Arutz Sheva spoke with Dr. Mike Evans, Founder of Friends of Zion, at the opening of the new media center in the Friends of Zion Heritage Center in Jerusalem earlier this week.
Dr. Evans was excited to show off the new, state of the art, $100 million wing added to the center. The center's purpose, said Evans, is to create a large social network that creates emissaries for Israel all over the globe defending it against anti-Semitism.
Friends of Zion boasts an impressive following of 67 million people on Facebook, "larger than Donald Trump's twitter following," Evans jokingly pointed out. By teaming with large social media platforms, he continued, FOZ is able to actively work to improve Israel’s image, and the new media center will only boost that.
Evans recently met with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Bin Salman, in Riyadh where they discussed how the Prince has started to reeducate Saudis about anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. The Prince, Evans said, has seen the error of previous generations and wishes to move closer to Israel.
The Friends of Zion founder first began his pro-Israel activism during the premiership of Menachem Begin. Evans recalled his concerns at the time that his support and the support of other Christian Zionists for the Israeli government could be misconstrued as tacit support by Begin for missionary work.
"I started with Begin, Menachem Begin," said Evans, noting that Christian Zionists have been visiting Israel and working with it some 40 years.
When Evans expressed concern that Begin could be criticized if the public misinterpreted Christian Zionist support for missionary work, implying that Begin’s government was working with missionaries, the prime minister responded "If they criticize me, I’ll stand on their papers it makes me look taller.”
Dr. Evans participated in the Christian Media Summit in Jerusalem and explained how important Christian media is, with some 4,000 TV stations and countless viewers.
One of 25 Evangelical Christian advisers to President Trump, Evans enjoys direct access to the president and his team, "they're like family," Evans explained.
Evans argued that Israel has no reason to be concerned about the future American peace plan for the Middle East, citing Trump’s track record with Israel, including recognizing Jerusalem and limiting the PLO's operations in the US. Dr. Evans foresees President Trump recognizing Judea and Samaria as part of Israel and even "kissing the Jordan Valley."
Regarding the 2020 US presidential election, Evans is confident that Trump will be reelected, thanks in large part to the Evangelical voting base, which he said "will vote for him 100%."
Evans concluded that he lives a happy and fulfilled life because he has devoted his life to a cause greater than himself which is a "battle between darkness and light." He has committed himself to combating anti anti-Semitism and will continue to do so, believing that Israel is a buffer between radical Islam and the West.