New Judeo-Christian Zionist Congress aims to confront rising threats facing Israel and the West

A new international alliance aimed at confronting what its founders describe as a rapidly escalating “civilizational war” was launched this week in Washington, D.C.

The Judeo-Christian Zionist Congress (JCZC), a joint faith-based initiative of Christian, Israeli and Diaspora Jewish leaders, is positioning itself as a unified and action-oriented movement committed to defending Israel and the core values of the Western world.

The Congress was unveiled during a strategic bilateral gathering that brought together 20 Christian leaders from the American Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI) – a project of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) – and a visiting delegation of Israeli mayors and strategic thinkers from the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA).

ALL ISRAEL NEWS Founder and Editor-in-Chief Joel Rosenberg will serve on the board of the JCZC.

Organizers say the urgent purpose behind the Congress is rooted in a belief that only a coordinated global front can counter the ideological, political and security threats currently facing Israel and the West.

Leaders attending the launch pointed to a disturbing shift in Western societies, where pro-Israel sentiment has eroded and antisemitism has risen sharply. They warned that hostile rhetoric is now coming from both ends of the political spectrum, pointing to commentators like former Fox News analyst Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, and in particular to Carlson’s recent decision to give a platform to extremist Nick Fuentes, sidelined for openly praising Hitler and expressing admiration for Joseph Stalin.

The Israeli delegation argued that the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks revealed the depth of the challenge. The murder of 1,200 Israelis was followed by a swift and coordinated global surge of pro-Palestinian and pro-Islamist activism on college campuses, in the media and in major European cities. Israeli representatives said this movement reflects “a broader jihadist agenda aiming at the emergence of a new global Islamic order,” adding that it is not merely about opposing Israel but about dismantling the values of Western society itself.

JCFA President Dan Diker issued a stark warning, saying, “It is time to sound the alarm on the uprooting of Judeo-Christian civilization.”

Organizers say the JCZC initiative draws inspiration from Theodor Herzl’s First World Zionist Congress in 1897. Just as the Dreyfus Affair convinced Herzl that Jewish assimilation was no longer viable, the founders of the JCZC believe that Oct. 7 and the global response to it have exposed the scale of the threat.

Calev Myers and Sagiv Asulin, co-founders of the Congress, emphasized that the threats now facing Israel target both Jews and Christians. “We are taking the Zionist movement, what Herzl started, and opening it up further,” Asulin said.

Myers added, “Without the hundreds of millions of non-Jewish friends we have around the world, Israel would be in a much more difficult place.”

They noted how the landscape has shifted, saying that while only 10 Christian invitees participated in early Zionist gatherings compared to 208 Jewish delegates, today most of the world’s Zionists are Christians, making a Judeo-Christian alliance essential.

One of the JCZC's first strategic goals is to deepen Israel's understanding of the global scale of Christian support worldwide. Dr. Susan Michael, president of ICEJ USA and director of ACLI, who serves on the JCZC steering committee, explained this mission.

“The Judeo-Christian Zionist Congress represents the unity this moment requires. For too long, Israelis have not been fully aware of the overwhelming support they have among millions of Christians across America and around the world. This alliance brings that truth to the forefront.”

She continued, “Our partnership is not symbolic – it is strategic, moral, and essential for safeguarding both Israel and the foundations of Western civilization. We are standing together because the threats we face are shared, and so is our future.”

Click here to read more about the Judeo-Christian Zionist Congress and the ACLI, a unified coalition of U.S. Christian leaders supporting Israel and the Jewish people.