Chants of “America stands with Israel” and “Let my people go,” and refrains of “How Great Is Our God” rang out at Columbia University’s campus on the evening of Thursday, April 25.

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My husband, Rich, also an IFA contributing writer, and I joined the United for Israel March, organized by Let Us Worship movement founder Sean Feucht; author and speaker Eric Metaxas; Luke Moon, executive director of the Philos Project; and Russell Johnson, pastor of The Pursuit church. Fittingly, this event took place during this year’s Passover season. 

At the rallying point, on 115th Street and Morningside Drive, in New York City, Feucht urged our group to bring with us a joyful, loving spirit to the campus, which has for weeks been otherwise rocked with hateful chants against Israel and, by extension, the Jewish people.

Our group, comprising evangelical Christians, Messianic Jewish believers, and Jewish people who do not yet know the Messiah, was perhaps more difficult to corral than Feucht’s typical gatherings might be. In part, this was because our group and other pro-Israel demonstration groups have not been allowed onto the campus. So instead, we marched around the campus perimeters, ending at the main gate, where we sang Christian worship songs and the Israeli national anthem. By the end of our march, the initial group of hundreds had drawn hundreds more. Sara Carter of Fox News estimated that there were thousands in the crowd. 

Social media posts, including one featuring a display of a large ad in Times Square, and other online promotions helped draw the initial crowd. Some pro-Israel demonstrators were mixing it up verbally with a few of those dug-in antisemitic protesters gathered tauntingly along the sidewalks. 

One of the leaders of the Columbia protests, Khymani James, was reportedly expelled following reports that he had said: “Zionists don’t deserve to live.” The term Zionism, coined with reference to the formation and support of the State of Israel, has become a byword of disparagement among antisemitic protesters. 

As we sang along with Feucht, who was strumming his guitar and leading the march, Rich and I were frequently in prayer. At one point, we witnessed a verbal confrontation devolve into a physical shoving match, at which point I began  praying for the Lord’s intervention, and the two antagonists were parted from each other. Thanks be to God!

Organizers called this the first overt display of support for Israel and Jewish students by evangelical Christians — including Messianic leaders —and Jewish Americans. The following day, Faith2Action,  Truth & Liberty Coalition, MorningStar Ministries, Transformation Michigan, and some churches rented a plane to fly a banner over the Columbia campus, reading: “God Bless Israel.” Earlier in the week, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson led a delegation to the campus to express American support for Israel and the Jewish people.

This support is urgently needed. Rich and I found that many people are intimidated by the idea of going public with expressions of support for Israel and the Jews. One student shared with Rich that a Jewish friend from one of his study groups was struggling hard over the animosity he faced daily.

That student is but one of many. The expression of antisemitic hatred has been finely tuned by the shadowy figures behind these so-called “protests.” As IFA reported last week, the protests have gained literal currency from deep-pocketed groups linked to the Soros family’s Open Society and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. These protests display the same aggressive, Marxist-influenced tactics seen with the BLM and Antifa riots, tactics intended to intimidate and to suppress dissent. They include doxing and similar forms of social media harassment.

All this intimidation is in fact so strong that even a former CNN anchor, Campbell Brown, announced recently that she was taking her children to Israel because they are safer there than in New York City.

The anti-Israel hate has spread to New York University, where rioters chased NYPD Assistant Chief James McCarthy and some of his officers into an NYU building. And similar violence is spilling forth at such disparate places as Emory University, the University of Colorado, and Indiana University at Bloomington.

A clear goal of these protests is the destruction of Israel, but the welfare of the entire Western world may be on the line as well. Cindy Jacobs, a prominent intercessory prophet, disclosed recently that she and others have sensed that these protests are being coordinated by forces seeking to convert Western democracies into Islamic regimes.

Faced with this sort of explosive situation, we intercessors are blessed to be able to turn to the One who is above all. Recently, I asked the Lord how we are to pray for Israel and the war in the Middle East. He answered: 

“Choices are a worthy prayer now. This government of your nation has unleashed fearsome curses upon this nation. Pray that My vengeance would be worked only upon those directly responsible. Yes, the judgment is upon you all, but pray that My blood would prevail over My own and over the innocent.

“My remnant is to be prayed for in its choices: choices to see correctly, to pray righteously, to act in line with all that I have for them. With wise choices, My remnant will arise, and the judgment will pass over. With fear and panicked choices, My people will suffer, so these are days in which My own have need of moving with calm spirits and clear minds.

“Remember, judgment is unto correction and revival; but the choice remains.”

We can implement this prayer strategy as follows:

1. Ask the Lord to forgive our government leaders who have activated the curse of Genesis 12 over the United States, and to cover over that sin by the blood of Jesus.  
2. Ask the Lord to turn back the curse that is on America.
3. Pray for good choices for everyone, from this point forward.
4. Pray that the Lord’s judgment would fall only on those directly responsible for this curse.
5. Pray that the blood of the Lord Jesus would protect His people and the innocent.
6. Pray for the followers of Christ to make right choices to see correctly, to pray righteously, and to act in line with the Lord’s will for them.
7. Pray against fear and any panicked choices among the Lord’s people.
8. Pray for calm spirits and clear minds among believers.
9. Pray that this judgment would bring the necessary repentance and correction.
10. Pray for revival in the Church, salvation for the lost, and reformation for our society.

Lord, help us to walk in Your calm Spirit and to receive the mind of Christ — especially during these days in which You are working Your correction upon the waywardness of many American leaders. Protect Your people and the innocent with the very blood of Jesus through these days of turmoil. Amen.

Here is some footage from Thursday’s United for Israel March, including a brief interview with Eric Metaxas. Here also is a link about Friday’s “God Bless Israel” banner, and a brief interview with Janet Porter of Faith2Action.

Additionally, pro-Hamas protesters who had set up tents on the campus of Columbia University were told they needed to disperse by 2 p.m. Monday, but they refused to take the tents down and protests continued:

How are you praying for Jewish students? Share below, so that we can all take encouragement.

New York City–based Joyce Swingle is an intercessor and a contributing writer for IFA. With her husband, Rich, also a contributing writer for IFA, Joyce shares the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world through theater, speaking, writing, and film. Prior to going into full-time ministry, Joyce worked for about 20 major magazines and now works in pastoral ministry and Christian counseling. Read more about Joyce’s work at www.Richdrama.com. Photo Credit: Rich Swingle.