In August 2025, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar travelled to Zambia to attend the opening ceremony of a new Israeli embassy in the country. The event was the latest in a series of somewhat haphazard attempts by Sa’ar and his deputy Sharren Haskel to assert Israel’s presence on the African continent in order to curb the growing influence of South Africa’s diplomatic activism for Palestine. It followed a controversial trip by Haskel to Nigeria and South Sudan, amidst reports of an Israeli plan to transfer Palestinians to the latter. A Christian nation according to its constitution, and a longstanding supporter of Israel at the international level, Zambia emerged as an obvious diplomatic investment in the southern part of the continent. With a new embassy in Lusaka, Israel hoped to leverage the bilateral relationship to undermine Pretoria and expand its influence into the wider region.
If Israel’s diplomatic scuffles against the backdrop of the Gaza genocide were the main impetus for the establishment of the new embassy, the rhetoric deployed during the opening ceremony left no doubt regarding the political imaginaries shaping the ties between Lusaka and Jerusalem. “I come from the land of Israel, where the Jewish people are realizing the ancient visions of the biblical prophets,” Sa’ar told the small audience that gathered for the event. “The prophets of the Bible envisioned that the Jewish people would return to the promised land—and so we did.” Describing the relationship between Zambia and Israel as “an alliance of believers,” he went on to explain that both are “nations of faith, with strong roots, who believe in a better future.” Israelis, he emphasized “believe that Zambia is a country of values—domestically and in its foreign policy.”
Sa’ar’s invocation of biblical prophecies and faith-based “values” was not coincidental. Christian rhetoric has become central to Israel’s diplomatic efforts in Africa. A key reason for this is the expansion of born-again and mostly Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity across the continent, and its growing tendency to engage in political argumentation. While different forms of metaphoric identification with biblical Israel were not uncommon among earlier generations of African Christians, in recent decades, many African Pentecostal churches have propagated explicit Christian Zionist political imaginaries that emphasize the importance of support for the literal, modern state of Israel. Israeli politicians and diplomats have strategically sought to promote and leverage such political imaginaries to advance their own interests. However, some of the very characteristics that render Pentecostal movements receptive to Christian Zionism, including their emphasis on individual devotion and their rejection of institutional authority, have also limited their capacity to influence policy on Israel’s behalf.
Israeli politicians and diplomats have strategically sought to promote and leverage [Christian Zionist] political imaginaries [in Africa] to advance their own interests
The Politics of Blessings
As a movement, theological orientation, or doctrine, “Christian Zionism” has proven notoriously difficult to define. The label refers, broadly, to Christian support for the modern state of Israel as a Jewish state. But the roots of this support are diverse, and different Christian Zionist groups have different orientations. Crucially, such differences notwithstanding, Christian Zionists commonly reject the notion that the Jewish People have lost their significance as God’s “chosen people” following their denial of the messiahship of Jesus. Arguing that this “replacement theology” is not supported by a literal reading of the Bible, they insist that the Jews continue to play a central role in divine history. They have a divine claim over the “promised land” in the Middle East, where they are expected to gather before the second coming of the Messiah, and, in line with God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, whoever “blesses” them (and therefore, also the modern Jewish state of Israel) will be rewarded with divine blessing.
Christian Zionist doctrines resonate powerfully with the literalist orientation of Pentecostal churches and their emphasis on divine truth, justice, and authority in a world they perceive to be dominated by satanic corruption and deception. Pentecostal Christianity has spread in Africa against the backdrop of the failure of post-colonial states, liberal institutions, and capitalist markets to produce meaningful forms of political authority or associate power and wealth with integrity and virtue. Productively engaging with and leveraging this failure, Pentecostalism has offered alternative notions of righteous authority, moral clarity and truth grounded in biblical texts, spiritual practices, and religious experience. Under the influence of American Evangelical movements, African Pentecostals have come to endorse Christian Zionist theologies that chime with this politico-religious worldview, rejecting “replacement theology” as a false doctrine imposed by colonial mainline churches, and subscribing to the notion that the modern state of Israel represents an index of divine truth. While some conservative Christian movements have traditionally been reluctant to engage with secular states and markets, in recent decades, many African Pentecostal churches have come to adopt a more proactive stance, proudly establishing themselves as both business empires and spiritual ventures that seek to dominate and reform political structures. Many Pentecostals do not fully reject state institutions or national identities but insist that these can only become virtuous through the faithful acts of individuals. In this context, Christian Zionist doctrines have been interpreted as calling upon both everyday citizens and political leaders to stand by Israel, as a means of promoting personal and national prosperity, engaging with biblical prophecy, and curbing ungodly or satanic influences. Promoting support for Israel, therefore, often alongside other causes such as anti-homosexuality, anti-contraception, and anti-abortion legislation, has become entangled in the broader Pentecostal pursuit of righteous authority and truth in a morally corrupt world.
