(Jerusalem, Israel) โ Israel’s Memorial Day, Yom Hazikaron, is a solemn day when the entire nation grieves heroic fallen soldiers and terror victims. This year, prominent evangelical leaders came to stand in solidarity.
Sirens wailed across Israel at exactly 11 a.m. on Wednesday. Every city, town, highway, and school paused. The piercing sound of the siren brought life to a halt. Drivers exited their vehicles. Pedestrians stood still, and conversations ceased.
Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, has been marching shoulder-to-shoulder in support of Israel for decades. This week, he led a delegation of Christian leaders.
“We need to stand against this rise of anti-semitism and call it out for what it is,” Perkins underscored to me. “It’s dark. It’s demonic. It is running counter to God’s plan. We need to know the Word of God, and then we need to stand upon the Word of Godโand that’s why, frankly, we’re so grateful for the Real Life Network.”
Memorial Day, which began at sundown Tuesday, is an emotional day of remembrance. It commemorates over 24,000 soldiers who died defending Israel since its rebirth in 1948, along with thousands of civilians killed in terror attacks.
In Israel, a nation the size of New Jersey, everyone knows someone affected. Each loss ripples through entire communities, including Kibbutz Be’eri, where former presidential candidate, congresswoman, and Regent University Dean Michelle Bachmann volunteered as a teenager and lost friends in the October 7th massacre.
“Israel needs a clear, unequivocal victory in this war,” Bachmann stressed. “They will get it, and Israel’s enemies need to have a clear, unequivocal defeat because that brings more peace to the region. My prayer is that Israel will declare, make a statement of sovereignty, that they have authorityโcomplete controlโover Judea and Samaria. My prayer is that the United States supports Israel in that effort.”
This Judea and Samaria delegation includes Pastor Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone Chapel in Virginia, a powerful champion for Israel.
“80% of the Bible stories happen in that region of Judea and Samaria,” Hamrick noted. “The world calls [it] the West Bank. It’s a false narrative.”
“We need to get back to Biblical terms,” he emphasized. “That’s the thing that really moved me while we were hereโjust that remembrance that this is the heartland of the Bible. We’ve been avoiding it because it’s the ‘West Bank.’ We need to get back into that community.”
For those of you praying for Israel, we want you to know your prayers are touching hearts here, deeper than you may even realize. A woman who was listening to my conversation with Pastor Hamrick approached us right after the interview.
“As an American-born Israeli, I don’t get how you understand the nuances of this conflict when most people do not,” she exclaimed, shaking Hamrick’s hand. “Thank you for your support. Thank you for being so eloquent and articulate, and for the hard work that you’re doing to support us.”
“The secret is the Bible; he knows the Word,” I told the woman in response.
When the sun sets on Memorial Day, something remarkable happens. In the span of just a few minutes, the grieving nation transitions from deep sorrow to great joy as Independence Day, Yom Ha’atzmaut, begins.
The contrast isn’t a coincidence; it’s by design. The message is clear: the price of independence is painfully high, but the cost of freedom is worth the sacrifice.
