"Palestinian Christians lived for centuries in this land. They struggle to stay in this land as a minority. Sometimes they meet groups of Christian people that say to them, "You Palestinian people are an obstacle to the second coming of Jesus. You need to move out in order to make room for the Jews from the diaspora to come here." So an average Christian here will say, Wow I am an obstacle to the second coming of Jesus? What? God doesn't love us? God loves one group more than He love us? Well it happens all the time while we are here. Quite often I meet a Christian Zionist group that does not understand the implication of Christian Zionism. The implication of Christian Zionism, and the way we understand and hear it here, to accept this theology, is to commit suicide as a people group." Salem Munayer, Palestinian Pastor and Founder of Musalaha
Over the weekend former Vice President Mike Pence visited Israel, specifically visiting the Israeli military in the northern region to show solidarity to the IDF. "I came to Israel to say to the people of our most cherished ally that the American people are with you," Pence was quoted in Hebrew media. He was then later photographed signing one of the missiles from the Israeli military, funded by the US. This is nothing new, as people have been photographing themselves signing Israeli missiles for years. Pence has always been 100% clear about his backing of Israel and how it stems directly from his Christian belief system.
This type of belief system, where signing missiles that will kill more civilians and children does not represent the Jesus who taught us to love our neighbor and our enemies by seeing the image of God in them. Furthermore, it is deeply damaging to Palestinian Christians, and it is a classic example of how bad theology really does kill.
Pence does not represent me as an American or a follower of Jesus. And I am deeply bothered that in order to get empathy for Palestine from the West, we have to scream and remind them there are Christians being killed also. Is the sanctity of all life, not enough?
On any given Sunday morning in the United States, people from all across America will attend worship services. Maybe they will sing, maybe they will hear a challenging message from the comfort of cushioned seats, with electricity and water available, and maybe even a coffee in hand. The Middle East might be mentioned, or it might not. Some of these churches will display an Israeli flag and pastors will tell their congregation to stand with Israel unconditionally, as they have set out to defeat their enemy---Palestinians--who are all equated as terrorists standing in the way of God's will. (There is a common belief system in the US among Christians equating all Palestinians as terrorists. I know because many of you have written and told me they are.) It will be said in these churches, God blesses those who bless Israel and curses those who curse Israel, and they will claim all the land of Israel belongs to the modern secular state of Israel, and Israel only. Blessing Israel means writing them a blank check, and looking away from apartheid, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and any other sin they commit. Once again, the Palestinian Christian and Muslim civilians, fathers, mothers, children, and the elderly will become dehumanized, and the massive loss of life will be justified.
Christian Zionism is different from Zionism although they share the belief that the Jewish people have been given the land of Israel through a covenant promise to God, and so therefore have an exclusive right to the land, the whole land. This ideology is rooted in passages of the Old Testament, including a passage in Genesis, and also the interpretation of future prophecy. Christian Zionists also believe Jews in the world must return to the land that was called Palestine, which will then usher in the 2nd coming of Christ. Christians who hold to this theology, cheered in 1948 when Israel became a state, and also in 1967. They saw this as fulfillment of prophecy and put them one step closer to the return of Jesus. I will not get into arguing these scriptures and debating the different meanings as theologians far more intelligent than I, have already written extensively on the topic. I have included helpful books on this topic below.
Often times, Christian Zionists work to achieve these goals by paying money to rebuild the Jewish Temple in Israel, they take money and gifts to IDF soldiers, help fund Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem (taking Palestinian land and homes) and take Holy Land trips that focus only on this ideology. In these Holy Land trips, people are often shielded from seeing what is really happening in the West Bank and not given the opportunity to meet Palestinian Christians. In the US it is estimated more than 30-50 million Christians believe in this idea that the land belongs only to the Jewish people---more than the Jews themselves. So, there are more Christian Zionists in the world promoting this belief system than there are Jewish Zionists.
It was only in the last 50 years this particular belief system was coined Christian Zionism. But long before that in the 17th century, Christians began to advocate for a Jewish return to Palestine. One of the main advocates for this belief system was a man named John Darby, also an influential proponent of Dispensationalism. Israeli historian, Anita Shapira suggested evangelical Christians passed the idea of Zionism onto Jewish circles as it was not part of their belief system during this time.
A missionary to the Jewish people in Israel once told me, if you are not a Christian Zionist, then you are not truly "saved."
I spent close to 30 years of my life in circles that promoted Christian Zionism both in the extreme sense and not extreme. I was part of a church when I was 19 that brought Gershon Solomon from Israel to visit. He was raising funds to rebuild the Jewish temple in Jerusalem which they believe is on the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque. After he spoke, Christians lined up to put money in the offering for him and we all believed we were helping usher in the 2nd coming of Christ. Something felt slightly "off" to me back then, but we were whipped up into believing we were part of hastening the return of Jesus. Looking back, the money donated that day would have been much better spent feeding the poor and caring for the widows and orphans in the world.
I used to be a Christian Zionist, because this is the sect of Christianity I was taught, and for a large part of my life, I had no reason to question any of it. Until I attended University, I had never met a Palestinian or knew they even existed. Along my journey out of Christian Zionism, there were a few key people I encountered who influenced me: Christians I met in Jerusalem 22 years ago, a Jewish friend of mine, and my life over the past 19 years of working with Palestinians.
