Netanyahu Announces "Eighth Front" to Protect Nigerian Christians
Israeli Prime Minister Unveils Coalition to Defend Persecuted Christians Worldwide Through Intelligence and Security Cooperation
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel is opening a new front focused on protecting Christian communities facing persecution in Nigeria and across Africa and the Middle East through intelligence sharing and security cooperation. The announcement came during Netanyahu's address to evangelical Christian leaders in Palm Beach, Florida on December 31, 2025, where he described the initiative as part of Israel's broader defense of Judeo Christian civilization against radical Islam.
"We are conscious of the fact that Christians are being persecuted across the Middle East, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Nigeria, in Turkey and beyond," Netanyahu told the gathering. "One country protects the Christian community, enables it to grow, defends it, and makes sure that it thrives. That country is Israel." The Israeli leader stated that his government is joining efforts to establish a coalition of countries dedicated to supporting vulnerable Christian communities worldwide.
Israel Commits to Intelligence Cooperation with Nigerian Government
Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria Michael Freeman clarified in an Arise TV interview on Monday January 6, 2026 that Netanyahu's plan centers on intelligence sharing and partnership with the Nigerian government, not unilateral action.
"We will be led by the Nigerian government as to where we can work and partner to help tackle insecurity as a whole within the country," Freeman stated. "Any communication behind the scenes will obviously remain behind the scenes, but as I said, Prime Minister Netanyahu has made his position clear, and so we will do anything we can do in those areas."
Freeman emphasized that Israel's proposed involvement is not limited to protecting Christians alone but aims to tackle Nigeria's broader insecurity challenges including terrorism, insurgency and violent extremism.
"Our interest is to work with Nigeria to stop all the violence in this country, against Christians, against Muslims, and against all Nigerians," the ambassador explained. "This is very much about working with an ally, working with a partner, and doing things to tackle insecurity as a whole within the country."
The Israeli ambassador stressed that support for Christian communities is strictly a partnership initiative anchored on intelligence sharing and cooperation with the Nigerian government, respecting Nigeria's sovereignty. When asked about potential US unilateral action under President Donald Trump, Freeman declined to speculate, describing it as hypothetical and better suited for the American ambassador to address. He reiterated that Israel's consistent approach is to work directly with the Nigerian government.
Netanyahu's announcement came after his meeting with President Trump, who recently reaffirmed Washington's position that Christians face persecution in Nigeria. Trump announced targeted air strikes carried out on Christmas Day intended to deter attacks against Christian communities. On the same day, Netanyahu publicly called for an end to violence against Christians in Nigeria. Israel has remained the only country to openly align with the United States' position on alleged systematic persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
Netanyahu identified two forces waging a campaign against Judeo Christian tradition worldwide: radical Shiite Islam led by Iran and radical Sunni Islam led by the Muslim Brotherhood.
He described attacks on Christians as part of a broader global campaign against Judeo Christian values driven by extremist ideologies operating across multiple regions. The Israeli Prime Minister stated that Israel would provide assistance in Africa with intelligence and in the Middle East with various means, though he declined to provide operational details.
The announcement addresses Nigeria's worsening security situation where more than 37,000 deaths have been linked to Islamic extremism since 2011.
Attacks by groups such as Jama'at Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimin and Islamic State West Africa Province surged in 2025, with the UN World Food Program warning in November that militant attacks are driving hunger to levels never seen before. In November, over 300 Catholic school students were abducted by armed bandits who also killed a deputy head teacher and seized 25 schoolgirls.
THE CRUSADER'S OPINION
The irony is blinding. Israel, surrounded by enemies, fighting a seven front war, finds time and resources to protect Nigerian Christians through intelligence sharing. Meanwhile Western nations with massive militaries and intelligence agencies prosecute Christians for praying silently.
Britain arrests grandmothers. America's State Department under Biden ignored Christian genocide. But Israel and Trump together say enough.
This is what leadership looks like. Netanyahu told Christian Zionists that defending persecuted believers is a main part of Israel's agenda. Not a side project. Not virtue signaling. A main part. He's putting Israeli intelligence assets to work saving Christian lives in Africa. While Europe debates pronouns, Israel tracks jihadi cells planning church attacks.
Critics will scream about Gaza. They'll call this hypocrisy. But Netanyahu is right: Israel is the only Middle Eastern nation where Christian population grows instead of shrinks. The only one where churches aren't bombed and believers aren't beheaded. And now Israel extends that protection to Nigeria through the one thing that actually stops terrorists: intelligence that finds them before they strike. This is the alliance Christian civilization needs. Not more UN resolutions. Not more empty condemnations. Intelligence sharing. Security cooperation. Nations that actually care about stopping genocide instead of just talking about it.
TAKE ACTION
• Support Nigerian Christians: Donate at persecution.com to Voice of the Martyrs providing emergency relief, trauma counseling, and security resources for Nigerian believers under constant jihadi attack
• Demand Congressional Action: Contact your senators and representatives demanding they support intelligence sharing agreements with Israel to protect Nigerian Christians from Islamist genocide
• International Christian Concern: Give at persecution.org funding direct assistance to Nigerian church leaders, displaced families, and orphans whose parents were martyred by Boko Haram and ISWAP
• Open Doors USA: Support opendoorsusa.org providing safe houses, emergency relocation, and security training for Nigerian pastors and church members facing death threats from Islamic militants
• Barnabas Fund: Donate at barnabasfund.org helping Nigerian Christians rebuild burned churches, replace destroyed Bibles, and receive medical care after surviving jihadi attacks
Your Action: Share Netanyahu's announcement everywhere. Make people see that Israel is doing more to protect Nigerian Christians than the entire Western world combined. Tag your representatives. Demand they follow Israel's lead. Demand intelligence cooperation. Demand action over words. Thirty seven thousand Christians dead since 2011. How many more before we stop pretending this isn't genocide? Support organizations actually fighting on the ground. And pray for Nigerian believers, because right now Israel and Trump are the only world leaders who care if they live or die.
