I Stand With Israel – ‘The Counter Protest’ Will Be held Oct. 5 in NYC

Bishop Robert Stearns, the founder and executive director of Eagles Wings, is exhorting the church to stand with Israel during this “Bonhoeffer moment.”

On October 5, Eagles Wings and the Israel Christian Nexus will host a Counter Protest at Bryant Park in Manhattan. The event is a chance for Christians to show their support for Israel during a scheduled anti-Israel protest in the city.  Sign up for the Counter Protest at https://bonhoeffer.org/protest.

Ever since the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 – the worst crimes committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust – there has been an unprecedented sense of urgency in Stearns’ voice. In an Instagram post earlier this year, he called for Christians to not be silent, likening the current moment in history to what was happening in Nazi Germany prior to World War II.

“I want to call you to understand that this is our Bonhoeffer moment,” he said. “This is the moment to get loud. On our soil, in our generation, we’ve got to lift our voice loudly and clearly. The Bible says, ‘For Zion’s sake, I will not be silent.’ For Jerusalem’s sake, I will not be still.’”

The website for the counter-protest and the Bonhoeffer Declaration proclaims that standing with Israel is “an expression of the Scripture’s call to fight hate, and we accept this responsibility with penitent hearts, inspired by the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.”

“Just as in Bonhoeffer’s era, the Church is tempted to be silent when hate and antisemitism raise their head.

“This silence is unacceptable. It is immoral and unbiblical. It is anti-Jesus and anti-Christ. We cannot sit quietly and leave unchallenged the existential threat Israel faces on its borders and the antisemitism Jews face around the world.”

Christians can also sign the Bonhoeffer Declaration, a document that stands as a commitment “to combat antisemitism in our communities, nation, and the world.reject all forms of racism and semitism…” Signers of the document include many prominent Christian leaders, including Dr. A.R. Bernard, Anne Graham Lotz, Greg Laurie, Samuel Rodriguez, Mike Huckabee, Joni Lamb, Heidi Baker, Os Guinness, Jentezen Franklin, Tommy Reid, Steve Strang, and several others.