There are many sources for news and views about what’s going on in the Middle East and what’s ahead. Some followers of Pat Robertson’s 700 Club are looking at weather patterns. The Christian Broadcasting Network reported that May’s damaging tornados were a repercussion of U.S. pressure on Israel that put the “covenant lands of Israel at risk.” According to CBN, a researcher has proven that “when Israeli settlements are touched, there are also occurrences of hurricanes, tornados, and major problems in the American economy.”

This forecast may seem foolish to most Americans and irrelevant to the serious business of crafting foreign policy. However, the Christian Zionist camp of the Christian-evangelical community has become a major political player with the Bush Administration and Republican-majority Congress. Joining with some hard-line Jewish groups, Christian Zionists have launched “The Committee for a One-State Solution” with a n eight-state billboard campaign to stop the Road Map peace plan and its goal of a two- state resolution of the conflict. The locations for the billboards were selected, according to the chair of Americans for a Safe Israel, in states where the Republican presidential win was slim in order to make President Bush aware “that a disaffected Christian Community can adversely affect” the coming presidential campaign.

It is increasingly important for all advocates of a political and diplomatic solution based on the application of the rational elements of international law and negotiation to counter the message of the Christian Right. For those of us whose political activism is also grounded in a faith-based commitment to justice and peacemaking as Christians, there is an additional layer of responsibility to say publicly that there is an alternative Christian perspective to that of Christian Zionists.

“THE BIBLE IS MY ROAD MAP”

This is the title of an internet petition being circulated by Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and Tim LaHaye opposing the Road Map peace plan and a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Beginning with “Save the Settlements,” the text is filled with characterizations of Palestinians as terrorists. The petition asserts that the “peace plan rewards terrorists,” talks about “tiny Israel giving its Bible land to terrorist regimes,” and “dividing Jerusalem and giving a portion of the city and our holy sites to an Islamic terrorist organization that has killed Americans.”

Unashamedly playing on internal Administration disputes, the petition asserts that “The State Department has been giving Israel’s land to the PLO for more than a decade.” Another example comes from television preacher Pat Robertson. In May, he asked his supporters to mount a nationwide protest against the State Department and demand the dismissal of William Burns, the Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East. It is reported that some State Department officials believe there is a campaign by conservatives to accuse the diplomatic corps of being disloyal to Bush.

SELLING THE ROAD MAP TO CONGRESS

Also seeking to discredit the State Department and diplomacy was H ouse Majority Leaders Tom DeLay. In his remarks at the April 2 gathering of Ralph Reed’s Stand for Israel, he said, “The moral ambiguities of our diplomatic elites notwithstanding, Israel is not the problem; Israel is the solution.”

The diplomatic problems of implementing the Road Map will be compounded for the President by political problems. The Christian conservatives, who are a core constituency for President Bush, are passionately pro-Israel and deeply distrustful of the European Union and the United Nations who are part of the “ Quartet” sponsors of the Road Map. On Capitol Hill, the religious right joins forces with the neoconservative wing of the Republican party and pro-Israel Democrats to form a broad bipartisan coalition of lawmakers who don’t want Israel pressured to make concessions.

As Secretary of State Powell headed to the Middle East in May, Representative Mike Pence (R-IN) who sits on the House International Relations Subcommittee’s Middle East subcommittee, said “America is not a neutral party in the negotiations in the Middle East. We are not, nor do we aspire to be, an honest broker. America stands with Israel.”

According to CQ Weekly, a reputable Capitol Hill publication, one of AIPAC’s (American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) legislative priorities is Congress’ “codification” of the major changes that Israel seeks in the road map. Such legislation could be in the form of a non-binding resolution or attached to an appropriations bill that would restrict the Administration’s ability to fund peace-related initiatives.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

News reports often use the political term “Christian Right,” “Christian fundamentalists” or refer generally to “conservative Christians” or “Evangelicals.” Yet, not all who fall within those groupings hold to biblically-mandated support for Israel.

