepers have tried to silence pro-Israel voices while redefining history and morality to fit political agendas; seeing thousands of pastors refuse to be cowed and instead choose solidarity is a welcome corrective. Political elites and woke media love to lecture about nuance while excusing brutality, but faith leaders answering a moral call exposes the intellectual bankruptcy of that posture.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials personally encouraged the visiting pastors, calling on them to speak boldly and to be counted in favor of truth and freedom. The symbolic moments — prayers on the Mount of Olives, visits to communities attacked on October 7, and commissioning ceremonies — were intended to fuse spiritual conviction with moral clarity in defense of a besieged nation.
Voices behind the summit warn that this is an ideological front line where technologies like bots and AI are weaponized to drown out truth and intimidate dissenters. That warning should unsettle anyone who values open debate: when truth can be swamped by coordinated campaigns, institutions of faith and conscience become indispensable bulwarks against tyranny in its modern, digital form.
The organizers have set an even larger goal: to recruit thousands more pastors in the years ahead to sustain a long-term effort of education and advocacy on behalf of Israel and against antisemitism. Whether you welcome the idea or not, the scale and enthusiasm of this movement make clear that it is not a fringe effort but a coordinated national and international response that will be hard to ignore.
At a moment when allies are tested and clarity matters, the Ambassador’s Summit sent a clear signal: faith and conviction still move people to stand for what is right. The conservative case for Israel has always been rooted in shared values, history, and a commitment to human dignity — this gathering simply embodied those principles on a grand and visible scale.
