Personal pastor to the President, Paula White Cain, speaks during a Donald Trump campaign event courting devout conservatives by combining praise, prayer and patriotism, on July 23, 2020, in Alpharetta, Georgia.

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Giulia Carbonaro

By Giulia Carbonaro

Senior Reporter

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President Donald Trump’s personal spiritual adviser, Paula White Cain, has urged her followers to donate "the first tenth of your gross income" to support her ministry and its causes—including funding projects in Israel.

"I believe that it's so important to honor God with his tithe. An offering, that’s free will," White Cain said in a YouTube video released on Sunday.

"In the last four years, when you think about the difference that you make, by your giving," she added. "You have helped build a moshav in a village in Israel from the horrific attacks of October 7th. And the greatest thing you do is take the gospel around the world."

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A moshav is a type of cooperative agricultural settlement in Israel. According to White Cain's Paula White Ministries, her group has provided humanitarian relief to the moshav of Ein HaBesor, near the Gaza border, following Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

On her website, a page to donate to build a sports complex for children in the moshav's community and the surrounding areas still directs users to an active link.

Newsweek contacted Paula White Ministries for more information on Monday morning.

Paula White Cain speaking during a campaign event for President Donald Trump in Alpharetta, Georgia, in 2020.

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Why It Matters

Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the war in Gaza that followed it have divided opinion in America. An estimated death toll of more than 75,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since Israel started bombing the territory far eclipses that of the October 7 attacks, estimated at more than 1,000 people.

While the U.S. has historically been a close ally of Israel and President Donald Trump has backed its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since his return to the White House, sentiment toward the country has shifted among Americans because of the war in Gaza.

An Economist/YouGov survey released on August 5, 2025, found that more Americans had adopted unfavorable views of Israel since 2022, climbing from 42 percent to 53 percent, with these growing among both Democrats (from 53 percent to 69 percent) and Republicans (from 27 percent to 37 percent). Crucially, 45 percent of voters believed that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.

What To Know

White Cain is a longtime friend of the president, as well as his personal minister. She is a pastor at StoryLife Church and the president of Paula White Ministries, based in Apopka, Florida. Last year, she was appointed by Trump as head of its newly formed White House faith office.

The 58-year-old pastor is originally from Tupelo, Mississippi, but moved to Florida in the mid-1980s after marrying her second husband, Randy White.

She has been accused of promoting the prosperity gospel—which encourages donations to ministries as guarantees of financial prosperity, personal happiness, and physical health—before, but she has always denied doing so.

In her latest YouTube video, she asks for donations to her ministry to support its work and help people in need.

"When you begin to think of the masses of people, from single moms to human trafficking victims, to going into prisons, to feeding over 30 million pounds of food—think about that," she said, encouraging followers to reflect on the way their donations were used.

"Thank you for being that person that’s holding up the hands for the gospel to go forth. So go ahead and click on that link right there, on the screen, or you can give by cash app or Vimmo or PayPal or however you want to," she said. "Thank you for being a generous and liberal giver and may God continue to bless you."

White Cain has long been a staunch Israel supporter. Following Hamas’ attacks on October 7 and the start of the war in Gaza, the pastor and televangelist said that Christians should "stand with Israel" because Jewish people are "God’s chosen people."

She said in a post on Paula White Ministries in July 2024: "This relates not only to the Jewish people but also to the nation of Israel. And in this pivotal moment in human history, we are called to STAND with ISRAEL! This isn’t about politics; this is about living in harmony with the WORD of God!"

The pastor claimed to have played a pivotal role in encouraging the Trump administration’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and sign an executive order recognizing "anti-Zionism" as "antisemitism."

Her ministry also claims to have helped families in HaBeshor "rebuild their lives with much-needed household goods like washing machines and dryers" destroyed on October 7, and has since 2024 been engaged in the construction of a sports complex in the same village for "war-traumatized children" in the community.

What Happens Next

There are no updates on Paula White Ministries’ website on the construction of the sports complex in HaBeshor, whether that has begun or not

The sports complex, together with a bomb-sheltered senior center in the village that her ministry is planning to build, is estimated to cost approximately $1.5 million.

Update 3/30/2026 6.45 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

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