Reaping Divine Favor
As a result, African Pentecostal mega-pastors have emerged as key interlocutors for Israeli diplomats and have often been willing to engage in public diplomacy on Israel’s behalf, leveraging their popularity and influence over public discourse. From Nigeria and Ghana to South Africa and Uganda, Israeli diplomats in Africa maintain close ties with Pentecostal leaders, and right-wing politicians and settler leaders in Israel have consistently sought to include them, alongside Evangelicals from other parts of the world, in their targeted advocacy efforts. Given Israel’s limited diplomatic infrastructure in Africa—Israeli embassies are few, government funding for international cooperation is almost non-existent, and humanitarian and development initiatives are episodic and blatantly opportunistic—the locally driven and funded publicity Pentecostals offer has been instrumental. The more or less explicit deployment of Christian Zionist rhetoric by Israeli officials in Africa testifies to their growing reliance on the power and influence of Pentecostal elites, who are often keen to pursue ties with Israeli diplomats and leaders to boost their profile and stature.
African Pentecostal mega-pastors have emerged as key interlocutors for Israeli diplomats and have often been willing to engage in public diplomacy on Israel’s behalf, leveraging their popularity and influence over public discourse.
Consider, again, the case of Zambia. Pentecostalism has been central to Zambia’s relationship with Israel. The country’s decision to restore diplomatic relations with Israel in 1991, for example, was attributed in part to the Pentecostal identity of its then newly elected President Frederick Chiluba, who also declared Zambia a “Christian nation.” Some high-profile born-again Christians posited that the reestablishment of ties with Israel would allow Zambia to prosper. “Zambia has cursed Israel in both word and attitude and we are still reaping the curse on our nation,” wrote Nevers Mumba, a high-profile Pentecostal who later launched a political career and became the vice-president of Zambia. “By being against Israel we are standing up against God and his will […] No wonder we lack progress.” Two months before the opening of the Israeli embassy in Lusaka in 2025, Zambia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mulambo Haimbe, visited Israel and toured the occupied West Bank as a guest of the Shomron Regional Council and its head Yossi Dagan. “God swore to Abraham that all the nations that bless the people of Israel will themselves be blessed,” Dagan duly reminded him during the visit. “You are blessing the State of Israel and the people of Israel, and especially the brave residents here in Samaria—the Land of the Bible.”
Following the opening of the embassy, a celebratory Pentecostal thanksgiving service was organized and was attended by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema alongside religious leaders and the Israeli ambassador. Speaking at the event, President Hakainde referred to Israeli humanitarian and development initiatives in Zambia. In the years and months preceding the opening of the embassy, Israel hosted Zambian agriculture students for internships, and Jewish philanthropies donated medical equipment to health facilities in Zambia. “We see God’s hand through what Israel has been doing,” the president said. The new Israeli ambassador to Zambia, Ofra Farhi, reiterated the “many common values and deep roots” the two nations share, while Pentecostal leaders claimed that “Zambia would reap more blessings than expected” thanks to its close ties with Israel, again echoing the Christian Zionist reading of God’s promise in Genesis 12:3.
Christian Zionist rhetoric has proven appealing not only for Israelis but also for African leaders struggling to cultivate political legitimacy.
