BIBLE BELT ZEALOTS HIT HOLY LAND HARMONY

Times Online
July 25, 2008
UK

US Christian Zionists are a threat to any peace between Israel’s
Muslims, Christians and Jews Greg Watts Amid the celebrations
marking the 60th anniversary of the birth of the state of Israel,
the traditional Christian Churches in the Holy Land continue their
struggle to survive. But they do not merely face the challenges of
security, discrimination, lack of jobs and emigration. Increasingly,
they have to contend with Christian Zionists, an energetic brand of
evangelical sects, who, like the Jews, see modern Israel, created in
1948, as synonymous with the biblical Israel promised to Abraham for
all eternity in the book of Genesis.

However, unlike the Jews, they see the Jewish presence in Israel as
the precursor for "the rapture" or the Second Coming of Christ. So
keen is their desire to see Jews settle in Israel that they raise
millions of dollars to support projects in Israel. Christian Friends
for Israel even runs a shop in Jerusalem providing Israeli couples
with wedding gowns, morning suits and accessories, all donated by
supporters from around the world.

However, the presence of Christian Zionists in the Holy Land is
blocking efforts to build peace between Muslims, Jews and Christians,
according to Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the head of the local
Franciscans. During a recent visit to London, Father Pizzaballa said :
"Many Protestant sects are now coming into the Holy Land, mainly from
the United States. They have a messianic vision of the land. Some
want to convert all the Jews because they believe when this happens
the Messiah will come.

"Muslims and Jews don’t understand all the differences between
Christian Churches and evangelical sects. As far as they are concerned,
they are Christians."

Proselytising Jehovah’s Witnesses are adding to the problem, says
Father Pizzaballa. "Jehovah’s Witnesses go out knocking on doors
with Hebrew texts. This has created a lot of tensions in Jerusalem,
Tel Aviv and Haifa. Local rabbis have written to newspapers about
them and in some cases called the police to send them away."

The largest group of Christian Zionists may be found among the 70
million evangelicals in the US. The late television evangelis, the
Rev Jerry Falwell, once claimed that: "The Bible Belt of America
is Israel’s safety belt," while another leading Christian pastor,
John Hagee, the founder of Christians United for Israel, believes
that Israel must remain in control of all of Jerusalem. "Turning part
or all of Jerusalem over to the Palestinians would be tantamount to
turning it over to the Taleban," he said.

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, of the West Bank settlement of Efrat, has
emphasised the importance of ties between Israeli and Christian
Zi onists. "What we have to understand is that the Christianity of
persecution and intolerance and Jew-hatred is not the Christianity
of Pastor Hagee and most evangelists today."

However, this growth of Christian Zionism alarms leaders of the
colourful mosaic of Catholic, Orthodox, Armenian and Protestant
Churches in the Holy Land, whose numbers in Israel, the West Bank
and Gaza have slumped to around 200,000 out of a total population of
some ten million. While they have sometimes had their differences,
notably between the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Patriarchates over
access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, they are
united in their opposition to Christian Zionists.

In 2006, the Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah and leaders of the
Syrian Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran Churches issued the Jerusalem
declaration on Christian Zionism. This strongly worded letter accused
Christian Zionists of distorting the Bible and contributing to the
cycle of violence and injustice in the region by its support for
Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.

The International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem (ICEJ), which
describes itself as "the flagship" of the Christian Zionist movement,
has branches in 60 countries and 100,000 supporters. It claims to
have assisted in helping more than 100,000 Jews, especially from the
former Soviet Union, to settle in Israel.

David Parsons, an ICEJ spokesman, believes that the outlook20of
traditional Christian communities in the Holy Land is coloured
by their instinct for survival in the midst of Jewish and Muslim
majorities. "I would say we encourage ‘Western’ Christians to be
sensitive to this issue as they engage with the peoples of the land,
whether Jews or Arabs. But we cannot insist that Christians abandon
the Great Commission . The ICEJ itself does not engage in traditional
missionary programmes, but, like local Arab Christians, tries to give
‘witness’ to our faith in Jesus through our conduct and deeds."

However, Christian Zionism does not enjoy the support of all
evangelicals.

Last year 34 prominent evangelical leaders wrote a letter to President
Bush, distancing themselves from Christian Zionists and stating
that the goal of peace negotiations should be secure states for both
Israelis and Palestinians.

This support is welcomed by the traditional Churches as they fight
for their survival in the land of Christ. Yet despite this, and the
help from organisations such as the Terra Sancta Education Trust, a UK
charity which supports Christian businesses and schools in Bethlehem,
their decline looks set to continue. In contrast, Christian Zionists,
impatient to bring about the Second Coming, go marching on.