NPR

As U.S. Jews Cool To Israel, Evangelicals Flock There As Tourists

Evangelicals are emerging as the most reliable U.S. supporters of the Israeli government and the fastest growing segment of the Israeli tourism market.
Sharon Litton of Shreveport, La., is baptized by immersion in the Jordan River, where Jesus is said to have been baptized. Such baptisms are a staple of evangelical tours of Israel.

President Trump's evident desire to identify who's most "loyal" to Israel has a clear winner: U.S. evangelicals.

Not only do they outpace U.S. Jews in their support for policies that favor the Israeli government, U.S. evangelicals have also become the fastest growing sector of the Israeli tourism market. The developments may even be related.

"I'd say close to 100 percent of our travelers come back extremely pro-Israel in their political views," says Pastor Andy Cook, who leads evangelical tours of the Holy Land twice a year.

Back to its roots

Tourist travel to Israel is growing about 10 percent a year, according to Eyal Carlin, the incoming North America director of the Israeli Tourism Ministry, with evangelical Christians a growing share

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR2 min read
New Banksy Mural In North London Puts A Little Greenery In A Dense Neighborhood
Banksy posted before-and-after photos on Instagram of the artwork, which provides a burst of green foliage to a denuded, severely pruned tree in Islington North.
NPR2 min read
NASA Astronaut Tom Stafford, Famed For U.S.-Soviet Orbital Handshake, Has Died At 93
Tom Stafford commanded the first Apollo mission to dock with a Soviet craft in space. He also served as commander of Apollo 10 - the dress rehearsal before NASA's first landing on the moon in 1969.
NPR4 min read
Photographer David Johnson, Who Chronicled San Francisco's Black Culture, Dies At 97
Johnson studied with Ansel Adams in the 1940s and became known as one of the foremost photographers of San Francisco's Black urban culture.

Related Books & Audiobooks