SBC leaders urge Biden, Congress not to waver in supporting Israel as Hamas terror attack anniversary nears

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Friday, October 04, 2024

Israel supporters, including Christian Evangelicals, participate in the United for Israel march outside of Columbia University on April 25, 2024, in New York City. Israel supporters are reacting to the growing number of college campuses throughout the country whose student protesters are setting up pro-Palestinian tent encampments on school grounds. | Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention are calling on President Joe Biden and Congress to continue supporting Israel as the one-year anniversary of the terror attacks that led to a war with Hamas and escalating tensions with Hezbollah in the region approaches.

SBC President Clint Pressley and Brent Leatherwood, president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, sent separate letters to Biden and congressional leaders Wednesday, urging them to continue standing with Israel as the nation finds itself under siege nearly a year after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas in which nearly 1,200 people were tortured and killed, including some 40 Americans, and over 254 others were taken hostage, many also raped or tortured.

The second letter was addressed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. The letters were published one day after what Pressley and Leatherwood called a “shocking bombardment from Iran” that damaged 100 homes while wounding three Israelis and killing one Palestinian man.

“As tensions rise and broader conflict throughout the Middle East appears imminent, our churches remain committed to praying for a peaceful end to this conflict. At this dire moment, we urge you not to waver in your commitment to support the right of Israel to exist and defend itself, to see all of the hostages returned home, and to oppose all forms of antisemitism that emerge at home and abroad,” they stated.

The religious leaders highlighted the reasons why Southern Baptists continue to support “the people and the nation of Israel,” explaining that “Since the inception of the modern state of Israel in 1948, Israel has faced numerous attacks, incursions, and violations of its national sovereignty.”

“The Jewish people have long endured genocidal attempts to eradicate them and to destroy the Jewish state. These antisemitic, deadly ideologies and terrorist actions must be opposed,” they added.

Pressley and Leatherwood noted that the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution over the summer declaring that Southern Baptists “condemn Hamas’ terrorist attacks of October 7, commit to standing with the Jewish people and those suffering in the region, and oppose all forms of antisemitism,” while rejecting “calls for the nation of Israel to lay down its arms, [and] repudiat[ing] any calls for a permanent ceasefire that do not also result in the immediate release of all hostages.”

The resolution also urged “the international community to redouble its efforts to support the nation of Israel toward a just and lasting peace, addressing underlying issues such as terrorism, human rights violations, and regional instability, consistent with biblical calls to defend the oppressed and promote justice, especially among non-combatants and civilians.”

Pressley and Leatherwood concluded the letter by informing the federal government leaders that “We are praying that God would grant you wisdom and discernment as you make difficult decisions and lead our nation in the days to come.”

Immediately following the terror attacks in Israel last year, several anti-Israel and anti-Jewish protests popped up on college campuses throughout the U.S., where student protesters engaged in antisemitic actions. Outrage over the handling of student protests at major universities led to the presidents of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania resigning.

For the most part, the federal government has taken actions consistent with the SBC’s call to stand with Israel. In April, Congress passed a bill that appropriated $17 billion in aid to Israel. A standalone aid package titled the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in a 366-58 vote, while a much larger package, including the House-passed bill and other measures, passed the U.S. Senate in a 79-18 vote. Biden signed the bipartisan legislation into law.

However, Biden received bipartisan pushback in May for threatening to cut off an arms shipment to Israel if the war-ravaged country launched an offensive assault against a Hamas stronghold by invading Rafah in Gaza.

While the Southern Baptist Convention has remained steadfast in its unapologetic support for Israel, more than 140 Christian leaders in a separate organization called the Churches for Middle East Peace urged Biden to cut off all foreign aid to Israel in a letter published in March.

Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com