One day after being not fired by his board of trustees, Brent Leatherwood joined a select group of evangelical leaders for a private meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, D.C.
Leatherwood, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, had been wrongly terminated by his board chairman Monday — apparently for saying President Joe Biden had demonstrated selflessness in leaving the presidential race. By the next morning, he had been reinstated and the board chairman, Kevin Smith, resigned from the board.
Only 36 hours after being reinstated, Leatherwood joined other pro-Israel evangelical luminaries for the meeting with Netanyahu, who continues to prosecute what many other Christians believe is an unjust war against the Palestinians of Gaza while promoting expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the Palestinian lands of the West Bank.
Brent Leatherwood (right) with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photo via X)
The SBC has been solidly in Netanyahu’s corner, however. At the denomination’s annual meeting in June, messengers adopted a pro-Israel resolution supported by Leatherwood and the ERLC.
Netanyahu wrote on X: “Last night in Washington, my wife Sara and I had the pleasure of meeting with U.S. evangelical community leaders. I expressed my deep appreciation for their unwavering support of Israel, especially during these challenging times. Hearing their prayers for the return of the hostages, the well-being of our soldiers, and the security of the state of Israel was profoundly moving. I also thanked them for their vigorous efforts in engaging the community’s young people and fostering continued support for Israel. I am well aware of their deep commitment to our country and their steadfast support for the truth and our shared values.”
The ERLC X account gave this report: “Grateful for the opportunity @LeatherwoodERLC had to meet yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The prime minister expressed his deep appreciation for evangelicals, especially Southern Baptists.”
Leatherwood offered more commentary on his own X page, saying, “I let him know that Israel has — especially after the horrible attacks of Oct. 7 — the fervent prayers of so many Southern Baptists.”
He added: “The prime minister expressed his deep appreciation for evangelicals, especially Southern Baptists. We are coordinating a meeting with the Israeli embassy to formally present this resolution later this year on behalf of our churches.”
Leatherwood said he “thanked him for the work his government did in coordination with U.S. State Department and with us at the @ERLC to ensure the safety of so many SBC churches that had groups in Israel on that terrible day.”
“I relayed how these efforts helped fuel the passage of a significant SBC resolution in June signaling the SBC’s belief in both Israel’s right to exist and defend itself from Hamas terrorists. Once again, resolutions are profoundly helpful for our work,” Leatherwood tweeted.
According to Jewish News Syndicate, others at the evangelical meeting included Christians United for Israel Pastor John Hagee, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Philos Project Executive Director Luke Moon, televangelist Paula White, Friends of Zion chairman Mike Evans and Jordanna McMillen, U.S. director of the Israel Allies Caucus Foundation.
Paula White leads the evangelical group supporting former U.S. President Donald Trump in his reelection bid.
Benjamin Netanyahu (far right back) speaks with pro-Israel evangelical leaders in Washington, D.C. (Photo via Benjamin Netanyahu X page)
“The prime minister heard from them about their prayers for the return of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, for the peace of Israeli soldiers and for the security of the state of Israel,” JNS reported. “Netanyahu also thanked the evangelicals for their energetic activity among the youth of their community to encourage continued support for Israel.
“Our message today to the prime minister and to the Jewish people of Israel and the United States, (is) that the Christians of America stand solidly with Israel,” Hagee told JNS.
“We are appalled at the way our government has been treating the Jewish people, and we want the people of Israel to know that we are steadfastly supporting them. We feel that they have every right to be totally victorious in this military conflict.”
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council told JPS: “Israel and the Jewish people have no greater supporter, ally and friend than evangelical, Bible-believing Christians in this country. We share the book and the values. And as believers, we believe what Genesis 12 says, that ‘those who bless Israel will be blessed.’ And so while many of the world are turning away, we will not.”
Perkins then gave a U.S. presidential endorsement as part of his comments: “As evangelicals, we vote for candidates who are most closely aligned with biblical principles and the truths that we live by. And obviously we’ve seen a clear division in the two parties in this country. And the last administration, President Trump, was the one who was most clearly aligned.”
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