-Introduction to Standing with Israel
-Biblical Reasons for Christian Support of Israel
-Christian Zionism
- Defined-Christian Zionist Forerunner Jews And Evangelicals Together:
Why some Christians are pro-Israel"
-"Standing With Israel" -Palestinians raise flag at Washington office
What is Christian Zionism?
by The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem
Tens of thousands of churches, and literally tens of millions Christians in the USA have a committed belief in the importance of standing with Israel and blessing the Jewish people.
The verse most often referred to as their biblical mandate is Genesis 12:3 in which God
tells Abraham “I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you and
in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Since the birth of the State of Israel in 1948 the theological error known as Replacement Theology has begun to decline and increasing is a theology of Christian Zionism that understands the importance of God’s everlasting covenant with Abraham and the nation
he would birth.
However, just as the term “Zionism” has been turned into a negative word by Israel’s enemies, so “Christian Zionism” is under attack and often misrepresented in the media
and in some public discourse. For this reason, the ICEJ’s articles and monographs defining and clarifying the beliefs of Christian supporters of Israel and placing their “love for Israel” within its proper biblical context are proving invaluable.
Introduction to Standing with Israel
by David Brog
Thirty-five years after the Holocaust, the Israeli air force destroyed an Iraqi nuclear
reactor at Osirak, outside of Baghdad. The Israelis had determined that Iraq was using
the reactor to develop a nuclear bomb, a weapon this implacable enemy might one day
use against them. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin justified the action to the world
by declaring that he would not permit “another Holocaust in the history of the Jewish people.
”(8) Israel was universally condemned for the Osirak raid, including by its ally the United States. In San Antonio, Texas, a pastor named John Hagee was dismayed by the loud
outcry against Israel's action. He decided to counter the chorus of criticism with a public
show of support. With the help of a fellow pastor and two rabbis, Pastor Hagee organized a “Night to Honor Israel.” The day after he held a press conference to announce the upcoming event, someone phoned Pastor Hagee's church and said, “Tell that preacher he'll be dead by Friday.”As the evening of the event drew near, someone shot out the windows of Pastor Hagee's car while it was parked in front of his house.
The Night to Honor Israel went ahead as scheduled. After the speeches, Hagee presented a $10,000 check to the president of the local chapter of Hadassah. Then, at 9:27 p.m., Hagee was handed a note. Someone had phoned the San Antonio Express News threatening to
blow up the auditorium at 9:30 p.m. The room was quickly evacuated.
Despite this troubled start, Hagee's Night to Honor Israel became an annual event. Over
the years, the size of the crowd grew, and a massive television audience was added. And
the checks got bigger. At the 2004 Night to Honor Israel, Pastor Hagee presented checks totaling $2.25 million to two Jewish organizations that fund the immigration of Jews to
Israel and one that supports Israeli orphans.
When asked why he so staunchly supports Israel, Pastor John Hagee speaks of a “biblical mandate to bless the Jews” and of a Christian “debt of gratitude” to the Jewish people.
Pastor Hagee notes that: The Jewish people gave to us the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. The prophets, Elijah, Daniel, Zechariah, etc.-not a Baptist in the bunch. Every word in your Bible was written by Jewish hands. The first family of Christianity, Mary,
Joseph, and Jesus, were Jewish. Jesus Christ, a Jewish rabbi from Nazareth, made this statement: “Salvation is of the Jews.” The point is this: If you take away the Jewish contribution to Christianity, there would be no Christianity.
Biblical Reasons for Christian Support of Israel
by Alan C. Lazerte B.A., LL.B.
Excerpts of the article that appeared in Christian Action for Israel Christians have good biblical reasons, past present and future, for supporting modern Israel.
Christianity was birthed by biblical Judaism. Moses prophesied of the disobedience, dispersion, return and ultimate restoration of Israel, due to the faithfulness of Jehovah.
Some eighty percent of our Bible (what we call the "Old Testament") was written in Hebrew, by Hebrews, for Hebrews; and although Gentiles could come to God, they had to come through Israels God-given religion. Jesus himself instructed the disciples to go only "unto
the lost sheep of the house of Israel", and reminded the Samaritan woman, and us, that "salvation is of the Jews". (John 4: 22.)
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Christian Zionism - Defined
by David Krusch
Christian Zionism can be defined as Christian support for the Zionist cause — the return
of the Jewish people to its biblical homeland in Israel. It is a belief among some Christians that the return of Jews to Israel is in line with a biblical prophecy, and is necessary for
Jesus to return to Earth as its king. These Christians are partly motivated by the writings
of the Bible and the words of the prophets. However, they are also driven to support Israel because they wish to “repay the debt of gratitude to the Jewish people for providing Christ and the other fundamentals of their faith,” and to support a political ally, according to
David Brog, author Standing With Israel: Why Christians Support the Jewish State.
