A delegation of 30 senior African Christian leaders from 10 countries across the continent was in Israel this past week on a joint religious and political mission, as Jerusalem increases its faith-based diplomatic outreach to tens of millions of Christian supporters in Africa following the two-year war against Hamas in Gaza.

The visit highlighted anew the growing diplomatic tug-of-war between supporters and opponents of the Jewish state in Africa. While South Africa has emerged as one of the fiercest critics of Israel worldwide, other African countries have pushed back and are now further strengthening ties rooted in a mix of shared interests and faith.

“We have a lot of haters and quite a lot of people who want to push us away, but they have one huge obstacle: they are going against the word of God,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told the African Christian leaders in a Thursday evening address in Tel Aviv. “We need counter-pressure on governments to support Israel in the international arena, and as spiritual leaders connected to your communities, you can make a change.”