Christian Zionist rhetoric has proven appealing not only for Israelis but also for African leaders struggling to cultivate political legitimacy. In Uganda, Pentecostal Christianity has expanded dramatically since the 1990s, while the ruling party, the National Resistance Movement, has gradually lost credibility due to its drift towards crude patronage politics and authoritarianism. An estimated 43% of the population of Uganda is estimated to be Protestant or Pentecostal; another 36% is Catholic; and Muslims constitute a minority of roughly 13%. Christian Zionism, in this setting, has been utilized to cultivate sacred legitimacy. Over the past decade, Uganda has been a central player in Israel’s diplomatic “return” to Africa, hosting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on two diplomatic visits (in 2016 and 2020) and facilitating Israel’s diplomatic engagements with Sudan. High-profile Ugandan Pentecostals have praised these developments. They emphasized that they would allow the country to “reap divine favour” by releasing it from its past sins, including its hostility towards Israel during the Idi Amin period, for which it has been punished with economic and political turmoil.
When, in January 2024, International Court of Justice (ICJ) Judge Julia Sebutinde, a devout Pentecostal Ugandan, was the only judge to side fully with Israel and vote against all provisional measures indicated by the court in the genocide case filed by South Africa, born-again Christians in her country rejoiced. “Justice Sebutinde’s judgment was informed by a profound Spiritual compass guided by timeless biblical teachings,” one Christian commentator observed, attributing Sebutinde’s vote to the divine promise in Genesis 12:3. “In a world plagued by geopolitical tensions and moral ambiguity, Justice Sebutinde’s unwavering commitment to righteousness and Spiritual principles serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration for jurists and scholars around the globe.” Ugandan First Daughter and Pentecostal pastor Patience Museveni Rwabwogo praised Sebutinde as a hero who made sure her nation remained “on the Lord’s side.” One Ugandan civil society organization even gave her an award for her “exemplary” behavior.
“The Lord is counting on me to stand on the side of Israel,” Judge Sebutinde later told believers at her Pentecostal church in Kampala, reflecting on her controversial stance in the genocide case. “I have a very strong conviction that we are in the End Times,” she added. “The signs are being shown in the Middle East. I want to be on the right side of history […] I am humbled that God has allowed me to be part of the last days.” While some Ugandan officials have distanced themselves from her position, for many Christians, Sebutinde represented an ideal: a devout born-again Christian in a position of power and influence, who, despite considerable opposition, remained committed to biblical truths and steered her nation in a Godly direction.
The Limits of Christian Zionist Advocacy
The strong appeal of Christian Zionist imaginaries notwithstanding, their translation into consequential policies or strategies at the national and international levels has been far from straightforward or consistent in Africa. While in Uganda and Zambia Christian Zionism has been deployed by political elites, more or less explicitly, as part of what may be described as a deliberate image management strategy, it has not fundamentally transformed the position of these countries in the international sphere. Uganda’s voting pattern at the United Nations, for example, has remained pro-Palestinian, in line with the stance of most African countries. Across the continent, a combination of demographic, organizational, and political factors has severely limited the policy influence of Christian Zionist doctrines. Instances in which these directly impact the decisions of leaders or national institutions, therefore, remain an exception rather than the rule.
Nigeria, often considered Africa’s Pentecostal powerhouse, is a good example. Christian Zionist beliefs are uncontroversial among Pentecostals in Nigeria, and several of the country’s most influential mega-pastors—Enoch Adejare Adeboye, Chris Oyakhilome, Paul Adefarasin, and the late prophet TB Joshua—have developed close ties with Israeli diplomats and politicians. Over the past two decades, cultivating ties in Israel, offering pilgrimage packages to church members, leading large delegations to the Holy Land, and sharing footage from visits to holy sites and from meetings with seemingly high-profile Israeli leaders have all become common branding strategies among Nigerian Pentecostal pastors. When Nigerian pilgrimage to Israel peaked in 2011, Nigerians visiting Israel outnumbered all other African tourists combined. Pastors have used engagements in Israel and with Israelis to elevate their prestige as respected, internationally connected, powerful men of God, and to pursue various religious and business ventures that they could frame in legitimate, spiritual terms. In the process, Christian Zionist doctrines were regularly deployed and gained considerable currency.
