(JNS) At the site of the Nova music festival, where nearly 400 young Israelis were murdered on Oct. 7, more than 1,000 evangelical pastors from around the world gathered on Wednesday to honor six survivors of Hamas captivity and deepen their commitment to supporting Israel: Emily Damari, Tal Shoham, Moran Stella Yanai, Aviva and Keith Siegel, and Edan Alexander.
One by one, the freed hostages—some held for months, others for years—stepped onto an improvised stage to receive the Hineni/Here Am IAward from American evangelical leader Dr. Mike Evans, organizer of the Ambassador Summit. The pastors, many visiting Israel for the first time, repeatedly rose to their feet in emotional standing ovations.
Dr. Mike Evans presents an award to freed hostage Edan Alexander, back in IDF uniform, near the Gaza border on Dec. 3, 2025. Photo by Yossi Zamir.
The crowd erupted when Edan Alexander, a dual US-Israeli citizen and IDF soldier who spent 584 days in captivity before being freed in May 2025, took the stage in his IDF uniform. Having since returned to active service, Alexander told the audience he wanted Hamas to see that he had not been broken.
“This is the first time I’m in uniform next to Gaza,” Alexander told the crowd. I wanted the terrorists to see I’ll never break, and that I’ll return the favor,” he said. “You gave me hell? I’ll give you hell.”
Then something unplanned happened. Evans said he felt moved to lead the crowd in song. “This wasn’t part of the program, but as they were talking, I was hearing Amazing Grace, and I was saying, ‘God, this is your amazing grace. I want us to sing this to them,’” referring to the released hostages.
As hundreds stood and sang the hymn just miles from Gaza, Evans urged them, “Sing it so loud they can hear you in Gaza.” The voices swelled before shifting to a chant of “Shalom, Shalom,” sung to the same melody.
The ceremony marked the opening day of the week-long Ambassador Summit, organized in partnership with Israel’s Foreign Ministry to equip Christian leaders to counter rising antisemitism and speak more effectively on Israel’s behalf.
Evans, the founder of the Friends of Zion (FOZ) Museum in Jerusalem, told JNS he had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu six times since Oct. 7, “What can evangelicals do to help?”
“He said, ‘Reach the youth because Israel has lost the youth. They’ve not only lost the leftist youth but the youth on the right.’ You can see that with people like Tucker Carlson. Israel is not fighting an ideological war. The only thing they’re doing is they’re trying to defend themselves after they’re being attacked and it’s too late, because whoever defines the terms controls the debate.”
The pastors were clearly moved by hearing from the freed hostages at the ceremony in southern Israel, near the Gaza border.
“The ceremony was beautiful,” said Derrick Aguirre, a youth director from Orlando, Florida. “It was amazing to hear the stories and it’s heartbreaking what happened here. Your heart goes out to all of the victims and all of the tragedy, but the Lord is faithful, and He will bless this land. The message that I’m taking back is that supporting Israel and standing with Israel is one of the most important things we can do as Christians.”
The delegation also toured Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the hardest-hit communities on Oct. 7. More than two years after the attack, in which 101 civilians and 31 security personnel were killed and 32 hostages taken, many homes remain untouched.
Dani Majzner, a longtime resident of Be’eri who survived the Oct. 7 attack, takes a group into the burnt home of Vivien Silver, a Canadian-Israeli peace activist murdered on Oct. 7. Broken tiles and glass crack underfoot as the pastors walk through the ruins of the house.
“The devastation—I was unaware of how horrific it was,” said Laura Dobson, who runs a ministry called Rebel Parenting with her husband Ryan. She teared up as she spoke.
“My heart goes out to all the children, the moms —to see the kids’ books, the cups everywhere. It’s just devastating. People need to know what really happened and I didn’t.”
Ryan said the visit strengthened his belief that Hamas is evil. “There’s a debate going on about morality, but when you see this, there’s no debate of any kind that would justify action like that,” he told JNS. “The cowardliness of attacking children at a concert is just evil. You (Hamas) didn’t go after strong people, after soldiers; you went after children and families.”
While many of the pastors were making their first visit to Israel, others had been many times. David McKinley is the pastor-teacher of Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia, which has four campuses and 7,000 members. He hosts a TV show and podcast and has published several books. He has frequently brought groups to Israel.
“The reason I’m here is because of theology,” he told JNS. “I believe God made a covenant with Abraham that God brought forth a people who are a covenant people. I believe that God has given the people of Israel the land and the land is theirs by His provision. And I believe that God has a purpose for His people.”
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