My eyes began to be slowly opened to the deep dangers of the Christian Zionism theological belief system from a dear and patient Jewish friend who did not believe in Zionism. In my early 20's, I took trips to Israel/Palestine which left a lot of questions for me, questions my belief system at the time could not answer. One day in Jerusalem when I was 22, I had an encounter with an Arab man sitting on a bench. I cannot tell you exactly what he said to me, but I am sure I displayed my Zionist belief system, and he very kindly corrected me. It left an impression and was one of the first times I was hearing another side to the story in Israel. Until that point, I never knew there were Palestinian Christians living in the land and churches I attended in the US never spoke of them. It impacted me at the time, but it didn't change my beliefs.
I also spent time with two American Christian girls who were teaching English in the West Bank. They were very kind to me and asked me to consider how my belief system affected the Palestinians living in the land. This was a completely different attitude than the other Western Christians I met in Israel that summer. I heard nothing, but hatred and disregard for the Palestinians from them. To them, the Palestinians were a nuance and were in the way of fulfilling God's plans. Finally, that summer, when I tried to leave Israel through the airport, I was detained for hours, interrogated, searched, humiliated, and made to feel that I was a human animal. It was shocking for me as a young American to be treated in this manner, but I now know that is common for how Palestinians are treated. And generally, they are treated much worse than I was. I returned to the states broken, and cracks began to appear in this belief system I held so tightly.
My interactions with Palestinians and Palestinian Christians after moving to Jordan in 2005 pried open these cracks even further. American Christianity didn't have all the answers for life happening here on the ground. The Christianity I was involved with was more concerned about being right and having all the answers, than it was about humility, openness to being wrong, and learning from those we might consider the "least of these." Early in my time here in Jordan, we tried to rent an apartment from an elderly Palestinian man who came as refugee to Jordan in 1948. Abu Muhammed told us his story and showed us pictures of his family that Israel soldiers had murdered in Al-Nakba. It was the first time we had heard anything about the Palestinian side of history. I assume our doubt showed as he later accused us of working for Mossad and refused to rent the apartment. More cracks in the American belief system. What vibe did we give off to make this elderly man feel this way? We felt horrible, but we quickly learned Abu Mohammed wasn't the only one with these stories. Sit with any Palestinian on any given day and you will hear everything we were not exposed to in the West. How many Palestinians do we need to corroborate a story in order for it to be true?
Adding to these events were the Western Christians I encountered living in the Holy Land, and Christian Zionists in America who shared in common their disdain, dislike and even racism towards Palestinians. Palestinians were now my best friends, some of the kindest, most giving people I had ever encountered. How could people in the West hate someone they had never met? For me, this no longer lined up with the teachings of Jesus, and so the tension deepened, and the cracks expanded.
Probably the single most convincing argument against Christian Zionism for me that set me on a path to find a theology inclusive of all people, were the Christian Palestinians who have been completely ignored by American Christianity. They are real. They are present. They are living in the Holy Land whether the world has been aware or not. And they feel Western Christians have used their own Bible as a weapon against them......They feel deserted and abandoned by Western Christians. If there were any other group of Christians being treated this way in the world, we would call it persecution and their stories would appear in Voices of the Martyrs. But not for the Palestinian Christians.
I spent years deconstructing this issue, and the truth is when you begin a deconstruction on one issue, you will begin to find smaller cracks attached to the larger one. American Evangelicalism has a long history of standing with the oppressor, and not often enough with the oppressed. The Bible has been used for centuries to justify slavery, apartheid, colonialization, and oppressing women in the church. I came to a point when I finally realized my Christian belief system was part of oppressing an entire people group and a major part of the problem in the Holy Land. I had to repent of my destructive beliefs and apologize to the Palestinians.
Quite often, theologies are created in the comfortable space of Western libraries and churches, but how those play out on the ground is an entirely different story. It is easy to make interpretations, ideologies, and judgements when you hold the power and control of the religious systems. We continue to see the effects of this today and every day in Gaza, Palestine and Jordan.
I have been asked several times how I see an end to what is happening today in Gaza. Frankly, I don't see an end, but I do see a place to begin. It begins with Evangelicals in America putting down their weapons. It begins with real prayers and seeking God. It begins with repenting and asking for forgiveness. It begins by accepting when you speak against the Christian Zionist belief system, you will be persecuted by other Christians, friends, and family. And then it is followed by action, lobbying for justice and true peace in the Holy Land for all people living there. No one in Palestine/Israel is free until the Palestinians are free. I strongly believe the Evangelical Church in America holds the keys to lasting justice and peace.
In conclusion, I heard Reverend Frank Chikane speak about the end of apartheid in South Africa. He described how Christians were a part of the apartheid and racism. Change in South Africa began when Christians starting praying, seeking God, and repented of their sin of racism. Then they began advocating for justice and peace in South Africa.
You as a child of God might hold the power in your hands to change the situation in Gaza.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Anyone wishing to debate or argue my Christianity, I will kindly refer to you one of these books or the documentaries in the comments.
Whose Land, Whose Promise? Gary Burge
The Other Side of the Wall, Munther Isaac
Christian Zionism, Road Map to Armageddon, Stephen Sizer
A Palestinian Theology of Liberation, Naim Ateek
Learning From the Least, Dr. Andrew Bush
Documentary "With God On Our Side."