What Happened When 1,000+ Jews and Christians United for Israel in WA State

The following post was shared by a member of UW Jewish Alumni, who attended the Christians Unite for Israel event.

Pastor Russell has been a passionate defender of the Jewish and Israeli community on University of Washington campus since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

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On Monday, December 2, 2024 several of us joined Pursuit Church NW for an evening billed as Christians Unite for Israel (CUFI). Pastor Hagee, CUFI’s legendary founder, was the keynote guest, and he shared his lifelong mission to unite Christians & Jews in support of Israel and to end Jew hatred. His leadership and passion were so inspiring.

As an elder statesman of CUFI, Pastor Hagee was unexpectedly funny and also tough as nails. When hecklers tried to disrupt, he led 1,000+ of us in a thunderous chant of “Israel Lives!” that drowned them out. Yes, we cried.

Sandra Hagee Parker, CUFI Action Fund’s powerhouse Advocacy Chairwoman, and Hagee's daughter, was forceful, direct and totally unapologetic about the mission and her bipartisan work in D.C. She was fire.

When Pastor Hagee asked, “Aren’t you glad she’s on our side?” all we could think was, "Amen."

The evening culminated in a BIG announcement: Pastor Russell Johnson of Pursuit Church NW was named CUFI’s WA State Director. The energy in the room when this was announced was electric. It takes real guts to step into this role, especially in Washington state, where Jew hatred comes from both the far left and the far right. Pastor Russell, we pray God bless you with wisdom, judgement, strength and safety as you take on this role.

Finally, we must admit that for Jews, millennia of history has made us often wary of allyships. (Just this past May our trust was broken once again when so-called progressive "allies" kicked Jewish partners out of a planned Wing Luke exhibit on Confronting Hate. #irony) So it was all the more meaningful that CUFI leaders went out of their way to acknowledge this history, welcome us in, and assure us that we are all together under one God. We saw this in real time when, after a lovely performance of the Star Spangled Banner , young leaders from Stand With Us NW were invited up to sing Hatikva, Israel's national anthem.

Congratulations again to Pastor Russell. Thank you for including is in a deeply moving night. It was a powerful reminder of what's possible.