However, the influence of these doctrines on national political agendas in Nigeria or its foreign policy has been limited. Nigeria’s position towards Israel and Palestine has historically been shaped by its wider ties across the Middle East as an oil-producing country, and by the attempts of its leaders to balance the political demands of Muslim and Christian constituencies. The country’s religious demographics (about half of the population is Muslim), its constitutional secularity, and a political architecture that preconditions institutional religious engagements with state power on a degree of ecumenical and interfaith collaboration have all discouraged high-profile Pentecostals from engaging in explicit pro-Israel advocacy at the national level. While during the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan (2010–2015), a Christian who was close to Pentecostal circles, Christian Zionist rhetoric was indeed deployed to legitimize a brief warming of ties between Israel and Nigeria, this rhetoric has not refashioned the country’s stance towards Israel.
Across the continent, the anti-institutional orientation of Pentecostal movements has limited their political impact. Pentecostal faiths focus on the religious commitments and experiences of individuals, not institutions. They tend to reject forms of hierarchical authority and spiritual mediation, emphasizing instead direct engagement with the Holy Spirit. This is one reason Pentecostal movements are infamous for schisms and institutional fragmentation, and it bears heavily on their capacity to engage in collective action and structured policy conversations. Collaboration between individual believers and charismatic leaders through fellowships, prayer ministries, or loosely defined networks at different scales is very common. But there is strong aversion to the delegation of authority to representative forums or umbrella organizations. It is notable that African Pentecostals have not formed strong institutions dedicated to Christian Zionist advocacy at the continental or regional levels. Even within specific countries like Nigeria or Uganda, Christian Zionist advocacy is often undertaken by ephemeral coalitions and networks rather than robust, enduring institutions.
Across the continent, the anti-institutional orientation of Pentecostal movements has limited their political impact.
It is this anti-institutional tendency of Pentecostal movements that has also made it difficult for external advocacy groups to leverage grassroots support for Christian Zionism for policy change. Multiple international Christian Zionist lobby groups have engaged with religious leaders and politicians in Africa, at times in collaboration with Israeli diplomats. These include, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), which promotes support for Israel and the Jewish people among Christians, the Israel Allies Foundation (IAF), which works to mobilize politicians and parliamentarians around the world, as well as the Africa-Israel Initiative (AII), a European Christian Zionist group focusing on missionary work and advocacy in Africa. In 2024, the latter two organizations convened the inaugural Africa-Israel Parliamentary Summit in Addis Ababa, in collaboration with the Israeli Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, then co-chaired by Sharren Haskel who is now Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. While such external actors have been able to identify willing Pentecostal interlocutors across Africa, the influence of these interlocutors at the national level remains ambiguous at best.
As elsewhere, Pentecostalism in Africa echoes a right-wing, conservative stance that locates value and virtue in the realm of fundamentalist beliefs and personal devotion rather than in the sphere of the market or the state. It endorses individual liberties and democratic institutions to the extent that these enable its expansion, but encourages interventionist governance and legitimizes authoritarianism when these are pursued in accordance with its spiritual program. Pentecostalism regards states and nations as entities that can be brought closer to God through the courageous acts and spiritual commitments of individuals, and Christian Zionist doctrines provide clear and actionable prescriptions for how this can be done. The focus of Pentecostals on individual faith and their chronic suspicion of institutional authority and secular national and multilateral institutions render Christian Zionism an appealing political imaginary among them and, by implication, a powerful instrument of Israeli public diplomacy in Africa. However, it is also these characteristics that have so far limited its immediate policy impact on the continent.
Yotam Gidron is a postdoctoral researcher in the department of social and cultural anthropology at KU Leuven. He is the author of Nuer Messianic Judaism: Truth and Mediation in the Ethiopia-South Sudan Borderlands (Cambridge University Press, 2026) and Israel in Africa: Security, Migration, Interstate Politics (Zed Books, 2020).
Image made by Alberto Polimeni using “2010 signs Lusaka Zambia” by Procsilas Moscas licensed under CC BY 2.0; “Ruth Hecktin with Nyirenda. D656-093” in the public domain in Israel.
