Walking the halls of Congress in unified delegations, over 500 rabbis, pastors, and faith leaders took their advocacy directly to Capitol Hill this week for Israel Advocacy Day. Four sponsoring organizations – Eagles' Wings, American Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI), the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) USA, and the Israel Allies Foundation – built the initiative to turn interfaith solidarity with Israel into tangible political engagement.
Across 115 meetings with congressional offices on both sides of the political aisle, the delegations pressed senior legislative staff on issues central to the initiative. The day's proceedings concluded with addresses from Rep. Don Bacon, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter, and senior House Republican and Democratic staff – giving form to a broader drive by Jewish and Christian leaders to convert their backing for Israel, the Jewish people, and US faith communities into concrete advocacy.
Eagles' Wings Founder and President Robert Stearns framed the initiative as a turning point, demanding action where sentiment once sufficed. "This moment calls on faith leaders and elected officials to transform words into meaningful action," he said. "For years, many have stood with Israel in sentiment. This initiative is about translating that support into tangible engagement- meeting with policymakers, building relationships, and advancing solutions that can be seen, measured, and felt."
Rabbis and pastors are paired side by side in joint delegations for every congressional meeting – an arrangement organizers describe as the operational expression of a maturing Jewish-Christian partnership. Coordinated political action, not shared values alone, is what defines the model.
The agenda pressed three priorities: sustaining bipartisan support for Israel's security; confronting sharply escalating antisemitic incidents in the US and beyond; and strengthening protections for synagogues, churches, and religious institutions facing mounting threats.
Hundreds of Jewish and Christian leaders attended a high-profile gala tied to the initiative, including Eric Fingerhut, President and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, Rabbi Pini Dunner of the Beverly Hills Synagogue, and senior pastors, whose participation underscored the scope of interfaith support driving Israel Advocacy Day.
Honoring non-Jewish individuals who display courage and dedication to the Jewish community amid rising antisemitism, the White Rose Society Award was conferred at the gala on Dr. Susan Michael and Bishop Robert Stearns.
Grown from a small convening of dozens of leaders in the wake of Hamas' attack on October 7 into a large-scale, structured platform, the initiative now seats faith leaders as direct participants in policy conversations with elected officials on US relations with Israel and the global effort to combat antisemitism and extremism.
Stearns added his call for direct engagement. "At a time of rising violence against people of faith, especially in the United States, passive concern is no longer enough. We need direct, courageous engagement to confront hatred and harassment. When pastors and rabbis stand together in visible unity, elevating our shared concerns, real change begins, locally and across the nation. And in that unity, we don't just respond to darkness, we overcome it."
The multiplied impact of a unified Jewish-Christian voice was the focus of ICEJ USA President Dr. Susan Michael's remarks. "Our advocacy has much greater impact when we speak with one voice and stand in unity for truth, justice, and goodness. We demonstrate that support for Israel is not just a Jewish issue – it is important to Christians and to tens of millions of Americans."
With America's 250th anniversary months away, Israel Allies Foundation US Director Jordanna McMillan urged the nation's leaders to renew their commitment to Israel and religious freedom. "As we prepare to celebrate America's 250th anniversary this July, this moment is about defining what the next chapter of this nation will look like. America must continue to affirm its historic relationship with Israel, and our leaders must protect the religious freedom of every American. We want the Jewish people to know that they will never walk alone - Christians across the country stand united with them against antisemitism."
Eric Fingerhut, President and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, reflected on the violence the Jewish community has endured in recent years. "We have been living through a period that feels like a plague. From the October 7 attacks to just this last year, when we experienced the murder of two beautiful young people in DC, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, and just a month ago, a terrorist attack at one of the largest synagogues in America. This is what we've been living through together. But today, in Washington, with Jews and Christians sitting together, holding hands, determined to lift up the light for all the people of the world, the plague has lifted."
