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By Paul Kivel In her book Allies for Armageddon: The Rise of Christian Zionism Victoria Clark writes, “One has to look back as far as the Crusades to find another example of such a large group of outsiders involving themselves in the Middle East on a religious pretext….” Clark is describing the history and power of Christian Zionism. In the last two centuries, the creation of and continuing support for the state of Israel was substantially determined by ruling class Christian Zionists, first in Britain and more recently in the U.S. Today Christian Zionists lobby for pro-Israeli expansionist policies, provide a tremendous amount of direct financial support to Israel, coordinate a large pro-Israel, anti-Palestinian constituency, and give direct aid to illegal settlements in the West Bank.  Crusaders of the First Crusade (11th Century) on their way to Jerusalem are portrayed in a stained-glass window located in the cathedral of Brussels that was created in 1866. iStock photo by Jorisvo. What Is Christian Zionism? Christian Zionism refers to the movement of Christians who believe God gave the Jews the divine right to rule over Israel, which they interpret to encompass the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and Jerusalem. While known as a powerful and well-resourced pro-Israel lobby, it is much more than that. It is a widespread network of individual and institutional support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine that has taken various forms over centuries. Today, the Christian Zionist movement has a significant impact on U.S. foreign policy in Palestine/Israel. The movement is extensive, well-organized, and effective. Although at times it works with and supports the Jewish pro-Israel lobby, it is completely independent and has its own religious and political agenda. According to Pastor John Hubers with the Institute for the Study of Christian Zionism, today Christian Zionism is characterized by a few core beliefs, starting with the principle that God’s covenant with Israel is eternal, unchanging and unconditional. The Bible gives Christians the obligation to support Israel, otherwise harm will come to them and to the United States. They often quote Genesis 12:3: “I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse”. Hubers describes another foundational belief of Christian Zionists: the prophetic books of the Bible such as Daniel and Revelations refer to current times, not Biblical times. Thus Israel is a vehicle for accelerating the end-time prophecies so heavily emphasized by Christian fundamentalists. (See also Donald Wagner, Anxious for Armageddon, Herald Press 1995.) Ironically, these prophecies are strongly antisemitic, as it is only Christians who will be “saved” in the Rapture, while the Jews (and all other non-Christians) will die. Pastor Hubers concludes that even Christians who do not believe in End Time scenarios support Israel. “The majority of American Christians who give uncritical support to Israel today have been influenced in one way or another by the tenets of Christian Zionism.” The Power and Wealth of Christian Zionists Along with their unconditional support for Israeli policies and expansion, Christian Zionists also promote long-standing Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism that fuels anti-Arab and anti-Muslim violence. They assert that Palestinians have no claim to the land, have no legitimate grievances, and should simply be driven from the area and dispersed to other Arab countries. Deeply reminiscent of U.S. genocidal policies towards Native Americans, the level of racism and Islamophobia in Christian Zionist policy promotes an uncompromising, expansionist, no-peace-negotiation stance on the part of Israel and the U.S. towards the Palestinians. Thus, their power and funding continue to be major obstacles to any progress in ending the violence and creating a lasting and just solution to the crisis in this area of the world. Most of the powerful Christian conservatives in the U.S. are and have been Zionist, including Tim LaHaye, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Benny Hinn, Ralph Reed, Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, John Hagee and Gary Bauer. Their over 200 advocacy groups include Christian Friends of Israeli Communities, Christians and Jews United for Israel, Jerusalem Prayer Team, Stand with Israel, Christian Broadcasting Network, and what has become the largest of them all, with over eight million members, Christians United for Israel. (That’s more than the 7.5 million Jewish people in the US.)  Former Vice President Mike Pence with founder Pastor John Hagee at the Christians United for Israel (CUFI) Washington Summit in Washington, D.C. July 8, 2019. Wikimedia Commons: Photo by D. Myles Cullen. These Christian Zionist groups — all of them tax-exempt and therefore government subsidized non-profit organizations — spend tens of millions of dollars lobbying in Washington on behalf of Israel and sending direct aid to Israel. According to their website, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews for example, with a donor base of 500,000, raises $100-200 million a year and since its founding has contributed over $1.5 billion to a wide variety of pro-Israel projects, including bringing 250,000 Russian and Ethiopian Jews to settle in Israel. Christian Friends of Israeli Communities works with U.S. churches to “adopt” Jewish settlements in the West Bank. By 2006, they had funded programs in over a third of the Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories. Many of these groups run tours of the “Holy Land,” bringing hundreds of thousands of tourists to Israel. Some of these organizations have affiliates in such countries as Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and Korea and influence in other parts of the world. Beyond their lobbying, funding, and organizing work, Christian Zionists have had an even more powerful longer-term impact on mainstream Christian views of the Middle East. Today, tens of millions of Protestant Christians in the United States and more around the world support Israel. Christian Zionists advocated for the war against Iraq and currently are pushing for an invasion of Lebanon and war with Iran. Recognizing the support of Chistian Zionists for the Israeli occupation of Palestine, Jews, Mennonites and others have organized protests to bring public attention to their role.  