Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a gathering of Evangelical Christian leaders in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 31, 2025, that Israel is actively participating in an emerging international alliance aimed at supporting persecuted Christian communities globally.
Israel is joining an emerging alliance of countries “that support Christian communities around the world, beleaguered communities who deserve our help,” Netanyahu said. He highlighted Israel's contributions, including intelligence sharing in Africa and other unspecified means in the Middle East, adding that this effort “is a main part of our agenda, and it’s going to continue with greater force and greater might in this coming year.”
Netanyahu did not elaborate on the specifics of the alliance or name other involved nations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at The Shul of Bal Harbour, Florida, on December 31, 2025. (Photos: Lazar Berman/The Times of Israel)
The prime minister was in the United States for high-level talks with President Donald Trump and other officials, focusing on the situations in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as ongoing tensions with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
During his remarks to the Evangelical leaders, Netanyahu pointed to persecution of Christians in the region, naming Syria, Lebanon, Nigeria, and Turkey as examples. “We are conscious of the fact that Christians are being persecuted across the Middle East… and beyond,” he said.
Turkey, which has a Christian population of around 100,000, has faced criticism from some community members for ongoing issues of inequality and exclusion under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Shifting to domestic U.S. dynamics, Netanyahu described the battle against rising antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment—particularly among young American conservatives—as Israel's “eighth front” in its multifaceted conflicts.
“That’s the front for the hearts and minds of people, especially young people in the West, and for me, especially in the United States. And for me, especially on the conservative wing,” he explained. “This is a theater that has to be engaged with great force.”
His comments came amid reported divisions in U.S. conservative circles over Israel, highlighted earlier in the month at a major Turning Point USA gathering following the death of its founder, Charlie Kirk.
Later that day, Netanyahu addressed a crowd at The Shul of Bal Harbour synagogue, where he offered reassurance to the parents of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last identified slain hostage from Gaza: “We shall return him. He will be back.”
He praised President Trump's steadfast support for Israel, stating, “President Trump has been unflinching; he never wavered.” Netanyahu added, “When the president of the United States and the prime minister of Israel have no daylight between them, wondrous things can happen.” This followed what a senior Israeli official described as their “best” meeting since Trump's return to office.
Netanyahu emphasized Israel's commitment to combating antisemitism—the “eighth front”—with the same determination as its military engagements.
That evening, Netanyahu and his wife Sara attended President Trump's lavish New Year's Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago, ringing in 2026 alongside Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
The prime minister was scheduled to depart for Israel on Thursday afternoon (U.S. time), arriving early Friday.
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