By Aaron Jacobs and Brian Mahl, ICB Reporters 
Jacob Harmon visited Israel for the first time last summer, loved the experience and came back to the United States looking to make a difference on his campus.
If you think he sounds like a Birthright returnee, you’re missing one key part of the story. Harmon isn’t Jewish, and the trip he went on was organized by a Christian Zionist organization, Christians United for Israel (CUFI). For him, making a difference didn't merely mean becoming involved with the existing pro-Israel group on campus.
By January, less than a year after the Harmon's trip to Israel, the College of Southern Nevada sophomore had played a key role in establishing the College of Southern Nevada chapter of CUFI. Some 70 campuses across the nation have CUFI chapters, and the organization says it has a presence on 300 campuses.
According to the Christians United for Israel website, CUFI is a pro-Israel organization “through which every pro-Israel church, parachurch organization, ministry, or individual in America can speak and act with one voice in support of Israel in matters related to Biblical issues.”
CUFI seeks to “educate Christians about the Biblical and moral imperatives about supporting Israel,” the website explains, and “to communicate pro-Israel perspectives to neighbors, newspapers, and elected officials.”
CUFI’s platform reads, “We believe that Israel has the right to an established nation in their homeland and Israel has the right to defend itself.”
Harmon may not be typical among Jewish supporters of Israel, but his story isn’t all that unusual among Christians.
“Some people get involved strictly for political reasons, they believe in a US relationship with Israel,” said John Winchester, the National Campus Field Organizer of CUFI on Campus. “Others do it for theological reasons.”
Just like many other campus clubs and organizations, CUFI on Campus holds events throughout the year. Many have an educational component related to the situation in the Middle East and how that impacts what campuses believe about Israel.
The list of activities and programs organized by CUFI on Campus chapters sounds a lot like the programs organized by other Israel advocacy organizations. “Every campus is different in their activism,” Winchester explained. “Some of the programs have been Israeli cultural days... [others] have been speakers like Holocaust survivor Irving Roth. One student built a mock bomb shelter to protest [Israel] Apartheid Week.
“We have done educational events where we just showed materials so as to educate the attendees on the situation in the Middle East and also what the majority of U.S. campuses believe about Israel,” said University of Arizona CUFI chapter president Rainbow Borchardt.
Harmon talked about the upcoming Night to Honor Israel event at his school. “We invite members of the Jewish and Christian community out, and basically celebrate Israel,” he said. “It’s really just a nice event to show that though we are Christians, we're here to support Israel.”
Many CUFI chapters – on and off campus – hold Night to Honor Israel events. Many of the NTHI events this year will feature Holocaust survivor Irving Roth as the guest speaker. In the past week alone, NTHI events have been held at the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Arizona, Vanderbilt University, and New Mexico Highlands University.
But Israel is the Jewish homeland. Can Christians be supportive of that? Is there such thing as a Christian Zionist?
“Yes, of course!” said Adam Scott Bellos, a Jewish pro-Israel activist, who recently graduated from college and is now preparing to make aliyah. “If you believe that the Jewish people have a right to a national home in their historical homeland of Eretz Yisrael, then you are a Zionist,” he said. “Anyone can be a Zionist if they choose.”
“Our name [Christians United for Israel] is our target audience,” Winchester said, noting that members come from many Christian denominations.
“The majority of students who are involved are exactly what our base is,” he continued: Evangelical Christians, Catholics and others. “We're using Israel as a means to unite the Christian voice, period, and specifically uniting it for Israel.”
Some Jews fear that Christians who support Israel do so because they want to convert Jews, but Winchester dismisses that concern.
“Personally, I have never been in touch with that,” said Winchester. “In fact, in my life to this point, the most I have heard about that is Jews asking me about it. I have actually never met one Christian who actually believed it. I'm sure there are people out there who believe it. The Jews have every right to be cautious [or] suspicious, and I hope one day we will present ourselves so that these beliefs will not be a consideration, but I also realize that this will take time.”
Bellos, who has worked with Winchester, concurred. “There is a long, dark history between Jews and Christians, which gives those Jews the right to question their loyalty and motives,” he said, adding, “As far as I am concerned they are a great organization.”
Despite the misgivings and concerns expressed by some Jews, CUFI has enjoyed significant support from Jewish allies.
Harmon, the College of Southern Nevada sophomore, decided to bring CUFI to his campus after spending two weeks in Israel on a CUFI-sponsored leadership trip.
“The Jewish community has been amazing. I really feel like this is something that God has totally manufactured,” said Harmon. “The Jewish community [has] taken to us and given us everything we need. We have really strong ties to Hillel. It has been nothing but good things coming from our relationship thus far.”
The CUFI chapter at the University of Arizona has had a similar experience.
“On our campus we have been incredibly accepted by the Jewish community,” said Borchardt, the president of CUFI’s chapter at the University of Arizona.
“We have been invited to participate in most of the events that are hosted by Hillel and other Jewish clubs,” she said. “These events provide CUFI a way to get oriented with other Jewish allies and to promote what our club on campus does. They also provide an opportunity for each of our club members to get a little more educated on current issues.”
Winchester reported that CUFI has a strong relationship with the Jewish community on a national level. He noted that leaders of multiple pro-Israel organizations regularly address CUFI events.
“Sometimes, I feel as if we [Jews] are some of the only people who care [about Israel and the Holocaust], because we can directly relate through our families or friends,” said Holli Wertheimer, a Jewish student at the University of Texas. She noted that CUFI and its members advocate for Israel on campus, in the community and in Washington, adding, “We are not in this alone and I'm glad that we have people like the members of CUFI as dedicated to the cause as we are.”
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