Why faith leaders are standing up to the largest pro-Israel Christian lobby

This article Why faith leaders are standing up to the largest pro-Israel Christian lobby was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

At lunchtime on July 1, as the Senate prepared to vote on Trump’s deeply unpopular “Big Beautiful Bill,” the cafeteria line at the Rayburn House Office Building ground to a halt. Where lobbyists and staffers usually rushed through the midday crush, over 100 clergy and faith leaders had gathered in solemn resistance. They linked arms and broke into song with the message: “Congress doesn’t eat ‘til Gaza eats.” At the other end of Capitol Hill, the Dirksen Senate Office Building cafeteria filled with chants and prayerful silence. Within minutes, Capitol Police arrested over 50 people. 

The group of faith leaders and activists with Interfaith Action for Palestine sought to disrupt business as usual in Washington and draw attention to a lower-profile but no less dangerous development: Thousands of members of Christians United for Israel, or CUFI, the largest and among the most politically powerful pro-Israel group in the country, were participating in their annual day of lobbying. With more than 10 million members, CUFI’s influence on U.S. foreign policy surpasses that of AIPAC, with which it remains closely allied.

Protesters called CUFI a far-right hate group driving unconditional support for Israel, even as public opinion has turned against the genocide in Gaza. Organizers sought to present an alternative to CUFI’s theology rooted in equality, dignity and solidarity.

“Our message to elected officials is simple,” explained Rabbi Alana Alpert, a member of Rabbis for Ceasefire and one those arrested. “Refuse CUFI and align with what a majority of Americans, including Jewish Americans, support: a permanent ceasefire, the return of all hostages and political prisoners, the delivery of humanitarian aid to people in Gaza and for the U.S. to stop arming Israel.”

Over the past month, rights groups say Israel has killed at least 500 Gazans and injured 4,000 seeking food and aid from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Half are said to be children. 

Mennonite Rev. Jay Bergen, who attended the Capitol protest, accused CUFI of “promoting the starvation of Gazan children every day” through its lobbying for continued U.S. weapons sales and support for Israel. “Today we’re asking Congress,” he said, “do you believe in a God who bombs children?”

The arrests were aimed at challenging CUFI’s legitimacy and influence — and to educate the public about the dangers the organization poses.  

“We’re seeing again how U.S. government leadership prioritizes geopolitical power and economic benefits over international law or the dignity of all people — and that’s being laid bare in Gaza right now under both Trump and Biden,” said Eli McCarthy, a Georgetown professor and Just Peace Fellow with the Franciscan Action Network. “Christian Zionist groups like CUFI are a key driver of that dynamic. Their theology gives political leaders religious cover to justify war, occupation and bombing campaigns — and too many Christian leaders go along with it.”

The arrests at the Capitol were one part of a longer campaign targeting CUFI. The previous day, 200 activists marched on the Gaylord National Resort in Maryland, where CUFI was holding its annual summit. They were met with significantly increased security, restricted public access to the building and a strong police presence. Last year, activists with the same coalition delayed the start of CUFI’s conference by blockading its buses — drawing national attention. This year, activists say the hotel coordinated more closely with law enforcement in response to the planned June 30 protest.

Jewish Voice for Peace in Baltimore organizer Nikki Morse was in attendance and spoke out about CUFI’s alleged longstanding ties to antisemitism, even as it supports legislation that cracks down on pro-Palestinian advocacy.

According to Morse, CUFI founder John Hagee, is “one of the most virulent antisemites” in the U.S., having once said God sent Adolph Hiter to create Israel. “He does not love the Jewish people.”

Hagee has opposed a negotiated peace between Israel and the Palestinians on religious grounds, instead supporting Israel’s annexation of the occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem and West Bank.

Morse added that CUFI’s extremist positions push peace further out of reach, fueling violence through a toxic mix of theology and politics that misrepresents people of faith. “No matter what they claim, they cannot speak for all Jews, Christians or people of faith,” she said. “Our faith does not align with genocide. We reject their attacks — and we reject their vision.”

Police threatened demonstrators with arrests if they blocked the entrance to the Gaylord, forcing the protest into a designated “free speech” zone across the street. Organizers saw this as a sign that their past protests were effective and that new tactics were needed. A handful of protesters managed to drop banners inside the Gaylord, but unlike last year, the disruption did not significantly interfere with the event.  

Organizers used the protest to challenge CUFI’s vision of Christianity. “We’re here as Christians for a Free Palestine, as part of an interfaith coalition that says our Christianity is about solidarity and about equality,” said Palestinian Christian Jonathan Brennan, a national organizer with Christians for a Free Palestine. “And we abhor promoting Israel’s genocide and war with Iran. We have been stewarding the faith since Jesus was in Palestine, and we continue it today. Christian Zionism is the antithesis of what Jesus taught.”

For organizers, the July 1 action was just one part of a broader campaign of multifaith resistance to move “passive allies” — people who privately oppose the war but haven’t yet spoken out —  into public, risk-taking action.

“That’s what strategic nonviolence requires,” McCarthy said, noting that at the same time, across the United States, 800 activists were marking the end of a 40-day fast launched in May to demand that the U.S. stop arming Israel and for the resumption of food aid to Gaza. The fast culminated in a protest at New York City’s Times Square and the arrest of at least 28 people.

Organizers point to the increased turnout this year as proof that the strategy is working.

“It’s been wonderful to see a lot of the same folks, but also many new faces,” said Pranay Somayajula, advocacy director at Hindus for Human Rights. “We’re almost two years into this genocide now. Even more people have woken up to just how horrific the situation is and how urgent it is that we take action — especially as we’re seeing the political climate here at home deteriorate with the rise of authoritarianism and fascism under the Trump administration.”

In the congressional cafeterias, clergy held banners reading “Send Food, Not Bombs” and “What God Bombs Children?” as they called for an arms embargo on Israel, passage of the Block the Bombs Act, and enforcement of the War Powers Resolution to assert Congress’ sole authority to declare war. But the legislation lacks broad support in Congress and the disruption was temporary.

They are challenging one of the most powerful religious lobbies in Washington, whose influence has only deepened with Trump’s return to office — and whose apocalyptic worldview sees war in the Middle East as prophecy fulfilled.

Yet it’s precisely that fusion of theology and militarism that faith leaders say they are uniquely equipped to confront, and why their long-term strategy centers on movement-building: deepening ties within faith communities, expanding the ranks of those willing to take public risks and making alignment with groups like CUFI politically and morally untenable. Participants will return to their congregations and organizations carrying the story of this action — and, organizers hope, the conviction to keep going.

“We’re trying to transform the public imagination — to show that faith can be a force for justice, not domination,” McCarthy said. “Ultimately, we’re trying to recover and re-center a vision of faith that honors the dignity of all people. This is about building a just peace framework rooted in active nonviolence — not just opposing one war or one group.”

This article Why faith leaders are standing up to the largest pro-Israel Christian lobby was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

People-powered news and analysis

Source: https://wagingnonviolence.org/2025/07/why-faith-leaders-are-standing-up-to-the-largest-pro-israel-christian-lobby/