(Hastings, UK) โ As Israel celebrates its 77th anniversary, it is tragically still embroiled in a conflict stemming from the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th, 2023. It is a timely opportunity to reflect on the unsettling rise in Antisemitism that is being witnessed across the globe. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is not just observable within the secular world or academy โ it is also manifesting globally among those who have traditionally held to more conservative religious views.
May 14th marked 77 years since David Ben Gurion read Israelโs Declaration of Independence at a small ceremony in the Tel Aviv Museum, signalling to the world that the State of Israel had been reborn from the ashes. For many, this was seen as a miraculous and remarkable fulfilment of biblical prophecy (Ezek. 36:24-26, Ezek. 37:6-11, Jer. 16:15). After two millennia of exile and dispersion, the nation of Israel was dramatically reborn in her ancient homeland. This biblical expectation was acknowledged by Christians in the United Kingdom long before the modern State of Israel came into existence.
The great British clergymen J.C. Ryle, writing in 1867, said that: “I can only say, that to my eyes, the future salvation of Israel as a people, their return to Palestine and their national conversion to God, appear as clearly and plainly revealed as any prophecy in Godโs Word.”
The English preacher Charles Spurgeon also declared in 1888 that: โWe cannot help look for the restoration of the scattered Israelites to the Land which God has given to them by a covenant.โ
However, Christian support for Israel in the UK has seen a significant decline. A recent survey conducted in December 2024 by Dr. Motti Inbari (UNC Pembroke) and Dr. Kirill Bumin (Boston University) looked at Christian attitudes towards Israel in the United Kingdom. Overall, it showed that British Christians are less supportive of Israel than their American counterparts. It also revealed some worrying generational demographic trends. Positively, young British Christians are breaking the secularizing trend in the UK, becoming more religiously observant than older generations. This trend has recently been confirmed by an independent report from the Bible Society called ‘The Quiet Revival.”
Though, somewhat paradoxically, this religious revival is not equating to positive support for Israelโquite the opposite. Younger Christians are becoming less supportive of Israel and more likely to hold antisemitic or anti-Zionist views. For example, one-third of British Christians think Jews still talk too much about the Holocaust. Twenty-four percent think that Jews have too much control in the media, and one in six agreed with the statement, โit is definitely not antisemitic to say that Israel doesnโt have a right to existโ.
There are undoubtedly several factors that influence young peopleโs views on Israel in the UK. The reality is that the aftermath of October 7th and the recent escalation of conflict in Gaza have shaped public perception adversely. The continued negative press and one-sided narrative being presented through social media have undoubtedly had an impact on the views of the younger generation. For an example of the biased media coverage Israel receives in the UK, one need look no further than the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) itself. The BBC breached its own editorial guidelines over 1500 times in its reporting on the Israel-Hamas war. The research by British lawyer Trevor Asserson found that the BBC coverage associated Israel with Genocide fourteen times more than it did with Hamas. Corresponding to this, the survey showed that almost half of British Christians believe Israel has committed Genocide in Gaza and almost half blame Israel equally for October 7th. It is hard to deny a causal correlation between these factors.
The survey also highlighted what may be a way forward to reverse this worrying trend. It revealed that, on average, almost fifty percent of church attendees had never heard a sermon about the importance of supporting Israel. It also revealed that the main contributing factors to a Christian holding a positive view of Israel were related to the Bible. The fact that the bible teaches that Israel is important in biblical prophecy and that the Abrahamic covenant is still in effect are the top reasons people gave for their support of Israel.
This shows that in addition to exposing the biased media coverage and making sure Christians understand the historical context and current challenges faced by Israel, there is also a huge need for Christian leaders to make sure they are addressing these issues from the pulpit. Now is the time to change that statistic so that a much higher percentage can say they have heard how important this issue is from the pulpit. Pastors need to focus on making sure they equip their congregations with a solid biblical theology of Israel. Giving people the theological worldview to interpret what they see happening in the world and to be able to identify the absolute anti-Christian nature of antisemitism, whether it be politically, racially, or theologically motivated.
Isaiah 62:1 reads, “For Zionโs sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalemโs sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning.”
