How Should Christians View Modern Israel? (Part 1)

Introduction: Putting the Issue in Perspective

Discounting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the State of Israel is the newest country to emerge from the Middle East. Many American Christians of the last several decades view Israel’s very existence as blessed by God and even a fulfillment of prophesy. And this translates into widespread support for Israel in American politics, both on the left and right, many of whom are openly Zionist.

“Zionism” is taken from the historic term used by the Jews to denote the faraway Promised Land during the diaspora. Zion became the word Jews used to encapsulate all that they loved and missed about their historic homeland. The “ism” attached at the end indicates the belief that a Jewish return to the Holy Land (Palestine) is divinely sanctioned and inevitable. Breeze through the books of the Hebrew prophets and you’ll see how this would be a natural belief in the Jewish mind.

But many evangelical Christians, mainly in the US and some in Canada and the UK, believe in their own form of Zionism, that even in the New Testament age, Israel remains God’s chosen people and Christians are merely “grafted in” to what is rightfully theirs. For Christian Zionists, Israel is, always has been, and always will be the one people of God, but through Christ, God has made an official provision to extend His election also to the Christ-believing Gentiles. The good news Christ came to bring, they emphasize, is for “the Jew first, then to the Gentile” (Rom. 1:16).

In this theological system, the new covenant has revised the old covenant but not completely. Other Christian Zionists hold a dual-covenant theology, in which the new covenant between God and the Church compliments rather than replaces the established covenant with the Jews. In either case, the original promises given to Abraham and his offspring (Gen. 12:2-3) still apply to the Jewish people.

Not only that, but Christian Zionists also contend Israel’s modern reincarnation beginning in 1948 was orchestrated by God to fulfill biblical prophesy. Many connect it with their end-times views to conclude that Israel had to become a nation again for the other events of the end-times to come.

There are some secular arguments for Zionism, too. Jews have historically been bullied and oppressed, and it only seems fair that they should have their own state as an asylum from oppression and anti-semitism around the world. Plus, being a secular democracy, Israel is a natural ally against a host of Middle Eastern nations with whom American relations are strained (mainly Iran).

But Israel has had violent land disputes with the Palestinian people since its inception in 1948. (Here’s a quick overview of why Israel and Palestine have a long history of fighting.) Christian Zionists tend to support Israel in these disputes because God endowed certain boundaries of land to Israel (Gen. 15:18-21), which they see as belonging to them by divine right. Dave Hunt, for instance, criticized the Oslo Accords of the 1990s as being an “unbiblical giveaway” of land in exchange for peace. Similar criticisms of peace agreements have come from Mike Evans, Pat Robertson, John Hagee, and others.

Christian Zionists view the state of Israel’s defense and advancement as their number one priority. Thus, you see statements like the one recently expressed by Baptist Pastor-turned-Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee that Obama’s deal with Iran will lead Israel to the “door of the oven“—evoking language of the Holocaust.

The affect these Christian Zionist leaders have on American society and politics cannot be underestimated. According to a poll in 2012, America is the only nation on Earth that views Israel more favorably than unfavorably. Prominent politicians offer Israel their uncritical support. And organizations which make up the pro-Israel lobby boast millions of members and ample political clout. If any lobby has the power to influence American policy, the pro-Israel lobby is certainly it.

Even though Israel has repeatedly violated UN resolutions (nearly 100 of them) and allowed the building of new Jewish settlements on Palestinian land (violation of UN Resolution 446 and the Geneva Code), Christian Zionists largely continue to support Israel. They view Arab Palestinians as squatters on land that never belonged to them. Many Christian Zionists would be willing to allow Arab Palestinians to stay in Israel, but only as second class citizens, without the right to their own government and independence.

On the other side of the fence, many Arabs feel affinity with the Palestinians and see the state of Israel as illegitimate, an unnatural creation of Western powers that flooded the region with European Jews and claimed territory they had no right to. Clashes between the Hamas branch of Palestinian resistance and the Israeli Defense Force is only escalating the violence, and the main casualties on both sides are civilians. Every innocent death, especially of children, energizes and emboldens the most militant elements within both Palestine and Israel. Rather than heightened push-back against Hamas decreasing their strength or will, the tenacity of the Hamas is only increasing.

It is true that Palestinians, especially those who support Hamas, have plenty of blood on their hands. There are numerous cases like this one of Palestinians committing heinous acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians. And as the conflict drags on, more and more Palestinians (as well as Israelis) support the idea of pushing their neighbors out of the Palestine area completely.

But for all the talk of Hamas’s atrocities against Israelis, it is estimated that Palestine has sustained over five times the amount of casualties as Israel, most of those being civilians. According to Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, since the beginning of the First Intifada in 1987, Palestinians have suffered over 8,400 deaths from Israelis, while Israel has lost about 1,500 of its own to Palestinians. The reason for this, to be fair, is not that Palestinians are more peaceable or welcoming of their Jewish neighbors, but rather than their weapons are less effective.

Regardless of one’s view on the Israel-Palestine issue, it is clear the conflict is deep-rooted and will continue for a long time unless some sort of compromise is reached. But neither the current Israeli government nor the Christian Zionists who support it seem willing to compromise. Some of the fiercest opposition to the Oslo Peace Accords in the 1990s came from evangelical Christians, who didn’t want to legitimize the Palestinians as rightful landholders in the Promised Land.

But this desire for the fulfillment of prophesy and advancement of perceived end-times events goes directly against the Christian calling to be peacemakers. Without a two-state solution, which some in the Palestinian leadership are still working toward, there can be no peace in the land of Israel. The reasoning for this is simple: if both Israelis and Palestinians want a two-state solution in which the other has no power, they will never agree and violent clashes will continue. American evangelicals need to rethink their ties to Zionism and its biblical underpinnings. How should we view modern Israel and the Jews?

In Part 2, we’ll look at some of the theological arguments Christian Zionists give in support of the state of Israel’s right to the land of Palestine/Israel. (Click here to read Part 2.)