The Jerusalem Post honored Friends of Zion Museum founder Mike Evans last week with its Lion of Jerusalem award at the newspaper’s Diplomatic Conference.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “praised Evans for fighting for freedom in a world of darkening and narrowing horizons.”
“As a champion for Israel for the past four decades, Mike has consistently demonstrated the moral clarity that is necessary to defend Israel against the lies and distortions of its enemies and championed the Jewish people’s claim to the land of Israel,” Netanyahu said.
Humbled by the award, Evans told The Jerusalem Post, “What an honor to get the lion award from a lion.”
In his acceptance speech, Evans predicted peace between Israel and several Sunni states in the Gulf is likely to occur.
“What will [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s legacy be?” Evans asked. “I believe it may be peace with five to six Sunni Gulf states. Yes! I’m not saying it in theory, I’m talking to these leaders and hearing things that are absolutely astonishing. I’m hearing things I’ve never heard before. What you have right now in the Sunni world is astonishing.”
The Jerusalem Post reported that Evans’ prediction comes “after a series of closed-door meetings with prominent leaders in the Gulf, including the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman. And, the common enemy is Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood.
“In the last few months I’ve met with Muslim leaders,” he said. “I spent two hours with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. They have a disdain for them [Iran].
The Jerusalem Post also reported that Evans praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s handling of this delicate issue and decision to put pressure on Iran and the Palestinian Authority, which has helped cause this favorable shift among the Gulf states.
“The shifting dynamic, thanks to Donald Trump and Jared Kushner, is pure genius,” he told The Jerusalem Post.
Evans also praised Netanyahu for helping prevent a war in Gaza.
“Last week, your prime minister prevented a war in Gaza,” Evans told The Jerusalem Post. “It was one of the most courageous decisions a prime minister has made. We would have had dead children in Gaza and dead soldiers in Israel. It would have played lovely to his base and it would have been easy. But what would he have lost? An ideological, media and economical war—war would have been a cash cow for Hamas.”
