This evening in Manhattan, “The Great Israeli Real Estate Event” will be advertising land available for sale in Gush Etzion, a cluster of illegal West Bank settlements, while also making legal, tax, and banking services available for those who want to become settlers, according to the event’s publicly listed information. Despite the commercial and internationally illegal nature of the event, it is being hosted at a religious institution, Park East Synagogue on the Upper East Side.
Previous events have drawn protesters and counter-protesters, leading to charges of antisemitism leveled at the protesters for demonstrating near a synagogue. The protesters have countered that it is inappropriate to use a religious institution to shield such a contentious practice. A spokesperson for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined to comment on the Israeli real estate expo. In the wake of previous protests, the New York City Council, with a veto-proof majority, in March passed legislation restricting such demonstrations.
This week in Washington, meanwhile, saw the launch of Israel Advocacy Day, a high-profile lobbying campaign led by Eagles’ Wings, a New York-based Christian Zionist organization.
What we can reveal today is that the campaign is secretly financed by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, implicating foreign agent registration laws in a serious way. That story, by journalist Nick Cleveland-Stout, is below.
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Robert Stearns preaching in 2022. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Prominent Christian Zionist Group Is Lobbying U.S. Lawmakers on Israel—Without Revealing It’s Funded by Israel
Story by Nick Cleveland-Stout
WASHINGTON, D.C.—On Monday night, over 500 people packed into the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown D.C. to kickoff Israel Advocacy Day—a major pro-Israel lobbying push on Capitol Hill spearheaded by Eagles’ Wings, a New York-based Christian Zionist organization. During a break in the evening’s programming, a list of sponsors of the event appeared on screen. The list included the National Religious Broadcasters, the Jewish Federations of North America, and Israel365, a group that organized a trip of MAGA influencers to Israel last year.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not advertised as a supporter—despite funding upwards of half of the lobbying push. Eagles’ Wings was secretly paid a total of $700,000 by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, $245,000 of which was allocated for its lobbying efforts this year, according to a previously unreported Israeli procurement document.
Robert Stearns, a pastor and the founder of Eagles’ Wings, did pause to thank Tammy Ben-Haim, a Ministry official, for attending—but left it at that.
The lobbying campaign plans to hold more than 100 meetings across Capitol Hill this week. “We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss the U.S.-Israel relationship,” reads a meeting invite sent to a Democratic Congressional staffer obtained by Drop Site.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes in the contract that it is funding Eagles’ Wings in order to prevent churchgoers and priests “from adopting pro-BDS and anti-Israeli positions.” In the contract, an Israeli official conveyed that the campaign has support from high-ranking officials within the Israeli government. “The Eagles’ Wings project is very important to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Director General in particular.”
Eagles’ Wings, the official added, is trying to invite the “most important among the attendees to more intimate meetings in order to improve their views on the State of Israel and to fight against the lies [people] are spreading about the country.”
When contacted for comment about the funding, which Eagles’ Wings does not disclose anywhere on their website, Eagles’ Wings did not respond. A spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Eagles’ Wings, which has about 30 employees, is not a registered foreign agent. Craig Holman, an ethics expert and government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen, told Drop Site that Eagles’ Wings’ lobbying campaign raises serious questions about the organization’s compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the U.S.’ preeminent law for regulating foreign influence. “They should register as a foreign agent, declare how much money they’ve been paid, what they’re using the money for, and what offices they are lobbying on behalf of Israel,” said Holman.
Religious organizations can avoid registering as a foreign agent if they are solely engaged in religious pursuits. However, Jonathan Winer, a Washington D.C.-based attorney who has worked on FARA issues for decades, explained that if an organization engages in “political activities”—an activity intended to influence the U.S. government to change its policies—they are required to register.
“If you’re doing public relations work for a foreign government, that’s what FARA registration is for,” said Winer. “It’s not a gray area.”
The goal of Israel Advocacy Day, according to the organizers themselves, is to shape U.S. policy towards the Middle East. This year’s agenda will focus on “reinforcing US support for Israel’s security, addressing the sharp rise of anti-semitism, and advancing protections for faith-based institutions facing increasing threats.”
Last year’s Israel Advocacy Day featured speeches by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). It also included a performance from musician Yair Levi, who is a registered foreign agent of Israel and oversees a cohort of social media influencers paid by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Israel Advocacy Day is co-hosted by the American Christian Leaders for Israel, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), the Israel Allies Foundation, and the Israel Christian Nexus, another organization led by Stearns.
