Interview by Igor Sabino and Andr\u00e9 Lajst, StandWithUs Brazil\n<\/p>\n
A Unique Case in the Middle East<\/p>\n
Israel stands out as the only nation in the Middle East where the Christian population is growing. Bishop Robert Stearns emphasized that Israel guarantees full religious freedom and freedom of expression for all minorities. Women\u2019s rights, press freedom, and minority rights are upheld\u2014though, as in any democracy, not without imperfections.\n<\/p>\n
Stearns rejected claims of widespread hostility toward Christians, such as the narrative of \u201cspitting on Christians.\u201d Having visited Israel more than 150 times and led over 40,000 Christians there, he stated he has never witnessed such incidents. He described these stories as \u201cindustrialized emotional manipulation,\u201d where isolated events are amplified into false norms. He warned that platforms like TikTok and Instagram are often used by state and global actors to distort Israel\u2019s image.\n<\/p>\n
The IDF and Media Distortion<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s defense forces are among the largest relative to population size, with around 200,000 active soldiers and 500,000 reserves in a country of 10 million. From the first day of service, soldiers are trained under strict codes of conduct regarding weapons, behavior, and discipline.\n<\/p>\n
Andr\u00e9 Lajst and Igor Sabino acknowledged that violations occur\u2014as they do in every army\u2014but stressed that Israel has military prosecution mechanisms to address them. They contrasted this with incidents in Lebanon, where vandalism of Christian statues was swiftly punished by the army, yet media coverage remained minimal. Meanwhile, Hezbollah rockets destroyed a church in Lebanon without international outcry. \u201cWhen one Israeli soldier violates the rules, the entire country is condemned,\u201d Sabino noted, \u201cbut the same standard is not applied elsewhere.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Double Standards in the Region<\/p>\n
Igor Sabino pointed to Iran, where Christians are openly persecuted, yet global media rarely applies pressure. Hezbollah\u2019s attacks on churches in Lebanon were ignored by those who accuse Israel of intolerance. He argued that Israel is judged by a harsher standard than its neighbors, where systemic persecution often goes unreported.\n<\/p>\n
The Judeo-Christian Bond<\/p>\n
Andr\u00e9 Lajst highlighted the deep historical and spiritual bond between Jews and Christians, calling it foundational to Western civilization. From contributions to navigation and the Industrial Revolution to the French and American Revolutions, Jewish influence has been pivotal. \u201cJesus was Jewish,\u201d he reminded, underscoring the inseparable cultural and religious link.\n<\/p>\n
He also described the U.S.-Israel relationship as an expression of this Judeo-Christian bond, rooted in shared values and moral conscience.\n<\/p>\n
Why Support Israel<\/p>\n
Support for Israel, Stearns argued, should not be seen merely as a Christian duty but as a human one. With dozens of Muslim and Christian nations worldwide, Israel remains the only Jewish state. \u201cA non-Christian who believes in human rights, peace, and tolerance should reach the same conclusion,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
Though small and imperfect, Israel represents the right of a people to live and flourish.\n<\/p>\n
If you believe in a world of justice, peace, and true shalom, your support for Israel is vital, Stearns concluded.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tSilas Anast\u00e1cio is a leading figure in fostering relations between Brazil and Israel. An author, lecturer, and institutional strategist, he works to strengthen dialogue among leaders, defend religious freedom, and combat antisemitism.
\n
\nHis initiatives bridge the cultural, diplomatic, and social spheres, promoting projects that highlight Judeo-Christian roots and reinforce cooperation between communities and institutions.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Interview by Igor Sabino and Andr\u00e9 Lajst, StandWithUs Brazil A Unique Case in the Middle East Israel stands…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[4059,14116,470,10679,948,37,11783,6825,4499,14117,4500],"class_list":["post-215847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-brazil","tag-christian-zionism","tag-christianity","tag-democracy-in-israel","tag-education","tag-israel","tag-israel-us-relations","tag-jewish-education","tag-jewish-identity","tag-jewish-christian-relations","tag-standwithus"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116956016338622813","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}