The midterm elections have rocked the U.S. political system. Major demographic shifts indicated a desire for change among many communities, and on many key issues — including the U.S. approach to Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Middle East. There’s a growing movement for change, and Christian voices and voters are an important part of it.
According to an NBC News exit poll, the majority of voters (51%) believe U.S. support for Israel is “too strong” — including 79% of Democrats and 19% of Republicans. After the results came in, Vice President JD Vance said he believed one of the key demands of frustrated swing voters, including Republicans who shifted their votes, was to “change our relationship with Israel.”
Mae Elise Cannon
Candidates like Michigan’s Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed were open about their support for a new U.S. policy approach that prioritizes the fundamental human rights of Palestinians and Israelis — instead of more funding for bombs and weapons and endless sanctions for policies of violence, occupation and repression. He was joined by an emerging cohort of elected officials who explicitly leaned into their Christian beliefs and values on the campaign trail, informing their commitment to Israeli-Palestinian peace and justice.
Texas Senator-Elect James Talarico, who is pursuing a master of divinity degree at a Presbyterian seminary, has said the destruction in Gaza makes him “sick to (his) stomach” and that all U.S. aid to Israel needs to be conditioned on “ending the death and destruction” in Gaza and the West Bank.
Kansas Senator-elect Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, has visited Israel and the West Bank more than a dozen times, leading his congregation to meet with Palestinian Christians. During his campaign, he said, “I want to make sure Israel is safe. And I want them to stop dropping bombs on innocent people, and I don’t want them to drop the bombs that my taxes paid for on innocent people.”
Even more outspoken Christian voices will join them in the next Congress: Frederick Douglass Haynes III of Texas, senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church and a leader in the Progressive National Baptist Convention, the denomination associated with Martin Luther King Jr.; Lindsey James of Iowa (Presbyterian Church USA); Sarah Trone Garriott of Iowa (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America); Lakesha Womack of North Carolina (AME Zion Church).
Together, these leaders represent a significant shift toward more socially engaged Christian political leadership. They reflect a growing push among Christian communities for a new U.S. approach to Israel-Palestine — and a break with the failed policies that helped lead the region to the dark place it’s in now.
“For too long, American Christians have been widely misrepresented as being on the extremes of this issue.”
In my work as a Christian advocate for peace, justice and coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians, I meet regularly with congregations and pastors across the U.S. who are deeply disturbed by the destruction of Gaza, settler violence in the West Bank and a system of occupation that keeps Palestinians restricted and repressed. I also hear overwhelming concern for the plight of Christian communities in Palestine, Lebanon and the wider Middle East, who are receding in number and in danger of disappearing entirely.
Just a week before the election, a new declaration from hundreds of Christian bishops and leaders warned that “the birthplace of Christianity risks becoming a place where Christians remain only as visitors rather than living communities rooted in their historic homeland. We must act now, or Christians may all but disappear from the Middle East.” Signers included diverse American and international Christian leaders from across denominations — Episcopal, Catholic, Baptist, Mennonite, Orthodox and more.
For too long, American Christians have been widely misrepresented as being on the extremes of this issue. We are either painted as ardent Christian Zionists and unequivocal supporters of hawkish policies aligned with the Israeli government or marginalized as supposedly blinkered unilateral advocates for Palestinians. This is a misleading and inaccurate picture.
As the views of many of these newly elected officials show, a growing number of Christians in the United States believe the futures of Palestinians and Israelis are inextricably linked.
Unless there is an end to occupation and oppression of Palestinians, Jewish Israelis never will have safety and security. Ignoring the perpetuating fear in Israeli Jewish society will not lead to peace. Rather, policies that focus on ending the dehumanization of any people group and advocating for human rights, equality and the protection of basic human and civil rights for all people will be the most positive way forward.
Christians in the U.S. are increasingly raising their voices to say the atrocities and systemic repression continuing daily in Gaza and the occupied West Bank must be brought to an end. Blanket support for human rights abuses must be replaced with principled leadership toward peace and equality.
With new congressional majorities taking office and both parties set to hold competitive presidential primaries heading into 2028, voters from both parties, including many Christians, are making clear that we want and need change. Our politicians and church leaders should pursue and embrace policies rooted in human rights, tolerance and justice in the Middle East, so that all communities — including Jews, Christians, and Muslims — can survive and flourish alongside one another.
The mandate for change is unmistakable: For too long, the U.S. has been part of the problem in the Middle East. It’s time we became part of the solution.
Mae Elise Cannon serves as executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace.