Does Israel hate Christians?

As absurd as it sounds, some may have gotten that impression from the recent exchange which recently took place between U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee and Interior Minister, Moshe Arbel, over a subject which became a point of offense and rightly so.

According to a Times of Israel article, Huckabee asserted that Christian groups were being blocked from entering Israel, as a result of not providing them with visas, an issue previously taken up with the Interior Minister in late May and one which remains unresolved.

Because this is an issue near and dear to Huckabee’s heart, given the many trips he has led to Israel over the past 50 years with Christian tourists, it became clear that the “bureaucratic red tape” was more than a temporary inconvenience, keeping evangelicals away from the land they also love.

Indeed, there seems to have been a systematic and unjustified process, resulting in slow-walking those visa requests, something which had never been an issue. It has been disclosed that early in 2025, the Interior Ministry had “launched investigations into several evangelical Christian organizations with long ties to Israel.”

Forced to undergo the burdensome task of filling out long questionnaires, their wait time lagged, delaying prospective trips that these groups had hoped to make. The Ambassador’s conclusion was that Christian groups were no longer welcomed by Israel. That understandable offense caused Huckabee to write a letter to Arbel, copying the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the President, Isaac Herzog, the Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, the Strategic Affairs Minister, Ron Dermer and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.

In that letter, Huckabee candidly expressed an in-kind response of the U.S. Embassy to, likewise, not issue visas for traveling Israelis, given that the welcome mat is no longer being rolled out to Christian organizations. He further noted the harassment and negative treatment these “organizations and their representatives had experienced, emphasizing that American Christians should be warned that their generous donations are being met with hostility and that tourists should reconsider their travels.”

It's important to state that this very serious matter, which threatens the extremely warm and mutually respectful relationship between Israelis and Zionist Christians, who are deeply committed to the land of their faith, does not, in any way, reflect either the position of the Israeli people as a whole. Nor does it represent the Prime Minister or President, both of whom are equally devoted to the Christian community abroad and eternally grateful for their support.

What it does reflect is the unfortunate hijacking by ultra-Orthodox religious parties, who, the moment they gain control of the Interior Ministry, become a type of state within the State, arbitrarily deciding who may enter the country and who may not.

It should be noted that they also have the power to confer Israeli citizenship to Jewish applicants as well as those with partial Jewish ancestry, extending to the grandparents, per the Law of Return. Naturally, the latter of those two groups is often indefinitely delayed or, ultimately, outright denied.

At the moment, the Interior Ministry is run by the Shas political party, one which tends to hold non-Orthodox Jews with suspicion and, whether they want to admit it or not, a group which sees Christians as having the sole aspiration of converting Jews.

That fear, they would point out, comes from a 2,000-year history of the Jewish people often having to undergo forced conversion or face death. And while such deplorable things did occur, today’s Israel-loving Zionist Christians cannot be viewed through the same lens.

Those who come to visit do so out of a very deep sense of camaraderie and affection for the land of their Savior. They also want to show their solidarity and support for the Jewish homeland, at a time when she being accused of committing war crimes just by defending her people.

The vast majority of Israeli citizens admire those who call themselves Zionist Christians and stand in awe of their decades’ long unwavering commitment to them. That comes as no surprise, because most Israeli people embrace a “live and let live” ethic, absent of prejudice or suspicion against those whose philosophy or faith differs from theirs. They are accepting to a fault!

In fact, if it weren’t for the excessively judgmental attitude of the ultra-religious, who comprise a mere 20% of Israel’s population, they, too, would be readily accepted with no prejudicial preconceptions, because, Israelis believe that you should choose whatever you want to be, as long as you also respect their personal choices.

Unfortunately, it is often a sad truth that many ultra-religious people, whether Jewish or not, are intolerant of those who do not adhere to their particular beliefs. In a desire to strengthen their own ranks, they have been known to be extremely heavy-handed, especially when placed in positions of power. And that is what has happened in this latest unsavory episode at the Interior Ministry office.

But it is not the only reason that many, among this sector of the population, are regarded as overbearing and exclusive unto themselves. Tending to live in closed communities, they view the Israeli population as being tainted by a contagious malady which must be avoided. It is why so many of them refuse to serve in the military alongside their secular or less religious counterparts. Often shunning much of how the other 70% live, their participation in Israeli society is, at best, minimal.

Consequently, their unseemly attitude is not directed at evangelical Christians, even though it may seem that way in this instance. It is one which is imposed upon everyone who doesn’t conform with their lifestyle and faith choices.

Nonetheless, it is correct to call out Shas, and others when their intolerance extends to preventing Christians free access to travel to the land they love so dearly, because it is no less holy for them as it is to the ones who are the rightful inheritors.

In an attempt to correct this wrong, the Consul General of Los Angeles, Israel Bachar, has put out a statement on X, promising to rectify this issue, despite no specific date being given for when that would happen.

He ends his post by quoting Proverbs 17:17: “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” It is our hope that the loving friendship and brotherhood between Israel and the Christian community will remain an unbreakable bond which “no man can put asunder.”

Israel welcomes and appreciates the support of the many Christian organizations that have operated within Israel for many years.

The State of Israel continues to be the only country in the Middle East to guarantee freedom of religion. Israel proudly protects those sites sacred… pic.twitter.com/F2sZVV4LQe
— Israel Bachar (@IsraelBachar_) July 18, 2025