Christian Zionists interpret both the Torah and the New Testament as prophetic texts that describe future events of how the world will one day end with the return of Jesus from
Heaven to rule on Earth. Israel and its people are central to their vision. They interpret passages from the books of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Isaiah as foreshadowing the coming Christian era. The New Testament Book of Revelation is read by many Christians as a prophetic text of how the world will be in the End Times.
Christian support for Israel is not a recent development. Its politcal roots reach as far
back to the 1880s, when a man named William Hechler formed a committee of Christian Zionists to help move Russian Jewish refugees to Palestine after a series of pogroms. In 1884, Hechler wrote a pamphlet called “The Restoration of Jews to Palestine According to
the Prophets.” A few years later, he befriended Theodor Herzl after reading Herzl’s book
The Jewish State, and joined Herzl to drum up support for Zionism. Hechler even arranged
a meeting between Herzl and Kaiser Wilhelm II to discuss Herzl’s proposal to establish a Jewish state in Palestine. The two men remained close friends up until Herzl’s death in 1904.
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Christian Zionist Forerunners
by JoAnn G. Magnuson
While most of the early Christians were Jews, the church gradually lost interest in its
Jewish roots and heritage as it moved to the pagan world. By the 3rd century C.E. few Christians thought of Jesus as a Jewish teacher or rabbi. Fewer still thought of the Jews
as God’s prophets, priests, kings, and apostles. Some medieval Christian pilgrims related
to the ancient Jews as they traveled to the Holy Land, but few felt connected to the contemporary Jews they met along the way. For over 1000 years most of the church
believed that Christians had replaced the Jews as God’s covenant people. There were
isolated instances of Christians who read the scriptures differently but until the Reformation few Christians considered the possibility of a Jewish return to Israel. The translation of
the Bible into the language of the common people, particularly the English Bible, produced
a radical change. Barbara Tuchman, in her book, “Bible and Sword,” says, “...without
the background of the English Bible it is doubtful that the Balfour Declaration would ever
have been issued...”
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"Jews And Evangelicals Together: Why some Christians are
pro-Israel"
by Kathryn Jean Lopez
Kathryn Jean Lopez: Which Christians in the U.S. are most Zionist and why?
David Brog: The evangelicals. No contest. Their Zionism comes directly from their
theology. But, as opposed to what most people think, this theology is driven by the
biblical promises of the Book of Genesis, not the biblical prophecies of the Book of Revelations. Lopez: Was there an event that made this alliance stronger? Has it always
been under the radar? Brog: Evangelical Christians largely shunned politics until the late 1970s, when Jerry Falwell created the Moral Majority and led them back onto the political playing field. Israel was among the priorities of the Christian Right from the start.
In fact, when Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority he made support for Israel one of
the group’s four organizing principles along with the issue of abortion, traditional marriage, and a strong U.S. defense. While Israel was always important to evangelicals, a recent
event did make Israel even more of a priority. On September 11, 2001, evangelicals recognized along with many other Americans that radical Islam was the greatest threat
facing our country and that we were in a war with its proponents. And in this war, Israel is seen as an ally and as the first line of defense of Judeo-Christian civilization. Support for
this embattled ally has moved to center stage.
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by Jamie Glazov
FP: Tell us what Christian Zionism is. Why do certain evangelicals support Israel so
strongly? Brog: “Christian Zionism” is a devotion to Israel as a Jewish state that is
widespread and growing in the Christian world. And this devotion to Israel is the direct
result of Christian theology. These theological roots come as a surprise to many, since Christian theology has typically not been very friendly to the Jews or their dreams of a
state in their ancient homeland. But during the course of the 20th century there was a revolution in Christian theology towards the Jews which has dramatically changed the
way that many Christians feel towards the Jewish people in general and Israel in particular.
To briefly summarize, for most of Christian history the dominant Christian theology towards the Jews was “replacement theology,” which held that when the Jews rejected Jesus as their messiah, God rejected the Jews as his chosen people. The Church replaced the Jews as the “Israel” to whom so much is promised in the Bible. Once the Jews were thus removed from God’s love, the door was opened to man’s hate. And this was a door through which
generation after generation of Christians walked.
