Evangelical Support for Israel - It's Not Because They Hate Jews
Ma'ariv has a half-decent article on an important political point: there's an ugly element of effrontery in the conciet displayed by the secular Left in opposing an evangelical/Jewish political alliance because it might harm religious Jews:
The truth is, however, that there is nothing odd about it at all. Certainly no more than the strange and the common goal of the atheist left wing and radical Islam to establish a Palestinian state. When Zionist-religious leaders such as Benny Eilon do not reject the hand offered to them from the US, and even shake it warmly, they do not disobey their faith, but rather realize an ancient biblical vision of a future reconciliation between Jews and the rest of the world...
Why is it so bad for us to have such a strong core of support across America? So what if the leader of the free world has emerged from that camp? Throughout the years, the left wing has called for an Israeli involvement in global processes. But when it suddenly relates to Israeli interests, they rise to express their disgust only because it stems from religious motives that could obstruct the left wing’s withdrawal entrepreneurs.
It is ridiculous to hear well-known secular figures warn about alleged missionary schemes of the Christian evangelicals in the US. Nearly every article in Hebrew about the US right wing’s support of Israel contains a more than obvious hint that the reason behind this support is the desire to Christianize the people of Zion.
You should read the whole thing. The Left's petulant "Christians only support Israel because they want Jesus to come and kill all the Jews" fable just won't die - someone just forwarded a typically stupid example to one of my graduate listservs a couple of days ago. Apparently, the new 6-7% of American Jews who made the hard choice to vote on security are all idiots: what we didn't realize is that the War on Terror and the Islamist desire to wipe out Israel don't matter because some Christians have a history of anti-Semitism (but always remember - Europe is "progressive").
There are two problems with the political play that this anti-Bush canard gets. First, it doesn't matter: who cares why evangelical Christians are pouring vital millions into Israel precisely when that money is most needed. Israel took German blood money - I'm pretty sure they can stomach American donations to terror victims. Second, it's flat false:
Q: People say that because the state of Israel was established, that proves the end-times are coming and that is why keeping the Abrahamic covenant, keeping Israel strong, is so important—because it’s a sign of the end-times.
A: I think it is a sign of the end-times. But that’s not the reason to bless Israel. The reason to do it is because God commanded it….Yes, we’re one step closer to the end-times than we were before Israel came back into the land, because my understanding of biblical prophecy is that Israel is established in the land at the time that the events of the Second Coming take place. But the Bible tells us no man knows the hour or the day of his coming.
In addition to all of the other gaps that seperate the two Americans, there's also a belief gap - David Brooks has written extensively about the dose of irony that Blue Staters need with their daily espresso shots. There's a sense in which anyone who really believes - really believes enough to let it affect their actions - is uncouth. As if giving voice to a genuine, heart-felt belief is almost vulgar: a violation of decorum. So when evangelicals insist that they really do support Israel for as simple a reason as a command from God, they're met with a disdain given life by suspicion. Rather than accept such a "primitive" explanation on face, the academic and cultural Left infantalizes evangelicals, ascribing what is grounded in religious devotion to pulp fiction.
Listen, of course the Left is going to misunderstand and thus scorn evangelicals. But while Leftists are busy apologizing for their complicity in past anti-Jewish atrocities, evangelical Christians are doing their best to prevent future ones. It's not a particularly sophisticated position, but it's one that Jews should not be afraid to embrace.
UPDATE: It really is easier to apologize for anti-Semitism than to actually do anything about it.
The truth is, however, that there is nothing odd about it at all. Certainly no more than the strange and the common goal of the atheist left wing and radical Islam to establish a Palestinian state. When Zionist-religious leaders such as Benny Eilon do not reject the hand offered to them from the US, and even shake it warmly, they do not disobey their faith, but rather realize an ancient biblical vision of a future reconciliation between Jews and the rest of the world...
Why is it so bad for us to have such a strong core of support across America? So what if the leader of the free world has emerged from that camp? Throughout the years, the left wing has called for an Israeli involvement in global processes. But when it suddenly relates to Israeli interests, they rise to express their disgust only because it stems from religious motives that could obstruct the left wing’s withdrawal entrepreneurs.
It is ridiculous to hear well-known secular figures warn about alleged missionary schemes of the Christian evangelicals in the US. Nearly every article in Hebrew about the US right wing’s support of Israel contains a more than obvious hint that the reason behind this support is the desire to Christianize the people of Zion.
You should read the whole thing. The Left's petulant "Christians only support Israel because they want Jesus to come and kill all the Jews" fable just won't die - someone just forwarded a typically stupid example to one of my graduate listservs a couple of days ago. Apparently, the new 6-7% of American Jews who made the hard choice to vote on security are all idiots: what we didn't realize is that the War on Terror and the Islamist desire to wipe out Israel don't matter because some Christians have a history of anti-Semitism (but always remember - Europe is "progressive").
There are two problems with the political play that this anti-Bush canard gets. First, it doesn't matter: who cares why evangelical Christians are pouring vital millions into Israel precisely when that money is most needed. Israel took German blood money - I'm pretty sure they can stomach American donations to terror victims. Second, it's flat false:
Q: People say that because the state of Israel was established, that proves the end-times are coming and that is why keeping the Abrahamic covenant, keeping Israel strong, is so important—because it’s a sign of the end-times.
A: I think it is a sign of the end-times. But that’s not the reason to bless Israel. The reason to do it is because God commanded it….Yes, we’re one step closer to the end-times than we were before Israel came back into the land, because my understanding of biblical prophecy is that Israel is established in the land at the time that the events of the Second Coming take place. But the Bible tells us no man knows the hour or the day of his coming.
In addition to all of the other gaps that seperate the two Americans, there's also a belief gap - David Brooks has written extensively about the dose of irony that Blue Staters need with their daily espresso shots. There's a sense in which anyone who really believes - really believes enough to let it affect their actions - is uncouth. As if giving voice to a genuine, heart-felt belief is almost vulgar: a violation of decorum. So when evangelicals insist that they really do support Israel for as simple a reason as a command from God, they're met with a disdain given life by suspicion. Rather than accept such a "primitive" explanation on face, the academic and cultural Left infantalizes evangelicals, ascribing what is grounded in religious devotion to pulp fiction.
Listen, of course the Left is going to misunderstand and thus scorn evangelicals. But while Leftists are busy apologizing for their complicity in past anti-Jewish atrocities, evangelical Christians are doing their best to prevent future ones. It's not a particularly sophisticated position, but it's one that Jews should not be afraid to embrace.
UPDATE: It really is easier to apologize for anti-Semitism than to actually do anything about it.
