More than one thousand American Christian leaders and influencers visited ancient Shiloh last Friday, in what organizers described as the flagship event of the largest public‑diplomacy mission in Israel’s history. The delegation toured the site in the Binyamin region, prayed for the State of Israel, and expressed their solidarity.
Dr. Mike Evans of the Friends of Zion (FOZ) organization, who initiated the mission together with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Binyamin Regional Council, spoke with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News during the visit and emphasized the scale of the visiting group. “We have over a thousand American leaders who represent tens of millions of Americans. Over 220 of them are connected to President Donald Trump. Very significant,” he said. He added that many participants lead media networks and pastors’ organizations and came “to support the state of Israel and the Jewish people and to become official ambassadors to combat the ideological war of radicalism.”
Evans linked the group’s presence in Shiloh to both historical and strategic concerns. “The ones who kill Jews also want to kill Christians,” he stated. Citing the 9‑11 attacks, he said, “The firewall between radical Islam and America is only a tiny state called Israel. This is our protection. If Israel’s weakened, they will hit us.” He noted that more than 40 Israeli leaders were briefing the delegation and that the visitors were learning “the significance of Judea and Samaria, not only biblically, historically, but also security-wise for the state of Israel.”
Eliana Passentin, International Desk Director for the Binyamin Regional Council, also spoke with Arutz Sheva during the visit and highlighted the scope of the mission’s influence. “Behind these 1,000 ambassadors are 52 million followers, fifty‑two million people who will come to Israel, who will come to the place of the tabernacle,” she said. “This has so much meaning for the state of Israel because our message, we are the people of the land of the Bible. This is our heritage. This is our story. Not what the world is mistakenly calling this area, the West Bank. This is Judea and Samaria. This is the biblical heartland. This is where 80% of the stories of the Tanakh, of the Bible, occurred.”
Passentin described the return of large groups to the site after years of quiet. “For two long years, it was so silent you could hear the birds chirping. No one was here. And today, a thousand leaders from all over the United States have come together to become ambassadors. Ambassadors for Israel. Ambassadors for the land of the Bible.”
She added that the atmosphere at the site was “wonderful and so exciting,” with prayers, singing, and tour groups filling the area. “It’s bringing Shiloh back to life. The first capital city of Israel. The place of the tabernacle. The birthplace of prayer.”
Participants are continuing their weeklong program, during which they are learning about Israel and preparing, in Passentin’s words, “to be our voice all over the United States of America.”