Thousands gathered at a Texas church last Sunday for the annual Night to Honor Israel, hosted by Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christians United For Israel (CUFI).
The event was held at the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, one of multiple events held by CUFI, which now boasts some seven million members, in honor of the State of Israel.
The gathering also marked the one-year anniversary of the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in US history, which left 11 dead and six wounded, after a gunman broke into the Tree of Life Synagogue and opened fire on worshippers.
During the event, CUFI raised over $1.35 million for Jewish and Israeli charities, with the goal of combating anti-Semitism, Fox News reported.
The recipients of the donated funds include the Afikim Family Enrichment Association, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Bikur V’Ezras Cholim, Galilee Medical Center, Just One Life, Koby Mandell Foundation, Nefesh B’Nefesh, Ohr Torah Stone, Save a Child’s Heart, Shurat Hadin, The American Friends of the International Young Israel Movement and the Women’s International Zionist Organization.
“Think about it, never in the history of Christianity have millions of Christians united for the sole purpose of defending the nation of Israel and to protect the Jewish people from every vestige of anti-Semitism," said Hagee Sunday night.
"Anti-Semitism is a daily event in America and is something that should concern us all.”
Conservative pundit Mark Levin also spoke at the Night to Honor Israel, lauding the US-Israel relationship and the Trump administration, while lamenting the rise in anti-Semitism.
The US and Israel are “forever bound”, said Levin, adding that the American people “love Israel”.
Levin went on to call Israel “the one place that Christians flourish in the Middle East.”