Michele Chabin writing in Religion News Service:

Israel finds common cause with evangelicals

When Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee wrapped up a visit to Israel on Monday (Nov. 15) with 40 pastors in tow, he sought out the places where Jesus walked, preached and prayed some 2,000 years ago.

But there was another meeting on the itinerary that was a must-not-miss event for Hagee and his host: a sit-down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

… Christian Zionist support for Israel is at an all-time high, observers say, and Israelis, American Jews, and Palestinians are all taking notice – some favorable, some not.

While Israel has long courted financial and political support from evangelicals, many Jewish American leaders have viewed the alliance with suspicion, leery about potential proselytizing and uncomfortable with evangelicals’ domestic agenda at home.

Recently, though, the American Jewish community has found a new appreciation for evangelical support at a time of mounting international criticism of Israeli policy and financial hardships for many prominent Jewish groups.