Israel wants to hire Chris Pratt and Steph Curry

A newly created firm called Show Faith by Works is carrying out a $3.2 million outreach and digital targeting campaign to Christian churches in the western United States on behalf of the Israeli government. The firm’s goal, as described in its filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, is to increase “positive associations with the Nation of Israel, while linking the Palestinian population with extremist factors.”

Show Faith by Works will carry out the campaign through December for its work, which includes targeting churchgoers with pro-Israel ads “geofencing” major churches, hiring celebrity spokespeople, and visiting churches and colleges with a mobile trailer called the “10/7 Experience” on behalf of the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In one slide of the proposed plan, the firm listed a number of potential “Christian Celebrity Spokespeople” for Israel, including actors Jon Voight and Chris Pratt, former NFL player Tim Tebow, NBA player Steph Curry, and a number of megachurch pastors. According to the document, the athletes and celebrities would be expected to “deliver pro-israel (sic) Messaging.”

In response to a question whether Jon Voight has been offered to work as a spokesperson for Israel, Siri Garber, a public relations executive who represents the actor, explained in an email that she was unaware of any offer.

“Not that I know of but it’s about time they start trying to combat the Pro Pali prooganda (sic) machine. They should choose some w[h]o are a[pp]ealing (sic) to the Gen Alphas and Millenials etc as that is where all the misinformation lies,” wrote Garber in the email. In response to a follow-up question about whether Voight would consider such a request, Garber responded “No idea.”

Chad Schnitger, who is leading the contract for Show Faith by Works, told RS in an email that as of now, none of the celebrities mentioned in slide deck had been contacted. “This was an early planning document with a variety of options that were discussed but nothing set in stone,” he said.

“We’re very proud of the way the project has grown since these early planning sessions and we’re eager to show it to the world once we get more details and materials in place,” he added.

Schnitger’s firm also proposed a “10/7 Experience” mobile trailer that would tour Christian colleges, churches, and events highlighting the atrocities of October 7, 2023. The trailer will feature a “wall-length mounted TV with updated information, pro-Israel media” and footage of the “IDF explaining the difficulty of fighting bad guys in hostile territory with civilians.”

Show Faith by Work’s goal is to reach some 3.8 million churchgoers. Of those, the firm estimates getting around 5-10% to “agree to our programs or attend our events or sign a pledge card.”

As part of this outreach, Show Faith by Works will be launching targeted pro-Israel ads to churchgoers in what it promised to be the “Largest Geofencing and targeted Christian Digital Campaign ever.” Geofencing uses location-based marketing to send notifications and advertisements. For instance, users that have enabled location services on their phone may see an AT&T ad if they are walking near an AT&T store.

Show Faith by Works pledged to “geofence the actual boundaries of every Major church in California, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado and all Christian Colleges during worship times.” The firm said it will then “Track attendees and continue to target with ads” on behalf of Israel.

All of this is part of a campaign to “combat low American Evangelic Christian approval of the Nation of Israel’ and “counter new and evolving pro-Palestinian messaging as the global narrative shifts.”

A Pew Research poll from July found that 72% of white evangelical Protestants have a favorable opinion of Israel. Some polling has suggested that younger evangelicals have shifted more dramatically, including a Barna Group poll from 2021 — two years before the October 7 attack by Hamas — which found that support for Israel among evangelical Christians aged 18-29 had dropped from 75% to 34%.

The firm’s work is being overseen by Eran Shayovich, Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel who is spearheading “project 545,” 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 leading efforts to deploy new websites and digital content to train ChatGPT on behalf of Israel.

The FARA contract revealed that Show Faith by Works will also be coordinating its work with an Israeli consulate. While it does not specify which Israeli consulate it is working with, the firm is conducting this outreach in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado, all states that are covered by the Israeli Consulate of Los Angeles.

The firm’s talking points include two sets of messages, one labeled “Pro-Israel” and the other labeled “Anti-Palestinian State.” The bulleted talking points include messaging on how “[P]alestinian and Iranian goals are not land-focused, but genocidal” and how “Palestinians elect Hamas’s leadership.” (Note: The last election in the Gaza Strip was in 2006 and only a fraction of Gaza’s current population ever cast a ballot for Hamas).

Show Faith by Works’ pitch deck also offered to sponsor “Pro-Israel messages on Christian Social Media influencers followed by young Christians.” As part of this work, the firm promises to “counter current Pro-Palestinian propaganda with response videos.” Sponsoring the influencers themselves would likely require the influencers to register under FARA and acknowledge the Israeli sponsorship on their social media posts, according to foreign lobbying experts. A proposed organization chart showed that the social media influencers would also report to the “Specialist Hollywood Purchasing coordinator.”

This aspect of Show Faith’s work is similar to Bridges Partners, a firm that Israel hired last week to coordinate a cohort of 14-18 social media influencers distributing content on behalf of Israel in exchange for around $7,000 per post.

Show Faith by Works, like Bridges Partners and many other firms working for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is channeling its business through Havas Media Network, an international media company working for Israel.

Schnitger, who is being paid $150,000 for the six-month contract, told RS that the firm has made some changes since crafting the initial pitch deck for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “We think it’s very important that the Christian church is educated about these issues. Everything we do is vetted through teams of Christian pastors. We can’t wait to show it to you in a few months,” he said.

When asked what changes had been made, Schnitger did not respond.