Dear Christians, A Word About Israel

Dear Christians, A Word About Israel

I’ve been to Israel since October 7, walking through the devastated kibbutzim with heroes like Dr. Iftak Gepner, standing at the site of the Nova music festival where so many young lives were stolen. But nothing hit me harder than spending two full days with Nissim and Ricarda Louk, the parents of Shani Louk.

You probably remember Shani. She became the face of that day’s evil—a beautiful young woman, full of life, dragged from the festival, murdered, her body paraded through Gaza in the back of a pickup truck like a trophy. When I saw those images, I saw my own daughters in her. It broke me. Yet Nissim and Ricarda told me, “Keep showing that video. Keep saying her name.” They want the world to never forget the brutality of what Hamas did. So to Nissim and Ricarda, if you’re reading this: we love you, we bless you, and your courage inspires us all.

What’s haunted me just as much is watching antisemitism explode across America in the wake of October 7—especially on our elite university campuses. Protests popped up overnight, identical tents, identical talking points, identical handbooks. It wasn’t spontaneous; it was organized. And the indoctrination pouring into our kids through platforms like TikTok? Heartbreaking.

But here’s what cuts deepest as a pastor: seeing strands of antisemitism creep into parts of the Christian church. Social media posts, comments, even sermons that twist Scripture to justify hatred toward Jewish people. Friends, let me say this as plainly as I can:

ANTISEMITISM IS COMPLETELY INCOMPATIBLE WITH FOLLOWING JESUS. PERIOD.

A lot of this poison traces back to something called replacement theology—or supersessionism. It’s the idea that God has canceled His covenants with the Jewish people and “replaced” Israel with the church. Think about that for a second. We serve a perfect, covenant-keeping God, and we’re claiming He broke His eternal promises to the very people He chose? That’s not just bad theology—it’s dangerous.

Replacement theology is man-made, it contradicts Scripture, and history shows where it leads. The German church in the 1930s—the so-called “Deutsche Christen” movement—embraced versions of this thinking. Thousands of pastors stayed silent while Jewish neighbors were persecuted, rounded up, and murdered. Silence in the face of evil is complicity.

We cannot repeat that mistake today. The church must reject replacement theology outright. God’s promises to Israel stand. The Jewish people are still His chosen people, and we are grafted in—not the other way around. Standing with Israel isn’t just good politics; it’s biblical faithfulness.

So here’s my charge to every believer reading this: Speak up. Pray boldly. Support Israel without apology. Refuse to let antisemitism take root in our hearts, our churches, or our nation. The world needs warriors right now—not spectators.

We will remember October 7. We will say Shani’s name. And we will stand—unashamed, unwavering—with God’s people.

—Pastor Travis Johnson

---

Watch the full YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/eaU0bsfRMec?si=p6xd9Mz4lLuCHvC3