The term “Christian Zionist” is probably most accurate, even though “Zionism” itself is a concept that emerged in the late 19th century among Jewish intellectuals out of the ferment of nationalist, socialist and utopian ideas that swept through Europe at the time. The Zionist movement sought and achieved the founding and development of a Jewish homeland (now Israel) in Palestine, then a part of the Ottoman Empire. Now, many Zionists, both Israeli and American-Jewish, support ending Israel’s occupation and establishing a Palestinian state. Not so with Christian Zionists. Central to Christian Zionism is the belief in the abiding relevance of the promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Some of the organizations associated with Christian Zionism are: the Christian Coalition of America, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, National Unity Coalition for Israel, Christian Broadcasting Network, Christians for Israel-U.S., Gary Bauer’s American Values and The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem.

EVANGELICALS WHO DO SUPPORT PEACE

Christian Zionists may identify themselves as evangelical Christians, but certainly not all evangelical Christians agree with their uncritical support of Israel. In July of 2002, nearly 60 prominent evangelical theologians and heads of organizations wrote to the President, voicing an even-handed policy towards Israelis and Palestinians that affirms two states, “free, economically viable and secure.” They asked that the President “vigorously oppose injustice, including the lawful and degrading Israeli settlement movement,” which they characterized as “the theft of Palestinian land.”

Regarding theology, they wrote, “Significant numbers of American evangelicals reject the way some have distorted biblical passages as their rationale for uncritical support for every policy and action of the Israeli government instead of judging all actions – of both Israelis and Palestinians – on the basis of biblical standards of justice. The great Hebrew prophet, Isaiah and Jeremiah, declared in the Old Testament that God calls all nations and all people to do justice one to another, and to protect the oppressed, the alien, the fatherless and the widow.”

IGNORING PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS

U.S. Christians travel to the Holy Land as pilgrims and are a major segment of the tourism industry. They visit the holy sites but most have virtually no contact with Arab Christians themselves. Arab Christians hold strongly negative views of Chr istian Zionism, which is considered an instrument of Western colonialism and American imperialism. The zealous support given Israel’s claim of sovereignty over all of Jerusalem and building of settlements in “Judea and Samaria” by these Christians angers both Christian and Muslim Palestinians. Some evangelical churches have supportive relationships with settlements.

Among Palestinians, there are the traditional churches – Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Roman Catholic – and the so-called “reform” churches established in the 19th century – Lutherans and Episcopalians or Anglicans. They work ecumenically through the Middle East Council of Churches. These Christians consider themselves, and are considered by the Muslims, to be an integral part of the Palestinian community, even though they are a minority of less than 2%. .

From his Jerusalem office, Bishop Munib Younan, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, has written that “Christian Zionism is the enemy of peace in the Middle East.” The Rev. Naim Ateek, director of the Jerusalem’s Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theological Center, and an Episcopalian, has called pre-millenialism a “heresy” and Christian Zionism a “menace.”

THEOLOGY, POPULAR FICTION AND THE CHURCH IN SOCIETY

When the Washington Post commits a full page of its Sunday opinion section to a religious topic, it clearly has political significance. On February 2, the Headline was “It’s the Dawning of the Age of Apocalypse.” American Studies professor at George Washington University Melani McAlister wrote about the very popular “Left Behind” series of fiction – the last four have topped the best-seller lists. She writes of the “stark political spirituality at the heart of the stories, which can fairly be described as Christian Jihadist. It is the obligation of the ‘Left Behind’ Christians both to evangelize as many potential converts as possible and to join in battle on behalf of Israel against the armies of the Antichrist.”

The term “Left Behind,” along with “ the rapture”, “pre-millennialism”, “end-times” and “Armageddon” are parts of the terminology associated with this strain of what is called eschatology – which is the study of the “last things,” the culmination of history and the return of second coming of Jesus Christ.

It is the political implications of these beliefs that concern those people and churches committed to seeking peace in the Middle East. McAlister writes that “Left Behind” authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins undercut the very notion of Middle East peace, from Israel to Iraq. With the Antichrist posing as a peacemaker and campaigning for world disarmament, such things as arms control or peace processes are fig leaves for those planning world domination. That Israel is the epicenter of Armageddon, the final battle, is made clear to the “Left Behind” readers.

With a theology that calls us to be peacemakers, the approach of the PCUSA toward the Middle East is grounded in the NCC policy statement approved in 1980. This “statement calls upon U.S.A. Christians to recognize the moral dimensions of political action, to give witness to God’s justice, love and mercy, to build peace upon the foundation of justice.”