An interfaith group of pro-Palestinian protesters interrupts the Christians United for Israel summit inside and outside the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, July 29, 2024, in National Harbor, Md. (RNS photo/Jack Jenkins) U.S. policy in the Middle East is shaped by diverse forces, such as U.S. foreign policy goals, the priorities of the Dept. of Defense, and the interests of the military/industrial complex, including the arms, aviation, and oil industries. The Jewish pro-Israeli lobby and the governments of Israel and Saudi Arabia also play significant roles. But we are missing a crucial piece if we ignore the centuries-old role of Christian Zionists in shaping policy decisions and public opinion, in supporting the Jewish Zionist agenda, and in providing direct support to the Israeli government and illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. It is time for us to understand and challenge the role Christian Zionists and their organizations play in supporting Israel’s devastating occupation of Palestine, its genocide against the Palestinian people, and its continuing pursuit of expansion through war throughout the region
By Micki Luckey Can you imagine living on 2-3 liters (roughly 2-3 quarts) of water a day? That was the average water consumed daily by a person living in Gaza before they were hit by even worse conditions under the on-going Israeli bombardments. During its 75 year long occupation of Palestine, Israel has used many different strategies to force the Palestinians from their land. Controlling the water supply throughout the area has been one specific and effective weapon Israel continues to use to bolster its own development and to displace Palestinians. Before October 7th, 2023, Gazans were spending a third of their income on water and regularly mixed the water from the tap with sea water to make it go farther. The lack of clean drinking water had already made 25% of children in Gaza susceptible to gastric ailments and other diseases. As part of their retaliation for October 7, Israeli forces increased their targeting of the water infrastructure in Gaza. By November 2023 Israeli attacks had disrupted the sources (desalination plants, pipelines and wells) of all but 5% of Gaza’s water. So now Gazans face “heightened health and environmental risks owing to limited access to clean water.” Today people in Gaza are forced to drink polluted seawater.  This booth appeared at a 2024 Palestinian solidarity gathering. A person wearing a Netanyahu mask was promoting GAZA SPRINGS Sewage and Seawater with the ad, “A Taste of Genocide”. https://gazasprings.com/ photo by author. Recent bombing destroyed a new desalination plant that took Gazans 7 years to build because the Israeli blockade prevented the needed pipes and other materials from reaching them. Its completion in 2023 was cause for celebration—and hope. Now the bombardment has destroyed it, along with most other water and sewage facilities. In July 2024 Israeli soldiers posted a video * of their successful bombing of a water facility in Rafah, the very water station that Rachel Corrie (an American nonviolent activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer as she defended a home from demolition) had spent time defending. *translation from the Hebrew: The video is titled “Destruction of the Tal Sultan water reservoir in honor of Shabbat” and plays to a song by soldiers of the 51st Golani Brigade singing “We will burn Gaza…shake all of Gaza…for every house you destroy we will destroy ten.” Weaponizing water through the deliberate targeting of Palestinian water and sewage facilities is not limited to the current Israeli offensive in Gaza. In past years the Israeli government has cut off the water supply to areas such as Jenin, at one time for more than 40 days (blamed by the Israelis on “problems in the water supply.”) Amnesty International found in 2016 that almost 200,000 Palestinians in the West Bank did not have access to running water; furthermore they cannot collect water without permission. Beyond denying access is the direct targeting of water infrastructure. According to a UN report In May 2023, “more than 270 water and sewage facilities used by Palestinians in Area C [which is 61% of the West Bank and wholly controlled by the Israeli military] have been demolished in the past five years.” Has there always been a water shortage due to the arid climate? For centuries the West Bank obtained water from the Jordan River along the eastern border and from the Mountain Aquifer, which runs north-south and provides fresh water to basins in the north, west and east. (An aquifer is underground porous rock that stores groundwater and is normally replenished by rain and melted snow.) Regions of the West Bank have had plentiful water: the village of Jafneh near Ramellah was famous for its fresh water canals, now ruined by settlements (from Ten Myths About Israel by Ilan Pappé , p. 93). And Ramallah gets more rain than London.  Although the average annual rainfall in Ramallah exceeds that in London,Israeli control of the water supply has meant that Palestinians in the West Bank receive less water per person than recommended by the World Health Organization and less than one quarter of the water available to Israeli individuals. For video with the text go to https://visualizingpalestine.org/visual/not-enough-water-in-west-bank/ As this diagram shows, the issue is control of the water at Ramallah, as the supply to Palestinians is drastically limited by Israel. Control of the Mountain Aquifer was given to Israel by the Oslo agreements with the stipulation that the water be shared equitably between Israelis and Palestinians. However, in 2023 it was reported that Israel has diverted 87% of the ground water for Israeli use and only 13% reaches Palestinians.
