https://arab.news/w5zmn
More than 1,000 US pastors and Christian influencers last week concluded a trip to Israel organized and paid for by the Friends of Zion. The trip had a very clear objective: indoctrinate those on the trip and enlist them as ambassadors of Israel to the faithful Christian community in the US.
However, this drives a very simple question: Should it not trigger an investigation under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, which is known as FARA? Under this 1938 law, American citizens who are working or lobbying on behalf of a foreign government should register as foreign agents. FARA was put in place to prevent Nazism from influencing American politics. It is believed that the late entry of the US to the Second World War was partly due to Nazi influence inside the country. FARA aims to make sure that Americans decide the course of American policy and that the country protects its democratic system from foreign interference.
Some would argue that those who were on this trip to Israel do not need to register as foreign agents because this was a cultural excursion. They would compare it to Muslim imams in the US visiting an Islamic seminary in an Arab country. However, this is totally different. The pastors have a very specific mandate: to politicize religion. Their mandate is to use religion and their position as religious leaders to encourage a certain political action among their respective congregations. The trip was definitely a political activity and participants should register under FARA.
