America's Evangelical Christians, represented by the Christian Coalition
and led by Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson among others, believe that
God's covenant with Israel is as binding upon Christians as their covenant
with Christ. Although most Jews did not accept Jesus as their savior,
Evangelicals consider God's plan for their redemption unchanged and
expect the complete recreation of ancient Israel in the last days.
As expressed by many voices of the Christian Coalition, God's promise
to Israel in Genesis 12:3 remains as valid as ever: "I will bless
those who bless you and curse those who curse you." Hence, those
who do not unconditionally support Israel will suffer God's curse.
According to Evangelical theologian Stephen Sizer, "the boundaries
of the land promised to Abraham and his descendants will be literally
instituted" and "Jesus Christ will return to a literal and
theocratic Jewish kingdom centered on Jerusalem." Then, according
to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, the Lord "will come down from heaven,
and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are
left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air."
To make this day of "rapture" possible and for Jesus to return
to Jerusalem, Christians must oppose anybody standing in the way of
Israel's complete restoration. Last spring, 23 Evangelical leaders urged
President Bush to abandon his "Roadmap for Peace" because
it would prevent Israel from its necessary triumph over the Palestinian
aliens on their land. When Mahmoud Abbas was sworn in as Palestinian
prime minister, the Christian Broadcasting Network observed that this
setback caused America to be hit by the worst month of tornadoes in
its history.
In a speech to the Knesset about America's allegiance to Israel, House
Majority Leader Tom DeLay, himself an Evangelical Christian, waxed so
sanguine that he described himself as an "Israeli at heart."
Labor Party leader Danny Yatom commented: "Geez, Likud is nothing
compared to him."
"We should not ask Israel to withdraw from occupied territories--we
should stand with them and fight," Pat Robertson told the Christian
Coalition's 2002 rally in Washington. "Jerusalem is the eternal,
indivisible capital of the state of Israel, and it must not be divided."
Many Jews, however, are suspicious of the Evangelicals' interest in
Israel. The Christian Coalition, explained Josh Ruebner, the co-founder
of Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel, "are people who believe
that Jewish souls cannot go to heaven and that Jews will have to be
converted before the end of days."
Perhaps the strongest Christian opposition to the Christian Zionists
comes from Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), a broad coalition
of mainstream Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox seeking "negotiated,
just, and peaceful resolutions to conflicts in the region." CMEP
rejects the Evangelical calculations about the end times and the role
of contemporary Israel in them. Instead, CMEP stresses the Biblical
admonitions for God-fearing people to seek justice.
Micah, for example, asks: "What does the Lord require of you, but
to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
Jeremiah concludes: "For if you truly amend your ways and your
doings, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not
oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow, or shed innocent blood
… then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave
of old to your fathers forever." Jesus himself proclaims in the
Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
Both the Christian Coalition and Christians for Middle East Peace are
focusing their advocacy efforts upon the President and Congress because
the American response to Israel's present policies is crucial for the
outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although the Christian
coalition has been getting majority support on Capitol Hill and a friendly
hearing in the White House, both camps have so far failed to engender
a national debate on America's moral responsibility for the fate of
the Holy Land.