Hardly a day passes without the US’s evangelical, pro-Israel lobby unveiling a fresh paradox that makes one point unmistakably clear: many within this current do not see themselves first as servants of their own country; they place Israel’s interests above all else, whatever the cost.
This zeal pays little heed to the contradictions it creates with American public opinion itself—let alone with the global public conscience—especially amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza, whose wounds and consequences are still felt daily.
A New Push inside Congress
In one of the latest moves, Middle East Monitor reported that two Republican members of Congress, Claudia Tenney and Clay Higgins, are leading an effort to introduce a bill that would recognise full Israeli sovereignty over the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque—referred to in the draft as the “Temple Mount”—across its entire 144-dunam compound, including all its landmarks, foremost among them the Dome of the Rock and the Qibli Mosque. The bill reportedly pushes for unrestricted Jewish entry and the full performance of religious rituals inside the Mosque.
Its language mirrors the formula of the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, which recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s “unified capital” and mandated moving the US embassy there—legislation that remained dormant until Donald Trump executed it in 2017 during his first term.
Claudia Tenney and Clay Higgins—Republican representatives from New York and Louisiana respectively—are among the staunchest supporters of Israel and enjoy steady financial backing from AIPAC.
Tenney previously introduced a House resolution in January 2025 to rebrand the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria.” She openly identifies with the Presbyterian denomination and often declares that her support for Israel is driven by purely religious motives.
As for Clay Higgins, he is known for extreme hostility toward anything associated with Islam—so much so that Facebook has repeatedly removed posts in which he incited religious hatred against Muslims. His rhetoric is generally religious, hardline, and aggressive, at times verging on calls for physical violence.
The prospective bill is backed by two major right-wing organisations: the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) and the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET)—both key arms of the Zionist lobby in the United States.
The ZOA, founded in 1897 immediately after the First Zionist Congress in Basel, is among the oldest, most established pro-Israel groups in the US and functions as a kind of umbrella “mother” organisation for many of today’s pro-Israel lobbies.
EMET, established by hardliner Sarah Stern—herself a former ZOA member—in 2005 during Israel’s disengagement from Gaza, presents itself as a strategic think-tank offering policy briefs on Palestine/Israel to US decision-makers. In practice, its media and policy output consistently frames what it calls “radical Islam” as a primary threat to US and Israeli security, and routinely advances policy options that ignore Palestinian presence and rights—making it more ideological than research-driven.
Notably, Sarah Stern was among the key figures lobbying for controversial initiatives that ultimately became binding US law: the 1995 embassy move, the 2003 Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Act, and the 2019 US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Given this track record, the entry of ZOA and EMET into the fray provides the Al-Aqsa bill with serious momentum on Capitol Hill. It suggests its sponsors will throw their full weight behind passing it, leveraging the Christian religious orientation of the current US administration and the dominance of religious framing among pro-Israel forces in Washington—especially within the Republican Party, which now controls both chambers of Congress.
Beyond the Evangelical Right
This push does not rely solely on the party’s religious right. Elements of the white-nationalist current within the Republicans—though increasingly uneasy with Israel’s deep penetration of US politics—voice their objections in purely political-national terms, not religious ones.
They do not oppose Israel per se; they oppose its interference in domestic US politics. Yet even within this “national” current, when it comes to holy sites in Jerusalem, the matter is considered settled: conservative religious and nationalist blocs alike tend to treat Al-Aqsa as originally a “Temple”, part of so-called Jewish sacred heritage tied to Gospel narratives claims about Jesus, and thus not the exclusive right of Muslims.
A Match to a Religious Powder Keg
Those advancing this proposal are playing an extremely dangerous game. Whether they realise it or not, they are attempting to ignite a religious war, echoing the religious-Zionist current inside Israel. The difference this time is that they are dragging the entire United States into a religious confrontation with the Muslim world, effectively declaring war on Al-Aqsa Mosque—a site at the heart of Muslim faith and identity. This gambit would push the US into a perilous arena with unpredictable consequences.
Politically, if passed, the bill would amount to a declaration of war on the Jordanian custodianship over Al-Aqsa—an arrangement that is foundational to Jordan’s political system. Such a move would place Washington in direct confrontation with Amman and its non-negotiable sovereign commitments. Any lenience from Jordan would trigger massive public backlash, not only domestically but across the entire Muslim world—an outcome Jordan cannot accept. It must, therefore, respond immediately.
Nor is this solely a Jordanian affair. Because the target is Al-Aqsa Mosque—with its profound religious symbolism—the entire Islamic world must treat this as a matter requiring collective mobilisation. The magnitude of such a step—if it proceeds—cannot be understated.
A Call for Pre-Emptive Action
Arab and Muslim political leaders carry a duty to escalate their rhetoric and diplomacy now, before the bill is even introduced—rather than waiting for it to become “a reality.” The mere tabling of such a proposal in Congress would be an outrageous act against the Muslim world, no less severe than an assault on other immutable Islamic sanctities—the Qur’an, the Kaʿbah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, or any of the Ummah’s revered symbols.
Deterrence at the earliest stage—confronting the very idea in its cradle—can halt these and similar pushes.
From day one of the genocide in Gaza, the United States cast itself as Israel’s absolute ally—almost singularly so—blocking efforts to hold Israel accountable and vetoing UN Security Council ceasefire resolutions, even when the rest of the world agreed.
Yet Washington tended to cloak its backing in the language of policy interests in the Middle East. This new bill, however, bears no political justification: it is overtly religious, driven by messianic Christian motivations.
If Israel today is bereft of moderating voices—after the religious-Zionist current tightened its grip on the state’s levers of power—then at minimum the US deep state must prevent this madness. Even the fiercest Arab defenders of the US cannot plausibly justify such a reckless American assault on the region’s holiest Islamic site—an affront not merely to Palestinians, but to all Muslims.
Preventing a Manufactured Religious War
The world’s responsible voices must restrain this current. Its adherents are actively courting a religious conflagration, chasing a fantasy of an apocalyptic “final war” and the descent of a saviour Christ. This madness must be stopped. Otherwise, it will unleash a religious conflict in which neither the United States nor Israel will emerge victorious—for they would be defying reason, truth, and the lessons of history, resurrecting sectarian wars humanity has laboured for centuries to overcome.
