Israel’s foreign ministry office created a new position in April with the hopes of brushing the dirt off its public image in the eyes of Christians. Now, George Deek, the special envoy to the Christian world, is becoming Israel’s poster child for international relations with the Christian West.
Deek spoke on Sunday with a private group of Christian tourists and journalists visiting Israel, where he argued that Christians around the world — and especially in the West — should advocate Israeli sovereignty in the region.
Israel, Deek said, “Is the only place in the Middle East where Christians like me can practice their faith without fear. It is the only place where Christians are growing in numbers.”
According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of Christians in Israel jumped from roughly 36,000 in 1950 to 180,000 today. Deek attributed this increase to Israel’s tolerance of diverse worldviews and religions, including Christian, Druze, Muslim, Jewish, and more.
Deek’s background includes an appointment as ambassador to Azerbaijan, but Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar tapped him to fill his new role in April.
In a press release announcing the appointment, Sa’ar said, “The State of Israel attaches great importance to its relations with the Christian world and with its Christian friends around the world. I am confident that George … will greatly contribute to the friendship and strengthening of the ties between the State of Israel and the Christian world.”
Deek’s reassignment comes after several Israeli-Christian incidents drew international attention during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and other terrorist groups in Lebanon, before the current ceasefire agreement.
In July 2025, after a tank shell struck the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, the only one in the region, by Israel’s military, Pope Leo XIV called for a ceasefire and expressed that he was “deeply saddened” by the incident that killed three and wounded 10 others.
“I renew my call for an immediate ceasefire. Only dialogue and reconciliation can ensure enduring peace!” Pope Leo said at the time.
The Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Israeli military both acknowledged that the shell strike and subsequent injuries were accidental, although the Israel Defense Forces never apologized for the three deaths that resulted from the strike, further alienating world Christians from Israeli interests.
In another memorable instance of schism between Israel and the Christian sentiment, a photo of an Israeli soldier smashing a crucifix with what appeared to be a sledgehammer in Lebanon caused international public outrage. Following this event, the Israeli military condemned the soldiers, replaced the crucifix, and promised that no soldiers would commit similar acts in the future.
Hoping to put to bed fears that Israel is actively campaigning against, or simply allowing persecution of, Christians in the Middle East, Deek expressed how his own prominence and position speak to Israel’s commitment to toleration.
Although Christians make up about 2% of Israel’s population, Deek argued that supporting the Jewish state also means supporting the protection and toleration of Christians within its borders.
“I’m standing here today,” Deek said Sunday, “as a Christian, as an Arab ambassador of Israel, telling you that Israel should remain a Jewish state, not because I care more about Jews than I care about Christians or Arabs or Muslims, but because I believe that only by accepting a Jewish state in this region can the Middle East have room for other minorities, for diversity, and for pluralism.”
Deek’s crusade for Christian approval hinges on shared Judeo-Christian principles of equality and a tolerance of diversity, the kind of ideas that cannot be found in the ranks of the other dominant ideologies in the region, such as Hamas or Hezbollah.
Whether Israel can recast its public image as pro-Christian, pro-tolerance, and pro-West remains to be seen. But the appointment of George Deek signals to Christians around the world that Israel intends to make the effort. If it can regain the goodwill of the world’s 2 billion Christians, Israel will have gained a significant international advantage.
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Conversely, if Israel loses the support of this demographic, it can expect little outside help, a precarious position for a country currently facing South Africa’s war-crimes case.
Speaking to the American Christian tourists and journalists Sunday, Deek said, “Without you and your country and your support, I don’t know if we [Christians] would have been here the way we are today.”