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More than 200 students participated in the Christian Leaders Summit jointly organized by the Liberty University Center for Israel, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem-USA, and Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) on Thursday.
At the event, held on the Liberty University campus in Lynchburg, Virginia, Senior Counsel to the Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Civil Rights Leo Terrell was presented with the Beacon Award for Courage in recognition of his “exceptional contributions to the global fight against antisemitism, his deep and steadfast friendship with the Jewish people and State of Israel, and his resolute leadership in defending human dignity and standing unwaveringly for truth and freedom.”
In keynote remarks, Terrell said, “I’m so happy that Christians want to fight this battle against antisemitism. Antisemitism is not a Jewish issue. Antisemitism is an American issue and a Western civilization issue. And young people, we need you.”
Thursday’s forum aimed to equip students to recognize and confront Jew-hatred, understand the State of Israel’s biblical and historical significance, and respond to the proliferation of antisemitic rhetoric and disinformation, both in real life and online.
CAM Director of Christian Outreach and Engagement EJ Kimball told the students, “Being a leader is not doing what everyone wants. It’s doing what is needed. We need your courage to be leaders of the future, not just to fight antisemitism, but to fight for our country.”
ICEJ-USA President and Director of American Christian Leaders for Israel Dr. Susan Michael said, “It is imperative that Christians understand the dangerous forces behind antisemitism and aggressively stand against it vocally, politically, and prayerfully. It is a danger to all of us.”
Dr. Troy Temple — Dean of Liberty University’s John W. Rawlings School of Divinity and Director of its Center for Israel — noted, “Christians should reject antisemitism not merely because it’s socially destructive, because it most certainly is. We reject it because hatred and contempt for the Jewish people are profoundly inconsistent with the posture Paul commands of a Gentile believer in Romans Chapter 11.”
“If God is faithful to his promises to Israel, then you can trust him to be faithful to his promises to you,” Temple emphasized.
Featured summit speakers included: Former Auburn University Men’s Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl; former U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Elan Carr; Special Envoy of Israel to the Christian World Ambassador George Deek; international lawyer Natasha Hausdorff; Liberty University Center for Israel Senior Founding Fellow and Pepperdine University (Washington, D.C.) Vice Chancellor and Managing Director of Middle East Studies Reverend Dr. Johnnie Moore; Regent University Institute for Israel Studies Director Dr. A.J. Nolte; Liberty University Associate Professor of Law Eric Enlow; and CEO of The Babylon Bee Seth Dillon, among others.
Key programming topics included:
- Biblical and Historical Perspectives on Antisemitism
- Israel, the Church and Replacement Theology
- Just War Theory and the US-Israel Relationship
- Recognizing Antisemitic Rhetoric and Disinformation on Campus and Online
- Responding Effectively to Disinformation
“Every day, ask yourself, what would God do today?” Pearl told the students. “This will guide you to do great things.”
Carr said, “You are our future. On your worldview, on your decisions, on your leadership, the future of our country, and the future of our world, rest. For the last 30 years, the enemies of the United States have focused laser-like on poisoning the worldview of the next generation of Americans. That’s why college campuses, and now increasingly K-12 schools, are the front lines in the battleground for the soul of America.”
The gathering built on a previous Christian Leaders Summit hosted by the ICEJ-USA and CAM in Orlando, Florida, in November 2025.
Read more:Â
In Response to Rising Hate, Young Christian Leaders Mobilize Against Antisemitism
