(JNS) The heads of the Armenian and Greek Orthodox Churches in the Holy Land have sparked an intra-Christian feud by blasting Christian Zionists for their support of Israel, exposing the deep fissures within Christianity over ties with the Jewish state.

The dispute comes at a time of burgeoning ties between Israel and the evangelical community around the world, who are viewed as heretical by the local Catholic Church.

This is taking place against a backdrop of efforts by Christian Arabs in Israel who want to fully integrate into society, efforts that have gathered steam after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led onslaught on southern Israel.

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the most impactful voice of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, has pointedly stayed out of the dispute.

A Jan. 17 letter from the patriarchs and heads of the churches in Jerusalem, notably one not published by the Latin patriarch, read, “Recent activities undertaken by local individuals who advance damaging ideologies, such as Christian Zionism, mislead the public, sow confusion, and harm the unity of our flock.”

“These undertakings have found favor among certain political actors in Israel and beyond who seek to push a political agenda which may harm the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the wider Middle East,” it continued.

The church heads expressed concern that Christian Zionists “have been welcomed at official levels both locally and internationally,” and unwaveringly insisted that “they alone represent the Churches and their flock in matters pertaining to Christian religious, communal and pastoral life in the Holy Land.”

David Rosen, former international director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee, told JNS on Tuesday, “Amid an increasing utilization of evangelical voices for Israel, there is a lot of pressure on Christians from within their own communities who are fearful of being seen as agents of Israel’s interest by their Muslim neighbors.”

He said that the Latin patriarch has been “consistently more balanced” due to his familiarity with Israel. This balance is not shared by the other traditional Church leaders in the Holy Land, partly because the Vatican has been more sensitive politically, as well as due to the diverse makeup of its flock in the Holy Land, a majority of whom are Israelis.

News of Holy Land clergy criticism of Israel, some of it misreported, was seized upon by antisemitic voices in the United States who are battling Christian Zionists within the Republican Party over their support for Israel.

‘Scripture as the authority of the Church’

“I love my brothers and sisters in Christ from traditional, liturgical churches and respect their views, but I do not feel any sect of the Christian faith should claim exclusivity in speaking for Christians worldwide,” US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said in a statement.

“My Christian faith is built on the foundation of Judaism, and without it, Christianity would not exist. Without the Judeo-Christian worldview, there would be no Western civilization, and without Western civilization, there would be no America,” he said.

The Baptist minister turned ambassador continued, “The thought that God is even capable of breaking a covenant is anathema to those of us who embrace Holy Scripture as the authority of the church.”

In response to the statement of non-evangelical churches in Israel, I issued the following. I hope you will read prayerfully.

I love my brothers and sisters in Christ from traditional, liturgical churches and respect their views, but I do not feel any sect of the Christian… pic.twitter.com/jqohEWk0xJ

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) January 20, 2026

Huckabee recently held a meeting with an Israeli Christian leader, Ihab Shlayan, an IDF reserve colonel, who favors Christian integration into Israeli society. The subsequent publication of the meeting on social media caused a stir among church leaders in the Holy Land.

 

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Evangelicals fire back

“The letter is unequivocally wrong,” Sandra Hagee Parker, chair of Christians United for Israel and daughter of its founder, the Texas evangelical leader John Hagee, told JNS. “It is nothing more than a naked attempt to contort the Christian faith in order to deny the very teachings of Jesus.

“From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is a Zionist document,” she added. “To deny God’s support for his Chosen People is to deny the reality of God’s word.”

Mike Evans, the American evangelical founder of Jerusalem’s Friends of Zion Museum, said in a phone interview with JNS, “When they say they are against Christian Zionists, what they really mean is they are in support of ‘replacement theology’ that God has canceled all his promises to the Jewish people.

“They are terrified over the support of influential Christian pastors after thinking that they had marginalized Christian Zionism,” he said.

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, a Christian Zionist evangelical organization that brings thousands of pilgrims to Israel every year, likewise condemned the Church leaders’ statement.

“The promised restoration of Israel in modern times enjoys ample biblical credentials in both the Old and New Testaments,” the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem said. “The Jewish return to the Land of Israel both reflects and affirms the faithful nature and character of God to always keep his sworn covenant promises, thereby strengthening the Christian faith rather than damaging or undermining it.”

The largest evangelical organization in the Holy Land added, “The promised Jewish return to Zion has been taught and embraced by many devout Christians throughout the Church age, from the original Apostles and some of the early Church fathers to medieval clergymen, right up to the modern-day Protestant and Evangelical church movements.”

Rev. Peter Fast, CEO of the evangelical organization Bridges for Peace, told JNS, “This sentiment simply codifies a long-standing slander which has been simmering beneath the surface for years.

“At its core, the statement functions as a smokescreen, a calculated attempt to distort and conceal what Christian or biblical Zionism represents.”

“The patriarchs and heads of churches portray Christian Zionism as something contrary to authentic biblical faith, when in reality the opposite is true,” Fast said. “In the end, they are resisting their own identity, heritage and the foundations of their faith.”

Bishop Dennis Nthumbi, Africa director of the Israel Allies Foundation, said, “The tone of this statement is not pastoral; it is territorial. It does not sound like shepherd protecting sheep; it sounds like administrators protecting jurisdiction.

“I strongly suspect that the Christian community in Israel is under strong political and religious pressure by dangerous Islamic elements within, and the letter is a result of the radical groups that hate the ecclesiastical unity of the Jews and the Christian community,” the evangelical leader added.

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