By not registering as a foreign agent, lawmakers are left in the dark about who is funding the pro-Israel lobbying effort. “Members of Congress will want to know if the person they are talking to is a foreign agent who is being paid to represent Israeli interests,” said Holman. “That shouldn’t be used to discriminate against the lobbying effort, but it’s useful knowledge to weigh the merits of the messages they’re receiving from that lobbyist,” he added.
The Israeli government also gave funding to Eagles’ Wings for major events with Evangelical Christians in Orlando, Washington D.C., and Memphis, a solidarity event for Israel featuring speakers from the Israel Defense Forces, and a music tour led by Christian singer-songwriter Jordan Feliz. Eagles’ Wings’ revenue was about $6 million in 2024, the most recent year available. If its revenue in 2025 is similar, the Israeli government will account for over 10% of its funding last year.
The Israeli government has poured money into other ventures to win back support from American evangelicals. In September, the Israeli Foreign Ministry greenlit a $3.2 million plan to pay pastors, hire celebrity spokespeople, and target attendees of major evangelical churches in the American southwest during worship hours with ads. After significant backlash, much of that plan was scrapped.
Anne Nelson, author of “Shadow Network: Media Money and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right,” explained in an interview with Drop Site that Israel is spending an “unprecedented amount of money to cultivate relations with Evangelical Christians” who have broken with Israel over Gaza. “Israel is going to be facing headwinds among younger Evangelicals who have been increasingly critical of Israel due to human rights and America First concerns,” she said.
Stearns, the founder of Eagles’ Wings, acknowledged to the Jerusalem Post in October that his work bringing Evangelical leaders to Israel is partially funded by Israel. “We’ve brought 900 leaders so far…I’m so grateful for the visionary support Gideon Sa’ar and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are giving in funding toward this project,” said Stearns.
The Israeli government frequently sponsors trips to Israel; in December, 1,000 evangelical pastors flew to Jerusalem as part of a fully funded trip backed by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
However, he has not acknowledged the funding appropriated for the lobbying campaign. According to annual IRS filings, other donors to Eagles’ Wings include the Christian Broadcasting Network and the 85 Fund, an organization co-founded by conservative legal activist Leonard Leo.
Stearns, who founded the organization in 1994, has said he is willing to die for Israel because he sees it as a “crucial ally in a war against Islamic extremists.” A week after the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran began, Stearns authored an article in the Jerusalem Post asking Christians to stand with Israel and visit the country. In a video on his YouTube channel, Stearns criticized the lack of American support for the war, blaming what he called the “dumbed down American public.”
Stearns has spent years sounding the alarm about declining Evangelical support for Israel. “Support for Israel doesn’t just seem to be weakening; it is weakening, and at a concerning, alarming rate,” he told the Jerusalem Post.
Support for Israel among evangelical Christians, a historically staunch pro-Israel stalwart in the U.S., has dropped in the past few years as Israel carried out attacks in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. Among white evangelicals, approval of Israel dropped ten points from February 2024 to September 2025, according to Pew Research.
Last year, the Israeli government also gave more than $300,000 to create a show on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the largest Evangelical television network in the world, according to a separate Israeli government procurement document. The payment was made to Shar-El Media and Productions, the official representative of TBN in Israel, to produce and broadcast a television program called “Insights.” The show, historically, has done several episodes dedicated to highlighting Israel’s military, artificial intelligence, and drone industries.
Meeting with evangelical leaders in Palm Beach in late 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Christian Zionists to help fight Israel the “eight front,” the public relations battle. Stearns, for his part, sees himself as a foot soldier in this new “propaganda war.”
At the gala on Monday night, Israel’s public relations crisis was a central theme. “According to recent statistics, less than 38% of young Americans, ages 18 through 34 hold a favorable view of Israel,” said Stella Inger-Escobedo, an anchor with One America News and one of the emcees of the night. “Their views are the result of lies, misinformation, propaganda that they have been exposed to by the media, academia, literally like 15 second TikTok videos.”
Two IDF reservists from the U.S. and Canada, Noy Leyb and Max Long, delivered a video message at the gala echoing her concerns about Israel losing the eighth front. “What was happening on the ground was one thing. What the world was hearing was very different,” said Leyb and Long, who co-founded an organization that brings Israeli soldiers to American churches and schools. They credited Stearns with helping facilitate the partnership.
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