Trump’s religious-freedom envoy visits Middle East as Israel, Hamas navigate fragile peace

President Trump’s nominee for U.S. Ambassador for International Religious Freedom is in Israel this week, visiting at a symbolic time as the administration continues its landmark push for peace in Gaza.

Ex-Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC), a former pastor who once led the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism, said his dual background in ministry and national security makes his new role a “calling,” especially amid what he described as “one of the most historic peace moments of our lifetime.”

“This is the perfect convergence of faith and diplomacy,” Walker recently told The Post of his pending ambassadorship, a post created in 1998 and designed to help the U.S. promote religious freedom globally.

“You can still feel the reverberations from this landmark peace agreement,” he said, referring to the cease-fire deal President Trump brokered between Israel and Hamas. “People said it would never happen—not in our lifetime. But President Trump and Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio have built real relationships that are bringing nations together.”

Walker praised the Trump administration for its “audacious diplomacy,” citing the president’s unprecedented speech at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, followed by high-level meetings in Egypt.

“When you have a president who’s gone before you building authentic relationships in these regions, it allows ambassadors like me to have conversations that were never possible before,” Walker said.

The ambassador-designate, who awaits Senate confirmation, said his mission is to “advocate for people of faith who are being persecuted throughout the world” — from Coptic Christians in Egypt to the Druze in Syria, to victims of Islamist terror in Africa.

“Whether it’s Boko Haram or al-Shabaab, these groups view anyone who doesn’t bow to their radical ideology as an infidel,” Walker explained. “That hatred fuels persecution against Jews, Christians, and others. It’s our job to push back—to expose and eradicate these atrocities wherever we can.”

The trip comes as Israel and Hamas navigate their fragile new peace framework — one that reflects “religious tolerance in action,” Walker said.

“President Trump’s team understood that true peace in the Middle East meant engaging both Jews and Muslims, from Israel to Qatar and Turkey,” Walker noted. “That kind of bridge-building is exactly what the International Religious Freedom Office stands for,” he added, referring to the State Department agency which he will lead.

Rabbi David Hofstetter, the founder of Dirshu—the world’s largest Torah study organization—who invited Walker to Israel, called the ambassador-designate’s visit “deeply significant.”

“I think the trip is hopefully very significant and newsworthy in its historical nature, coming on the heels of the peace treaty and the [Israeli] hostage release,” Hofstetter told The Post. “It sends a clear message that President Trump is committed not only to peace and the release of hostages, but also to the longer-term pursuit of religious freedom, human dignity, and justice.”

Walker’s visit to Israel will include meetings with top government and religious leaders, some of the returned hostages freed from Hamas, as well as a pilgrimage to Jerusalem’s Western Wall.

“There’s enormous symbolism in coming to Israel now, to pray for Israel and mankind at the Western Wall,” Hofstetter said. “It’s also a time to honor those who were brutally killed and to stand with their families—a reminder that our moral duty does not end with peace treaties.”

The rabbi, a child of Holocaust survivors, expressed deep concern over the recent surge in global antisemitism, describing it as “deeply alarming and reminiscent of the 1930s.”

“It’s disheartening and disillusioning that in such a short period after the Holocaust, we’re seeing this level of antisemitism again—not just in the streets but in universities and institutions,” Hofstetter said. “That’s why this trip is so timely. It lays the groundwork for what will be an enormous and vital mission combating antisemitism and defending religious freedom worldwide.”

He added that Walker’s visit carries powerful symbolism given Israel’s status as the cradle of the Abrahamic faiths.

“The challenge now is to bring forth a message of tolerance and human dignity in the midst of war,” Hofstetter said. “After World War II, America emerged as a kingdom of kindness—restoring devastated nations, rebuilding holy sites, and standing for freedom. That’s the spirit of this mission. There’s been great pain and loss, but now is the time to restore, to heal, and to uphold religious liberty for all.”

Walker said he hopes to return from the Holy Land with renewed momentum for U.S. efforts to defend people of faith worldwide.

“America has always been the voice for the voiceless,” he stated. “It’s time we raise that voice again—loudly and unapologetically.”
https://nypost.com/2025/10/21/world-news/trumps-religious-freedom-envoy-visits-israel-audacious-diplomacy/

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