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. 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.) 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. 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
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October 2024
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