In 2019 this control allowed each Israeli settler to consume 369 liters of water daily, while Palestinians consumed an average of 73 liters per day, well below the 100 liters recommended by the World Health Organization. (And remember today people in Gaza are getting 2-3 liters per day.) In May 2023, B’Tselem reported that “About 100,000 Palestinians in 70 communities through the West Bank are not even hooked up to the water grid… [they consume] a mere 26 liters a day per person. …These figures show that Palestinians in the West Bank are living with a severe water crisis.” Furthermore, many Palestinian farmers and villagers have lost access to the water on their land due to the expansion of illegal settlements. An example of settler encroachment and ultimately control is vividly described in the memoir of Ahed Tamimi. The Tamimi’s village, Nabi Saleh, had a natural fresh water spring at which the villagers would fill their jugs twice every morning, first to water their goats and sheep and then to take to their families. “As a young girl, I relished playing by the spring. On hot days, my cousins and I would splash one another with its cool water…That land, where the spring is located, is owned by one of the elders of the village, Bashir Tamimi. It was passed down to him by his father, who inherited it from his grandfather. But generations of family ownership didn’t matter to the Israeli settlers… the settlers of Halamish took our precious spring …” The settlers built a pool, swing set and benches and renamed it Meir Spring. Often armed with dogs and weapons, they harassed the villagers who came for water and sometimes denied them access. It became too dangerous for Ahed and her friends to visit. (From They Called Me a Lioness by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri pp. 18-19) This story of losing access to the spring of fresh water on their own land is fairly typical. There are also reports of Israeli settlers poisoning Palestinian wells and shooting holes in water tanks, as well as in catchments on roofs. In addition to uprooting olive trees, appropriating land, demolishing homes, and shooting to kill and wound far too many civilians and children, blocking access to water is a major way that Israel assaults the livelihood of all Palestinians. It is a vicious kind of discrimination that affects the quality of everyday life and robs human dignity. Water is indispensable to life. The right to water is part of the human rights of all people. It is time to end water apartheid, to end the Israeli Occupation, including its control of water, so the Palestinian people can live healthy, safe and thriving lives on their ancestral lands. By Eve Higby and Micki Luckey During the nine months of Israel’s unrelenting war, the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) has continued to deliver food to people in Gaza. To raise funds to support this work, MECA held its Third Annual Ride for Palestine this past Sunday, July 21st. The need for aid is especially urgent: Israeli bombardments have caused massive displacements, and the Israeli government has blocked the entry of food. Tens of thousands of Palestinian children suffer from severe malnutrition and medical supplies are practically nonexistent, according to a recent UNICEF report. A team of 16 SURJ Bay Area riders joined about fifty other teams in the Ride for Palestine to raise funds for MECA. The event was wildly successful, surpassing MECA’s goals by raising nearly $300,000, and bringing a few hundred people together for Palestinian food, music and dancing in a day of solidarity with Gaza.  Bicyclists ride on the Bay Trail to Richmond CA for the MECA Ride for Palestine. Photo: Team SURJ The recent violence outside the Los Angeles Adas Torah synagogue was immediately met with cries of antisemitism — from President Joe Biden to Governor Gavin Newsom to L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and everyone in between. Why would pro-Palestinian activists protest outside of a synagogue? Most media outlets didn’t ask that question, merely reporting on the violence and thus insuring it would appear like protesters were simply targeting a house of worship. So why were the protesters there?  Image of a sign at a Palestine protest in the shape of a watermelon that reads when you bomb a watermelon, you spread its seeds. Photo by Brooke Anderson @movementphotographer Before we dig in, imagine this scenario: One day, you and your neighbors are told that you have to vacate your homes and will not be allowed to return. Soldiers with weapons are enforcing this and you know that to stay would mean imprisonment or even death for your family. You have children, your aging mother lives with you. So you have no choice. You and your neighbors leave homes that have been in your families for generations. A few months later, you hear from your cousin living abroad. He tells you that a real estate company is holding a sale of properties that are located in your old neighborhood, including your home! How is this possible?, you ask yourself. How can they sell our home to a group of foreigners when that home has been in our family for decades? Sounds far-fetched? Well that’s exactly what is happening in the United States. Homes, lands, farms, and whole villages that belonged to Palestinian families are being sold by Israeli real estate companies to prospective U.S. buyers at events across the country. Many of the properties being sold are in the West Bank, illegal according to international law. And the events are only open to Jews, illegal under U.S. Civil Rights law.  