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There is a lot of talk about Christian Zionists these days, but most of it is devoid of a discussion of the motivation of Israel's alleged friends.
The vast majority of Christian Zionists are on the Christian Right. This should be of concern when one considers that Christian fundamentalists in this country despise anyone who does not subscribe to their particular variety of Christianity, much less other views on the subject of religion.
For some, support for the Israeli government's policies is a temporary alliance, based on realpolitik. The followers are understandably outraged by terrorist acts carried out by Muslim religious extremists and foolishly think that all Muslims are responsible. The leaders are more concerned with the growth of Islam, which is resulting from population growth in Muslim countries, many Christians converting to Islam in Africa, and limited successes in conversion to Islam in Europe and the United States. For these supporters of Israel, they are limited in their interest to using Israel as a proxy in their conflict with Islam. Should Islam ever be conquered or even contained, they will revert to their old hostilities toward Jews.
For other Christian Zionists, supporting the expansionist policies of the Israeli government is more about trying to jump-start apocalypse. They think that an enormous war between Isreal and the world's Arabs and Muslims is predicted by the Bible. These militant, Christian fundamentalists think this will bring the rapture they are so excited about.
However, the Christian Taliban who are supporting aggressive Israeli policies are Jew-haters who see Jewish people as “Christ-killers.” The least militant of these people, such as George W. Bush, merely think that Jews will all go to hell. Others among them would prefer to take violent actions in this world against Jewish people. Their willingness to support right-wing Israeli policies is based entirely on a desperate desire to see the End of the World.
The Jewish community of the US and the Israeli government should seriously reconsider their alliance with these extremists. Yes, Israeli leaders would like more land and would like a larger water supply, but do they really want to politically empower people who despise them?
The Israeli public might also want to reconsider the policies that are attracting the support of militant, Christian fundamentalists. Is an enormous war with over a billion of the world's Muslims really in Israel's best interests? Can Israel contain the ambitions for such a war among its Christian extremist “supporters”?
Psycho Woman Throws Knives At Children
13 years ago
The tone of this and other articles herein starts with the supposition that Christian fundamentalism (extremism, zionism, whatever) is ridiculous and thus this is why I take the opposite stance.
Please! I agree entirely that Christian extremism in government is dangerous and not rationally sound. However, this author commits the same egregious errors of argument by stating that this justifies an equally irrational response on the Left.
Neither Israel nor Hamas, Hizbollah, et al. are to be held blameless in this. The author's preoccupation with how horrible the Christian Right is only muddies an already murky situation with blind animosity toward an ideology.
Try rationally looking at the facts of this conflict instead of approaching every issue, foreign and domestic, from the perspective that the Christian Right must be to blame.
No cause is helped with this approach.
I absolutely agree that most Christians, if not all, support Israel only because they see it as their future homeland, where they will welcome the Messiah after the Jews have either converted or died! So, in essence, they are much like the Muslims who also believe we must convert to Islam or die. But at least the Christians aren't actively trying to make it happen!