Fifteen Republican presidential candidates are vying for the support of evangelical Christian voters from the swing states of Ohio and Florida, to the cornfields of Iowa, to the small towns of the Deep South. Within the varied spectrum of 2016 election issues, do evangelicals highly prioritize candidates’ positions on Israel and the Middle East?
Major evangelical leaders in America are saying yes.
“Studies show us there are approximately 90 million Christians in America who consider their beliefs to be evangelical,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a Christian education and lobbying group. “Of that number around 9 to 10 percent have what we call a ‘biblical worldview,’ in that they believe what the Scriptures say pertaining to Israel. That’s a large number of voters who can definitely make a difference in a primary or general election.”
Perkins added: “Among core evangelical voters, Israel is easily one of the top 10, maybe even the top five, issues when considering who to support in a presidential primary. The Old Testament tells us that whoever blesses Israel will be blessed and it’s certainly important to be on the right side of God’s word.”
The reference by Perkins is to Genesis 12:3, which states, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on Earth will be blessed through you.”
In August, former Arkansas governor and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders in Jerusalem. It was part of a decades-old ritual for Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister who has visited Israel about 40 times since the 1970s, far more than any other current presidential candidate, Democrat or Republican.
“Israel should be top-of-mind when evaluating GOP presidential candidates,” said Huckabee. “I have known Prime Minister Netanyahu for 20 years. I went to Israel not to seek his endorsement, but to endorse him because his voice is so important. Netanyahu leads a people who are realists. They know what it’s like to have people threaten to kill them. They take it seriously when a government [Iran] for 36 years promises to wipe them off the face of the Earth.”
While Huckabee’s Israel trip was the latest to make headlines, the FRC is organizing a Holy Land visit in October for supporters who will be joined by two GOP candidates, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.
Political operatives say that candidates’ trips to Israel are focused on securing campaign donations from influential Israeli government and business leaders who can infuse much-needed cash and hopefully help deliver the support of pro-Israel voters back in the United States.
But ultimately, are these visits to the Jewish state more educational or political in nature?
“Both,” said Penny Nance, CEO of Concerned Women for America, a Christian women’s activist group.
Nance, along with political strategist Ralph Reed and author Joel Rosenberg, penned an op-ed in the Christian Post about presidential contenders visiting Israel in the immediate aftermath of the November 2014 U.S. midterm elections. They posed seven questions that they argued candidates must answer to win the White House. The fifth question reads in part: “Does the candidate have a clear and coherent view of the U.S. vital interest in the Middle East, including a demonstrated, consistent, long-standing support for Israel and a solid understanding of why Israel matters to the U.S.?”
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee asserts that the evangelical Christian community plays a vital role in U.S.-Israel relations. As such, AIPAC enlists Christian clergy to garner nationwide support for Israel.
“As Christians, we should be Israel’s strongest supporters and friends and we need to translate that into political activism,” the Rev. Philip C. Morris Jr. argues in an AIPAC video.
According to 2014 Pew Research Center findings, nearly half of white evangelical Protestants (46 percent) claim America does not provide enough support for Israel.
Notably, when Pew polled Americans in 2012 about U.S. foreign policy — specifically, what actions America should take if Israel attacks Iran to stop Iran’s nuclear program — 64 percent of white evangelicals answered “support Israel,” compared with 39 percent of the general public.
In March 2013, LifeWay Research reported that 72 percent of white evangelicals support Israel in its ongoing conflict with the Palestinians, compared with 49 percent of Americans overall. In addition, a July poll by LifeWay reveals that 70 percent of evangelicals believe that the God of the Bible has a special relationship with the modern nation of Israel.
Bethany Blankley, a freelance journalist who writes about Christianity, contributed to this report.