But ever since the Reformation, there have been some small groups of Protestants who
have rejected replacement theology and who believe as Jews do -- that the word “Israel”
in the Bible means the Jews. Under this reading, the Jews are still the chosen people, they
are still in covenant with and beloved by God, and they are still the rightful heirs of the land
of Israel. Christians who read their Bible this way tend to reject anti-Semitism and embrace both the Jewish people and their national aspirations in Israel. In early twentieth century America, the nascent fundamentalist movement embraced this minority view and rejected replacement theology. As the fundamentalist movement grew and spread throughout America, the number of adherents of this positive theology towards the Jews grew as well,
to the point that it is the ascendant strain of American Christianity today. Thus fundamentalist/evangelical support for Israel is not a trend, fad, or public relations ploy --
it is a bedrock religious belief. It is hard to find support for Israel that is more deeply rooted.
It is also important to add that, after the Holocaust, the Roman Catholic Church and most mainline Protestant denominations recognized the danger of replacement theology and formally rejected it. But replacement theology under new names and guises is still out there, and it still does theological combat with the more Judeo-centric interpretation that drives the Christian Zionists.
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18th Jan 2011
Palestinians raise flag at Washington office
(AP) – 3 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Palestinians on Tuesday raised their flag over the PLO diplomatic mission in Washington for the first time, as Palestinians push for international recognition
that complicates the Obama administration's efforts to restart stalled Mideast peace talks.
At a brief ceremony, the Palestinian's chief envoy to the United States, Maen Areikat,
hoisted the red, green, white and black banner outside the PLO General Delegation office.
He said he hopes the symbolic act would help win support for independence with or without
a peace deal with Israel.
"We are proud to see the flag," Areikat said. "It's about time that this flag that symbolizes
the struggle of the Palestinian people for self-determination and statehood is raised in the United States. We hope that this will help in the international efforts to provide recognition
for the Palestinian state."
The envoy acknowledged the flag-raising has no practical effect for U.S. policy, but said it
was an "important, significant step" toward seeking recognition from the United States and others. He said he hoped the Obama administration would move to recognize Palestine as
an independent state, something the U.S. has said it will not do until there is a negotiated peace deal with Israel.
Palestinian statehood is "an international interest, a U.S. interest and in the interest of all
the parties in the Middle East," Areikat said.
The PLO office has had permission from the State Department to fly the flag since last
August, when the mission was upgraded from a representative office to a general
delegation, but had been awaiting permission from the building's owner before displaying
it, he said. The U.S. opposes any unilateral Palestinian move to establish statehood, but several other nations, notably in Latin America, have recently recognized Palestine, and
the Palestinians are seeking broader support to bring statehood before the U.N. in
September. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, denounced the flag-raising as a stunt.
"Raising this flag in DC is part of the Palestinian leadership's scheme to manipulate international acceptance and diplomatic recognition of a yet-to-be-created Palestinian
state while refusing to directly negotiate with Israel or accept the existence of Israel as a democratic, Jewish state," she said in a statement.
In the meantime, the Palestinians are continuing to push for a U.N. Security Council
resolution condemning Israel for ongoing settlement activity in the West Bank. That could
be brought to the council as early as this week.
Combined with the push for international recognition, the resolution puts the administration
in a difficult position. The United States is opposed to the construction of Israeli housing settlements but at the same time does not want to endorse a resolution that is critical only
of Israel, its main Mideast ally.
U.S. officials are grappling with whether or not to veto the resolution should it come to a
vote in the council.
On Tuesday, 17 senators led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., wrote to Secretary of
State Hillary Rodham Clinton urging the administration to veto the move and "make it clear
to the Palestinian Authority that it needs to sit down in direct talks with Israel, rather than pursue unhelpful resolutions at the United Nations."
In the West Bank, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the Palestinians and
their backers have agreed on the wording for the anti-settlement resolution. He said he expects it to be submitted to the Security Council in coming days.
Erekat said he believes the resolution will have the support of at least 14 council members, but that the Palestinians still hope the U.S. will also vote in favor and turn it into a
unanimous decision.Another Palestinian official said several Security Council members
and Arab countries have asked the Palestinians to hold off for several days in hopes of persuading the U.S. not to veto the resolution. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the diplomatic contacts.
Associated Press writer Karin Laub in the West Bank contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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ABOUT CUFI-Canada:
Christians United For Israel-Canada is a registered, non-profit organization. We are totally dependent on the financial donations of our supporters. Please consider making a donation by cheque (made out to Christians United For Israel-Canada), or through our website, www.cufi.ca: Click here to donate http://www.cufi.ca/donate.htm . You will receive an Income Tax Receipt. THANK you for your generosity!
As we bless Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 12:3) and pray together for “the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6), may you experience God’s presence and blessings in your life,
Dr. Charles H. McVety
National Co-Chairman
Dr. David Arulappan
Executive Director
Christians United For Israel-Canada
50 Gervais Drive, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada M3C 1Z3
(416) 391-5000, ext.222 david@cufi.ca
info@cufi.ca www.cufi.ca www.cufi.com (USA)
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