Israel wants to pay US pastors a stipend to spread the word

A newly-created firm called Show Faith by Works is embarking on a “geofencing” campaign to target Christian churches and colleges across the American Southwest with pro-Israel advertisements. The pastors and congregations themselves are seemingly unaware of this campaign, and some have concerns with Israel’s methods to target Christians.

According to the firm’s filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), Show Faith by Works will “geofence the actual boundaries of every Major (sic) church in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Coloardo (sic) and all Christian Colleges during worship times” and then “track attendees and continue to target [them] with ads” on behalf of Israel. The geofencing campaign is part of a larger $3.2 million contract that also includes trying to hire celebrity spokespeople and paying pastors to produce content.

RS reached out to hundreds of churches in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado that were listed as potential targets of the geofencing campaign. None that responded were aware of the campaign. “We were not aware of that, no—you are the first to bring that to our attention,” said the press office for Bethel Church in Redding, California.

The project manager of the operation, Chad Schnitger, explained in an email to RS that the ads may include “invitations for Christians to visit one of our upcoming Mobile Museum exhibits, or to go to our website to learn more about the program, or to visit Israel with your church.” The firm’s pitch deck describes the ads as “pro-lsreal (sic) and anti-Palestinian.”

The “Mobile Museum” Schnitger is referring to is a mobile trailer coordinated by his firm that will visit Christian colleges and churches highlighting atrocities from the Hamas attack on October 7, as well as “footage of IDF explaining the difficulty of fighting bad guys in hostile territory with civilians.” Schnitger confirmed the firm currently has one mobile museum exhibit, and that it would be ready to start travelling to churches and colleges in about a month.

Geofencing has long been a way for corporations to capture audiences by using their location services. It allows corporations to market their products using the location of mobile devices, triggering texts, in-app notifications, or mobile ads when users enter a certain physical boundary.

In an interview with RS, Megan Iorio, Senior Counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information, described geofencing as a “privacy nightmare.” Iorio explained that data brokers vacuum up data from various applications that use location services, and then will either sell that data to marketing firms or offer marketing tools themselves. Then, users with location services enabled might, for instance, see an H&M advertisement if they walk within a certain radius of an H&M store.

Schnitger said that media reports covering the geofencing campaign have been “sensationalized” and pointed out that it’s a common marketing tool; “It is not sending information back to a foreign entity; it's a way to deliver ads…This is a 1-way ad push using marketing tools that have been in place for over 10 years.” Iorio explained that while it is commonplace, the technique is “incredibly invasive.”

“The fact it has become so common and that foreign governments are now using it for targeted, precise influence campaigns shows how much we need regulation to stamp down on the practice. Today, it's the Israeli government looking to curry favor among Christians, but tomorrow it could be a foreign adversary looking to foment discord in a specific US city, and that has broad national security implications.” she added.

Some members of the communities listed as potential targets of Israel’s geofencing campaign share these concerns about Israel using this marketing technique.

Micah, a mechanical engineer in Colorado Springs, has been conducting outreach to pastors and local newspapers in order to raise awareness that seven local churches were listed in the document as targets of the geofencing campaign. Micah circulated a document outlining his concerns, which RS obtained a copy of.

“What jumps out immediately is how the entire document talks about Christians as targets to be manipulated. This isn't respectful outreach - it's warfare language,” he wrote.

One of Micah’s main concerns is that the firm is paying pastors on behalf of Israel. Show Faith by Works’ pitch deck includes a plan to give stipends for “individual guest pastors, bilingual pastors, or pastors who match target demographics to record messages based on content creation targets.” Micah says that this “creates financial conflicts of interest where religious leaders become financially dependent on foreign government messaging, compromising their independence and integrity.”

Asa, Micah’s brother, attends Scottsdale Bible Church in Arizona, one of the churches listed by Show Faith by Works. Asa said that Show Faith by Works’ campaign is a reaction to Israel losing the support of America's youth. “This entire project is an attempt to regain the attention and hearts/support of Gen Z through the use of religious manipulation,” he said. Micah and Asa requested that RS exclude their full names to discuss the matter freely.

Schnitger is optimistic about swaying Christians’ views on Israel. “For those who dislike Israel, maybe some of these exhibits and materials will change your mind.” Part of that effort is to stress anti-Palestinian talking points. The firm’s pitch deck includes talking points about how “[P]alestinian and Iranian goals are not land-focused, but genocidal.”

Timothy Feldman, a software engineer in Plano, Texas, explained in an email to RS that he was upset to see his church listed as a potential target for Israel’s geofencing campaign. “I am disgusted that a genocidal apartheid state is attempting to whitewash its atrocities by propagandizing the good people of Christ United Methodist Church,” said Feldman.

Despite the inclusion of Texas churches like the one in Plano in the pitch deck, Schnitger clarified in an email that the firm is currently not doing anything in Texas.

A church worker in Prescott, Arizona, saw his church on the list too and explained to RS in a phone interview that it’s unclear how the pastors will respond. “The demographics in Prescott tend to be pro-Israel, so it’s hard to know how the church leadership will react to this. All we can do is make people aware of it,” he said, requesting anonymity to speak freely about the issue.

The geofencing campaign will be overseen by Eran Shayovich, the Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel. Shayovich is spearheading an initiative called “project 545,” which he describes as a campaign to “amplify Israel’s strategic communication and public diplomacy efforts.” Shayovich is also the point of contact for Brad Parscale, Trump’s former campaign manager who is coordinating efforts to train ChatGPT on behalf of Israel and integrate pro-Israel messaging into conservative media.

Some states have taken action against geofencing as a practice. In June, Oregon passed a law that prohibits the sale of precise geolocation information, following a similar provision passed by Maryland last year.

Lina Khan's FTC banned several data brokers from collecting and selling data from sensitive locations such as churches and military installations. While these companies — including Gravy Analytics and Mobilewalla — have attracted significant media attention over the last several years, there is an extensive industry of data brokers that continue to operate in the shadows buying and selling location data at places of worship.