C.S. Lewis once wrote, “What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it.”
The Christian, StandWithUs Emerson Fellows are not just friends of the Jewish people; they are bound by a deeper recognition of truth. In an era where moral certainty is often sacrificed at the altar of political convenience, these students stand firm in their convictions.
Recognizing the importance of Christian, Zionist advocacy, StandWithUs offers a specialized initiative: the Emerson Fellowship Christian Engagement program. The fellowship equips Christian student leaders with educational resources, hands-on experiences, and an international community catered towards inspiring campus and church communities about Israel and antisemitism. Emerson Fellows attend two major student conferences that strengthen their connection to both Christian and Jewish leaders.
These Christian advocates recognize their presence in predominantly Jewish spaces as both an opportunity and a responsibility: “Christian and Jewish relations throughout history have had some challenges,” Aaron Carlson notes. “That means there’s all the more opportunity to stand up and have a voice.”
Liam Jaworski, a student at the University of Western Ontario, traces his advocacy to his academic study of Judaism, but it was the images flooding his social media feed on October 7 that catalyzed his public support for Israel. “No doubt, my studies in Judaism were the foundation for that interest, but what springboarded me into public advocacy was the October 7 attacks… Seeing my feed, it was already very Jewish-centric. I love all the Jewish memes on Instagram. But then, when October 7 happened, the memes were replaced with footage, actual visuals of what happened—the paragliders coming in, the aftermath. Seeing that turned something within me. I just felt a mix of courage and anger rising up. And I had to be more vocal about my support.”
Aaron Carlson, who joined StandWithUs as an Emerson Fellow and now serves as their Christian Engagement Campus Manager, recalls a similar trajectory. Growing up in a church that actively supported Israel, he was aware of the Jewish state’s significance, but it was not until college that he realized how absent the topic was from Christian discourse on campus. “There’s no mystery that Israel is mentioned over 2,500 times within scripture. But when I came to campus, I realized it wasn’t something that a lot of students discussed.”
StandWithUs has witnessed a surge in Christian participation in recent years. The Christian fellowship was founded in 2021, but its membership has since expanded exponentially. Mary Karp, one of just a handful of Christian fellows before the program’s inception, said “I’ve always been a Zionist, but I didn’t realize it until I got involved in this movement and thought, ‘Oh wait, these beliefs I have—supporting Israel, believing in its right to exist and defend itself—thats being a Zionist.'” she explains. “But learning alongside my Jewish peers really opened my eyes to how big of a problem antisemitism is.”
Aline Uwingabire stands as an example of the courage and moral clarity that StandWithUs instills in their fellows. Aline never expected to find herself in the middle of a movement advocating for Israel. As a Christian involved in ministry, she was cautious about expressing her views. “I’m in a ministry, and I was afraid sometimes to tell people the truth about Israel. But now, I feel inspired,” she shares. Her experience with StandWithUs transformed her from a quiet supporter to an outspoken advocate.
One of the greatest challenges Aline and her peers face is overcoming misinformation. “Most of the time, people who are closed off will never come to your table or even say hi. But people who come to our table normally don’t know what’s happening. They’re open to hearing the truth,” she notes. Despite the hostility that often surrounds campus discourse on Israel, there remains a significant number of students who are simply uninformed rather than patently opposed.
For these young leaders, Zionism is not merely a political stance but a moral imperative of their faith. “Our Holy Text says that Christianity is a branch of the tree of Judaism,” Jaworski says. “And that tree can bear good fruit if we find unity together.”
As antisemitism surges on campuses and beyond, the growing Christian Zionist movement offers an essential reminder: the Jewish people are not alone. Jaworski affirms, “There are Christians that are here for you, to stand with you, and just to love you guys.”
Image provided by StandWithUs
