African Christian leaders tour Israel amid growing diplomatic outreach
A delegation of 14 African Christian leaders from four countries is visiting Israel this week, amid increased outreach to tens of millions of Christian supporters across the continent.
The faith-based trip highlights the diplomatic tug-of-war between supporters and opponents of the Jewish state in Africa, home to more Christians than any other continent. While South Africa has emerged as one of the fiercest critics of Israel worldwide, other African countries have pushed back and are now further strengthening ties rooted in a mix of shared interests and faith.
“It has literally blown my mind how you can use the desert and make it productive,” said Kenyan Bishop Paul Karanja, who was on his first trip to the Holy Land and expressed astonishment at seeing bananas blooming in the Israeli desert.
Karanja organized a march for Israel in the Kenyan capital last year to counter local and global anti-Israel activity, underscoring the biblical foundation for participants support of the Jewish state and seeking to cause an awakening among Christians in Africa.
“Our destiny will not be secured if we cannot connect ourselves to Israel,” he said.
Ugandan Pastor Drake Kanaabo said that Israel needs to further its outreach to young Africans who are less connected to the Bible and the history of African-Israeli relations than their parents, and who, like their counterparts around the globe, are susceptible to negative social media reports about Israel.
“The young generations know Israel according to social media, and what they see and hear is negative,” he said. “Israel has to step up countering bad news with good news.”
The pastor said nothing compares to a visit to the Holy Land.
“You land in the land of the past, present and the future, and it gives you the biblical picture,” he said. “You can study theology, but when you come here you have the spirit of the Land by walking in the land of the Bible. There is no other such place in the world.”
The weeklong tour, which was organized by the Israeli embassy in Kenya in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem and included Christian leaders from Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda, crisscrossed the country and included holy places as well as tech centers and a site from the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks.
With 600 million Christians and 54 U.N. votes at stake, including 30 Christian-majority countries, Israel has homed in on the strategic value of religious diplomacy on the continent at a time of international opprobrium over the fallout from the war in Gaza, growing antisemitism in the West, and continued persecution of Christian in Africa.
“In 30 years, Christians in sub-Saharan Africa will make up 40% of Christians all over the world,” Israel’s special envoy to the Christian world, Ambassador George Deek, told JNS on Wednesday. “Israel attaches great importance to its relationship with Africa and wants them to see Israel as their home, if not politically then biblically and culturally.”
‘Israel is coming back to Africa, and Africa is coming back to Israel.’
“As a Malawian, we regard Israel as a partner,” said Pastor Matilda Matabwa. “You hear on the news that Africa is isolated, but Africa is in support of Israel.”
“Be strong,” advised Kenyan Bishop Abraham Mulwa. “We are with you.”
Pastor Kanaabo recounted the words of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a decade ago, at the 40th anniversary of the Entebbe rescue mission: ‘Israel is coming back to Africa, and Africa is coming back to Israel.’
“It was just a matter of putting this into action,” Kanaabo said. “We are seeing this being realized.”
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