Israel and 2012 Elections
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Tue Sep 27, 2011 at 10:30:43 AM EST
Associated Baptist Press is reporting that Presidential hopeful Rick Perry believes that support for Israel is a theological priority.  The recent endorsement of Bob Turner by former New York Mayor Ed Koch is another example of the role of Israel in American politics.  Koch was not satisfied with Obama's support of Israel and he endorsed Turner.  The litmus test was support for Israel according to Koch.  
       Richard Land, who opened the Response meeting in Houston, has stated that support for the modern state is a biblical mandate.  Perry's good friend John Hagee is the chief protestant cheer leader for the Jewish state.  Hagee believes in a version of the prosperity gospel that teaches support for the secular state of Israel brings in gifts of money to the local church.  It certainly has in his case.

     Moody Bible Institute once had a heritage of anti-Semitism.  This changed with the new version of end of times belief systems .   End of times versions of the Dispensationalist theory brought with it a new support for the current state of Israel.  The late Ed McAteer, from a large Southern Baptist Church in  Memphis, wanted President W. Bush to appoint him ambassador to Israel.  This was to allow Israel to retake all the lands she desired. Moderate Baptist Jimmy Carter wants the Oslo agreements to remain in place and has drawn the wrath of the Anti-Defamation League.  

     Hagee and crowd are encouraging resettlement of these regions.  I have received several offers to visit Israel with the motive that getting me and my people to these regions will bring sympathy towards the idea of resettlement.

     Oklahoma University professor and scholar Charles Kimball reports that "Policies discriminating against non-Jewish citizens in Israel are no secret.  In addition to annual reports by various nongovernmental human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, the U.S. State Department publishes annual country reports on human rights practices.  The reports on Israel and the Occupied Territories detail how Israel policies create institutional, legal, and societal discrimination against the country's Arab citizens."  (See, When Religion Becomes Lethal pg. 42.)

     A nation of new evangelicals now sees support for Israel as a doctrinal mandate.  This was not true a generation ago.   Perry is plowing into a harvest on fertile soil.  Kimball once worked as a consultant with the World Council of Churches on the Mideast. He notes that Jewish groups often strike back at politicians who question motives and policies.  They now have an ally in the Religious Right.

     Rolling Stone author Matt Taibbi notes that Hagee Jr. compared global warming to the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany. The preacher made the point that Jews were wrongly blamed for problems in Europe much in the same way industry is blamed for global warming.  Even though his father laces his writing with myths about Jewish banker conspiracies, the family has found a new fondness for Israel.

     The secular press has missed the influence Tim LaHaye, Moody Bible Institute, Dallas Theological Seminary and etc. have had on the nation's evangelicals.  Politics makes strange bed fellows.  It is yet another example of how the Religious Right is having an impact on the nation's politics.




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From Michelle Goldberg; "It makes no sense to fight religious authoritiarianism abroad while letting it take over at home."

by wilkyjr on Tue Sep 27, 2011 at 11:09:56 AM EST

It seems to me that evangelical support for the state of Israel doesn't necessarily translate into higher regard for Jews as people. Some of these preachers are quite capable of declaring their love for Israel in one breath and blaming Jewish financiers for economic conspiracy in the next. I think it would be fair to say that, rather than moving from anti-Semitism to support for Israel, they are managing to blend the two positions in one convoluted message.

by MLouise on Tue Sep 27, 2011 at 11:57:56 AM EST

Good point, often expressed about genuine love for Israel.  Hagee's organizational book actually speaks of missionaries going to Russia, finding ethnic Jews and teaching them the Jewish faith. They are then promised a free settlement package in Israel. A reporter told me that Hagee won't admitt it but actually believes Jews and Christians are both under the same salvation covenant.

by wilkyjr on Tue Sep 27, 2011 at 02:15:35 PM EST

That Richard Land would be on the same platform and within earshot of Hagee speaks mounds and mounds! What a jerk he is! But to allow Hagee a "Protestant" lifeline is far too generous: call him, and others of that ilk, 'cultic sectarian' like they are.

Israel is a shibboleth for not only evangelicals but many elected Congressmen as well. That the secular press has missed far too much of substance is certainly true. The recent CNN admitting to not ever having heard of "Dominionism" is surely a case in point.
All the while, we progressives are castigated by evangelical and even moderate Christians for sheltering the "liberal press" & "left wing" either this or that.

You might consider Jewish Voice for Peace as a voice in the wilderness that we need for not being alone with "Israel" or bust policy.  They are a voice for evenhandedness, which supports the rights of Palestinians  against Israeli occupation and violent policies. They are pushing divestment now, not unlike the South African matter  of decades ago. In this period of High Holy Days, they are targeted even by Reformed Jews as apostates: something you earn if you cannot mouth Israel-right-or-wrong policy. "Whose land" it is is approached as biblical literalist mandate by most Jews & Christians alike in the U.S. but not so in Europe. Check out the JVP website.

There's a lot wrong with U.S. dealings with Israel including the latest missile shipments within the last couple of weeks: protection against the Palestinians and their quest for statehood, you know, when actually Washington would go bonkers if Israel turned them all on Iran one day.
Israel always....hard to swallow, moreso even with who & what's out there as support!

by achbird65 on Sun Oct 02, 2011 at 03:09:31 PM EST

We in the US and, to a lesser extent, Canada have an uniquely pro-Israeli government view of the occupation of Palestine, and of their conservative, militaristic, domestic policy. Our weapons corporations are big political fish, so the views of Netanyahu's opposition do not get taken seriously by governments or media. The United Church of Canada voted at Conference 3 years ago to divest of all companies that had investments in West Bank settlements. There are religious and secular NGO's that accompany Palestinians to witness human rights abuses and conditions of daily life; for example, Christian Peacemaker Teams has 2 observers in a village in the S. Hebron Hills near an expanding settlement. Both Palestinian and Israeli activists are using non-violent methods together and separately for peace. Internationally, boycotts in Europe have bankrupted the settlement's fruit and vegetable wholesale company. Boycotts, divestment, and sanctions will end apartheid here as they did in South Africa.

by arachne646 on Tue Oct 11, 2011 at 01:25:39 AM EST
Parent


Thanks for comments and I will check out Jewish Voice for Peace.

by wilkyjr on Mon Oct 03, 2011 at 09:07:31 AM EST

The article provides an insightful analysis of the growing influence of Israel in American politics, particularly within the context of evangelical support.  nevadas bill to prohibit firearms It sheds light on how theological priorities and end-of-times beliefs have shaped political endorsements and policies. A thought-provoking read that highlights the evolving dynamics between religion and politics.

by isabelladom on Mon Aug 07, 2023 at 02:27:01 AM EST


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