The Southern Baptists passed a resolution in support of Israel last week, during their annual convention. The resolution also condemned the BDS (Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions) movement, aimed at hurting the Jewish state economically.

I’ve written a lot the last five years about the encroachment of the so-called Palestinian Narrative into American churches. No denomination/association has been unaffected by this coordinated effort, which uses high-level networks to peddle a story that makes Israel the villain in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Even at the SBC gathering in St. Louis, a Palestinian pastor (now living in Phoenix) stood to denounce the resolution. He used classic language that claims Israel is a brutal occupier. Reports are that there was significant applause for this pastor’s comments.

Look close and you'll see that the folks running this small-town grocery store love Zion.
Look close and you’ll see that the folks running this small-town grocery store love Zion.

I maintain that unless a serious effort is made to educate congregants across the United States about the realities of the Arab-Israeli conflict (what Benjamin Netanyahu has called “The Battle for Truth”), the next several generations will be flipped to the Palestinian side. With the tidal wave of social justice talk among Millennials, the Palestinian Narrative fits hand-in-glove.

Yet there remains a significant number of Americans who stand solidly with Israel, and they aren’t usually the most visible. AIPAC and others, and a variety of Christian organizations, solidly back Israel and hold conferences.

But it is the grassroots that will tell the tale. All across America, one finds the signs—and the signs of the times—that reflect America’s enduring love affair with the Jewish state.

May it always be so.

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