Copy of the ad in the Jewish Journal that ran in the June 14–20 edition. Image of beachfront with buildings in the distance, the dates, times. and locations of the two real estate in Israel events including Adas Torah. So back to the question. Why were the Pro-Palestine protesters there? They were protesting a real estate fair being held at the synagogue, where attendees were invited to meet “representatives of housing projects in all the best Anglo neighborhoods in Israel.” Anglo? On top of the illegality of the event, it’s blatantly racist too! Hussam Ayloush, Executive Director of the Greater Los Angeles Area Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told The NY Times that the Israeli real estate event “could have been hosted at a Motel 6 or a mosque and they would still be subject to protest.” One could ask why is a synagogue is hosting such a nefarious event. But another key question is why were so many so quick to label this protest as antisemitism before knowing all the facts or even how the violence got started in the first place. If we look at recent pro-Palestine protests and student encampments, the vast majority have been peaceful. The main violence we’ve seen has been from highly-militarized police and swat teams and pro-Israel counter protesters. Of the recent incident, L.A. Mayor Bass said, “The violence we saw yesterday in the heart of a Jewish community was designed to divide and create fear, but hear me loud and clear: it will fail.” True that, Madam Mayor, the Palestine solidarity movement is unified and fearless as ever. Attempts to “divide and conquer” by waging charges of antisemitism will indeed fail. Want to read more about the Israeli real estate sales? Here you go:
Hundreds of Palestine supporters protest Israeli real estate event at New Jersey synagogue (The Guardian) Israeli Firms Are Working Overtime to Sell Stolen Palestinian Land to US Jews (truthout) Israeli real estate event draws backlash over sale of West Bank settlement properties (Middle East Eye) Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa. Reviewed by Micki Luckey. In her beautiful but emotionally challenging novel, Against the Loveless World, Susan Abulhawa captures the insecurity and lack of place experienced by Palestinians in the diaspora and then the building of community and resistance to the occupation inside Palestine. With exquisite descriptions of place, food, events, and people, we follow Yaqoot (also called Nahr) as she moves from Kuwait to Jordan to Palestine.  A panoramic view of the Ramallah hills. Photo by Fjmustak, 2016, Creative Commons By Felicia Gustin “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.” –Frantz Fanon (1925 - 1961), philosopher, revolutionary, author, and pre-eminent thinker on the issue of decolonization  Several camping-style tents cover the lawn in front of a UC Berkeley building as part of the "Free Palestine" encampment. Photo by author. By Micki Luckey The numbers coming out of Gaza are numbing — over 33,000 dead, almost half children; 17,000 orphans; already 20 dead of starvation and many more expected; 80% of the population displaced… Many of us in SURJ Bay Area have been marching and demonstrating, signing petitions, sending emails, and making phone calls to protest the assault on Gaza now entering its sixth month. We follow the actions recommended by our partner, Arab Resource and Organizing Center, as well as our allies at Jewish Voice for Peace. Another organization that supports Palestine is the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA). MECA is located in Berkeley and provides on-the-ground support in Palestine as well as other parts of the Middle East. Below is the voice of one of their workers.  MECA staff filling up jugs of clean drinking water for displaced families in Rafah, Gaza. Used with permission from MECA.
By Erin Kane, Rachael Devlin and Micki Luckey
Grid of fiction & non-fiction books featured in this essay.
A few years ago, SURJ BA posted a list of Racial Justice Books for White People. Two lists, really — one fiction, one non-fiction. The books on these lists were chosen through a vote by the chapter membership.
Recently, a few of us were trading comments on books we have loved. Out of these conversations grew a desire to shine a light on more Black voices in honor of Black History Month. SURJ Bay Area’s Policy Committee supports incredible partner organizations – Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC) / All of Us or None, Essie Justice Group, Initiate Justice, Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employer’s Network, and the Drop LWOP Coalition – in their legislative advocacy campaigns, aimed at ending the prison industrial complex and building a world free of cages and with equitable working and living conditions for all.  An image of the Capitol Building in Sacramento. Photo by Andre M. (2014, Creative Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sacramento,-California---State-Capitol_(cropped).jpg) Part 2 of 2: It’s time to speak out against Moms For Liberty by Regie Stites In August and September 2023, the Yolo County Library and schools in Davis, California received a half-dozen emailed bomb threats containing homophobic hate speech. These threats were inspired by a campaign by the local Moms For Liberty chapter aimed at banning books that center on LGBTQ+ characters and issues.  A crowd of people hold signs saying “Stop Banning Books,” “Our Students Deserve Better,” and “Teach the Truth” at a protest against book banning in Atlanta, GA, 12 February 2022. Photo by John Ramspott. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Book_Banning_Protest,_Atlanta,_GA_2-12-2022_P2120167_(51878411104).jpg |
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