The deep religious significance and spiritual value of the Middle East is affirmed for Jews and Muslims as well as for Christians. “ Affirming the need for mutual respect and understanding, it [the statement] acknowledges the reality of strife; it seeks to identify the sources of mistrust and prejudice and to lay the basis for reconciliation.”

A delegation of U.S. Church leaders who visited Jerusalem, Jenin, Bethlehem and Beit Jala in May of 2002 concluded their statement, “The word of the Spirit in our day is a call to all people of faith to be witnesses to the way of peace. That witness begins with unceasing prayer. It calls us to be reconcilers, to stand for truth, forgiveness, and justice in every place. Only thus may we sing to the Lord a new song.”

URGENT ACTION:

“We believe that with hard work and good faith and courage, it is possible to bring peace to the Middle East…The Holy Land must be shared between the state of Palestine and the state of Israel, living at peace with each other and with every nation of the Middle East.” President George W. Bush, June 4, 2003

If the President stands by his words, and if the Congress lends its support, the hopes and prayers for Middle East peace could be realized. The Road Map for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian peace may be the focus for some time – with debates over the precise meaning of requirements and timing; with Congressional initiatives to block or support its implementation; with efforts to diminish or enhance the role of the Quartet; with despair or hope that the two-state vision might prevail. A prevailing question remains: Will the President press Prime Minister Sharon on the Road Map’s phase one requirement that the government of Israel freeze all settlement activity and dismantle those erected since March 2001?

The advocacy guidance for the PCUSA church members is customarily drawn from the GA policy resolutions -- faith-based tenets of witnessing for peace and the call to be reconcilers -- without broadcasting our personal or institutional identity as Christian. Now, relative to Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, the identity of “Christian” must be reclaimed by the vast numbers of Christians who do not believe in the tenets of Christian-Zionism. The linkage between Christianity and peace must be asserted.

CONGRESS: Contact your representative and two senators by phone, fax, email or letter. The Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121 will connect you with any Congressional office. Encourage advocacy by your friends, family and members of your congregations.

• Identify yourself as a Christian supporter of Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.
• Urge Congressional support of the President and Secretary of State in implementing the Road Map and a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
• Add to your message the related topic that is current: such as urging support for the President putting pressure on P.M. Sharon to dismantle settlement outposts; or urging support for the Road Map’s call for international monitors.

ADMINISTRATION: Call the White House Comments line to thank the President for pressing both Israelis and Palestinians to work for peace and an end of the occupation.

CAMPAIGNS: Contact Democratic Presidential campaign offices in your state and ask them to show support for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, and call for an end of the occupation.

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Presbyterian Policy
At the 215th General Assembly, item E of Resolution on Israel and Palestine: End the Occupation Now:
“Challenges and encourages discussion of theological interpretations that confuse biblical prophesies and affirmations of covenant, promise, and land, which are predicated on justice, righteousness, and mercy, with political statehood that asserts itself through military might, repressive discrimination, abuse of human rights, and other actions that do not reveal a will to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.”

And item A:5
“to advocate for a just peace in the Middle East with their representatives in Congress, the administration, United Nations officials, local/regional/national newspaper editors and other opinion makers.”

A landmark position paper titled, "Toward a Theological Understanding of the Relationship Between Christians and Jews," was adopted and published in 1987. In that paper, making a clear distinction between an understanding of the "people of Israel" and the contemporary, political "State of Israel," the church affirmed the continuity of the divine covenant with Israel, the people, including the promise of land which, throughout the testimony of the Scriptures, is inseparable from Israel's fulfillment of the demands of justice for all who dwell in it. In that position, the church accepts its special covenant relationship with God in Christ, in continuity with God's covenant with the people of Israel, and implicitly rejects fundamentalist, dispensationalist interpretations equating the birth of the modern state of Israel as a literal fulfillment of the biblical promise, and as such the beginning of Armageddon, the end-time battle in which the Jews would ultimately have to be converted or destroyed."

At www.pcusa.org you can read “Left Behind and Presbyterian Belief” by keying in “Left Behind” in the search.

By Corinne Whitlatch
Churches for Middle East Peace