Mike Evans has spent decades cultivating influence at the intersection of evangelical Christianity, Israeli politics and American conservatism. From advising political leaders to founding the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem, Evans has become one of the most recognizable Christian Zionist figures in the world, and one of Israel’s most vocal defenders abroad.
Now, amid growing global polarization over Israel, the veteran evangelical leader says the Jewish state is fighting far more than a military battle.
“The anti-Semitic war is an ideological war, it’s a media war, it’s a proxy war, it’s an economic war,” Evans said during an interview in Jerusalem. “Israel cannot win this war alone.”
Interview with Dr.Mike Evans
(Visual: Shmulik Davidpur, Sound: Gili Freedman)
Evans arrived in Israel days earlier for a packed schedule of meetings, including a visit to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his court appearance in Tel Aviv. The visit, Evans said, reflected a friendship spanning nearly half a century.
A friendship spanning decades
“The first meeting I had a few hours after I arrived was in Tel Aviv at the courts,” Evans said. “I went there to support my Jewish friend for 46 years, Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Their relationship, he recalled, began shortly after the death of Netanyahu’s brother, Yonatan Netanyahu, the commander killed during the 1976 Entebbe rescue operation. Evans described visiting the Netanyahu family in 1980 while the future prime minister was still grieving.
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Mike Evans, one of the most recognizable Christian Zionist figures in the world
(Photo: From the interview)
“I saw the pain. It was enormous in his eyes,” Evans said. “And I said, can I pray for you?”
He told Netanyahu at the time: “Out of the ashes of your despair will come strength from God, and you will be the prime minister of Israel.”
According to Evans, Netanyahu’s father, historian Benzion Netanyahu, was unimpressed by the prediction. “He screamed and said, ‘I let a moron in the house, but not an ordinary one. This is the authentic moron,’” Evans recounted.
‘Israel cannot win this war alone’
While evangelical support for Israel has traditionally been viewed as one of the strongest pillars of pro-Israel sentiment in the United States, recent surveys have pointed to growing generational divides among younger Christians. Evans dismissed suggestions that support for Israel is collapsing among younger evangelicals, arguing instead that evangelical organizations are adapting to a rapidly changing digital landscape.
“We are in a process of re-educating the next generation,” he said, pointing to large-scale social media campaigns targeting younger audiences. “University campuses poisoned them,” Evans claimed. “Now they’re using AI to do it through social media.”
For Evans, the battle surrounding Israel is no longer confined to military operations or diplomacy. “The antisemitic war is an ideological war,” he repeated. “It’s a media war.”
Visual: Shmulik Davidpur, Sound: Gili Freedman
He argued that Israel’s enemies have succeeded in shaping the global narrative. “He who defines the terms controls the debate,” Evans said later in the interview. “And perception controls reality.”
Why evangelicals still back Israel
Despite the political tensions surrounding Israel in the United States, Evans insisted evangelical backing remains deeply rooted in religion rather than party politics.
“A Christian Zionist only has one thing in common and that is Genesis 12:1-3,” Evans said, referring to the biblical passage promising blessings to those who bless Abraham’s descendants.
“That doesn’t mean they agree with Israel’s policies,” he added. “It means that they believe God chose it, this is God’s promised land.” Evans said the majority of global Zionists today are not Jewish but evangelical Christians. “The majority of Zionists in the world are not Jewish,” he said. “They’re 750 million of us globally.”
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with evangelical community leaders in Florida
(Photo: From the interview)
The childhood trauma that shaped his mission
During the interview, Evans spoke candidly about growing up in an abusive household shaped by antisemitism and violence. He described those experiences as foundational to his lifelong support for Jews and Israel.
“My mother was Jewish,” Evans said. “She named me after her grandfather, Rabbi Michael Katz Nelson, who was burnt to death in his synagogue with 2,000 Jews.” According to Evans, his father frequently returned home drunk, physically abused his mother and directed antisemitic insults toward the family.
“He never called me son. He never said I love you,” Evans recalled. “He almost killed me twice.”
The moment that shaped Mike Evans' life
(Visual: Shmulik Davidpur, Sound: Gili Freedman)
Evans described one violent incident when he was 11 years old and said the experience changed the course of his life. “When I said, ‘Why was I born?’ I knew the answer,” he said. “I couldn’t defend one Jew against a Jew hater. I was born to defend all the Jews.”
That mission, he said, has guided his public work ever since.
Quiet diplomacy in the Arab world
Evans also discussed what he described as years of “quiet diplomacy” with leaders across the Middle East. Though he stressed he holds no formal government role, he claimed to have met frequently with influential figures in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the region.
“I can tell you about MBS in Saudi Arabia,” Evans said, referring to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “He’s more pro-Israel than most Jews.” According to Evans, Gulf leaders increasingly view Israel as an essential strategic partner because of security cooperation and technological innovation.
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Quiet diplomacy in the Arab world. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the President of Egypt
(Photo: From the interview)
“Israel has a secret weapon,” he said. “It’s called anti-terror and technology for peace.” He linked those interests directly to the Abraham Accords and suggested regional leaders are often far more favorable toward Israel privately than public discourse suggests.
“He said the Palestinians have wasted our money,” Evans recalled of conversations with the Saudi crown prince. “They should copy Israel, not fight Israel.”
Evans: Trump ‘will not back down’ on Iran
The discussion later turned to Iran and Donald Trump, whom Evans described as uniquely willing to confront Tehran. “Donald Trump is the only president in my lifetime who would dare to stand up to Iran the way he did,” Evans said.
He credited Trump with helping secure hostage releases and warned against underestimating the former president’s willingness to escalate pressure on the Iranian regime if challenged.
“You don’t play Donald Trump for the fool,” Evans said. “The regime are liars and they will not keep their promises.” Evans characterized Iran’s leadership as “an Islamic mafia” and insisted Trump would never repeat the engagement policies pursued by former president Barack Obama.
“I can tell you for sure Donald Trump is not going to give Iran the money,” Evans said. “He won’t do it.”
Predicting America’s political future
Toward the end of the interview, Evans turned to American politics and predicted that Trump’s political movement would continue shaping the Republican Party long after he leaves office.
“What’s Donald Trump’s number one priority when he leaves office? It’s his legacy,” Evans said. That, he predicted, will determine Trump’s preferred successor. “So here’s the ticket I believe will be the next election,” Evans said. “It’ll be Marco Rubio for president and it’ll be Ivanka Trump for vice president.”
He argued Ivanka Trump could attract women and centrist voters while preserving Trump’s broader political movement. “She’s intelligent, she’s likable, she’s brilliant,” Evans said. “Eight years from now after that, you’ll become the president of the United States.”
A global October 7 prayer initiative
Much of Evans’ focus now centers on building what he describes as a worldwide ideological and spiritual movement in support of Israel. One major initiative is a planned global prayer event at Jerusalem’s Western Wall on October 7, marking the anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel.
“It could be 10 million,” Evans said of projected participation worldwide. “Every nation on earth will join us and they’ll pray in their own languages.” The event, he said, is designed not only as a religious gathering but as a global show of solidarity with Israel during what he views as an ongoing battle over legitimacy and public perception.
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Evangelical Christians march in a demonstration of support for Israel in Jerusalem in 2016
(Photo: AFP)
“We’re working on a campaign for 1 billion views,” Evans said. “We’re bringing 1,000 more pastors here to be commissioned as ambassadors.” He repeatedly returned to the idea that Israel cannot fight the international media and narrative battle alone.
“The media determines when a war begins and the war ends,” Evans said. “So we have to fight these wars and Israel cannot fight them without us.”