At Israel’s parliament, prayer replaced politics for a day as Christian lawmakers and Israeli leaders gathered to sing, bless, and stand publicly with a battered country. Reporting from the Knesset, Felice Friedson follows US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Yesh Atid lawmaker Tatiana Mazarsky as they frame faith as a strategic asset in a war-weary society.
Now in its third year, the Knesset prayer gathering brought the National Association of Christian Legislators, including Pastor Greg Locke, to Jerusalem to pledge support for Israel’s security and its right to exist. Locke describes fierce backlash for his staunch defense of Israel, much of it fueled by social media platforms that amplify accusations of genocide and spread conspiracy theories at lightning speed.
Inside Israel, digital battle lines are just as sharp. Hananya Naftali from the Prime Minister’s Office details how bots and foreign actors posing as American activists clog feeds with anti-Israel messaging, and argues that coordinated, honest storytelling is the country’s best answer. Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel links that information war to the broader fight against groups like Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, praising Washington’s terror listing and warning of their victim-blaming narratives about October 7.
Global organizer Albert Veksler situates the Knesset event within a wider movement of Jerusalem-themed prayer breakfasts, from Belgium to an upcoming high-level gathering in Taiwan. Through testimonies from freed hostages and quiet vows from visiting lawmakers, Friedson’s piece shows how a single day of prayer in Jerusalem is being used to rally a far-flung network of believers who say they will keep Israel in their sights long after they fly home. Read the full story and watch the video report to hear their voices and judge their faith yourself.