Strange Bedfellows: Zionists and Fundagelicals

From The Daily Collegian (emphasis added):

A convenient union By Yousef Munayyer, Collegian editor - October 05, 2004 At the conventions for the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) you may not be surprised to learn that the convention floor will be packed with people waving Israeli flags. However, what may surprise you is that many of these people are "Christians." I leave that word in quotation marks because it is another religious title that has been hijacked and manipulated for political gain, however that is a topic for another column. The focus, rather, should be on the strangest of bedfellows, Zionism and Christian fundamentalism. At first glance, they may seem to be as cooperative as ice cream and salsa, but the reality is they are very close knit and use each other in many ways. In the short term, both groups support Israel in the strongest way. In the long term, however, they differ and this is because of ideology. Zionism's support for Israel is pretty clear, as are its intentions. It is the political movement that led to the establishment of the state at the expense of indigenous Palestinians. Right-wing "Christians," however, have a different plan in mind. Their widely held belief, which can be clearly understood through examining the literature and statements of their leaders, is that their support for Israel and their actions that influence the geo-political landscape of the holy land will echo into heaven and expedite the process of Armageddon. I kid you not. Hal Lindsey, author of the best selling, "The Late Great Planet Earth," has said, "144,000 Jews would bow down before Jesus and be saved, but the rest of Jewry would perish in the mother of all holocausts." Does anyone agree with me that these people are out of their minds? I completely support religious freedom. Yet, there is a fine line between religion and fairy tale and these people have fallen off the edge. What is truly scary, though, is how many people actually believe this stuff. There is this idea of "rapture" in which hopeful "Christians" would be taken to hang with Jesus as the rest of humanity is in turmoil and suffering just before the end the world. These ideologies hold that several terrible events may happen before as a sign of warning, anything from an abnormal hurricane season, a volcano or your typical attack of locusts and rivers of blood. The ideology is clearly intended to create a situation of perpetual fear, scaring people into belief. Lindsay's book sold 20 million copies in the United States and 30 million worldwide. A large group of people who believe in this "dispensationalist" group act politically to support Israel blindly. Ironically though, central to the theory is the second coming of Christ, or the rapture, will mean the end of the world. And to many, this can only happen if Jews are in possession of the "land given to them by God". In other words, these "Christians" are supporting Jews now only in order to abolish them. Zionists, on the other hand, don't seem to mind very much. This alliance, a temporary marriage of convenience, will give them all the political strength they need, in the short run, from a global superpower to secure their future as an oppressive racist state. Rabbi Jerome Epstien of the United Synagogue (a conservative Jewish organization) doesn't seem to mind the intentions of the Christian right. He says, "I'm going to take the support because Israel needs it. Their theology is in a different world. We can cope with it. If I convince them not to support Israel, are they going to give up on their attempt to convert Jews? No." The "Christian" right plays a very large roll in American politics and has a stronghold in the White House. The president himself is born again, and his attorney general hums "Rock of Ages" as he deports suspicious Muslims. The administration won on the bedrock of the southern United States, the cesspool of rotting Christian values, and even took Tennessee from Al Gore in 2000. This year, the President will once again rely heavily on those states for his re-election bid. The Jerry Falwells and Pat Robertsons of this country are leading a flock blindly. If they could see past their lunacy, which I'm not even sure many of the leaders believe in, they would see how many of the policies of the Zionist state are war like, aggressive and murderous. This is the mentality of those who would cast the first stone. On the other hand, what else can you expect when Revelations is their favorite book? There is something dangerous about planning your future by using the end of the world as your starting point. America's "Christian" needs to look at their stance on this issue and reexamine it. They cannot continue to operate in a state of constant paranoia. Every time I hear about a dead Palestinian child, of whom there are thousands, I have to wonder what the hell is so "Christian" about supporting that. It's time for these people to wake up and smell the chutzpah, even if it takes being born for a third time.