In an open letter to president Bush, Tom Martin, a former US Congress employee, writes: “I don’t know what Bible you read but it is not the same one I used when attending Mass in Bethlehem. For you to ever walk in a church after your support for this murderous escapade (the Israeli destruction of Bethlehem) will be sinful.” (Arab News, April 19, 2002)
In a more impassioned prayer to the Messiah Jesus, Jim Floyd vents more explicit anger at Zionist distortions of Christianity:
“Please Jesus, if you never do anything for me, just do this one thing: The next Judeo-Zionist-Christian who prays to you for the success of these Israeli thugs, will you, please, smite him — and on the way down, Lord, let a loud voice tell him that Bethlehem is 40 percent Christian. I’ve never even heard a prayer request for Palestinian children from a single one of Your so-called followers.” (http://www.americanfreepress.net/Mideast/victims_now_the_oppressors)
Undoubtedly, Christian Zionists have invented new versions of the Bible, the most popular being the best-selling Scofield Reference Bible (1909) sponsored by the Rothschild banking firm, patrons of the Zionist movement. There we can read, as Edith Blumhofer explains, “how Christ’s Second coming and the founding of a new Heaven and new Earth will follow the arrival of the Anti-Christ, the tribulation and the conversion of the Jewish nation.” (The Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2002) This is the advice of John Anderson, a powerful advocate of a return to the fundamental teachings of the Bible:
“So many people today believe that the words of Scofield are the words of the scripture. I tell people that if you’ve got a Scofield “bible,” then throw it away. Most people who call themselves Christians do not study and read God’s word for themselves or they allow their thinking to be influenced by what they have been told based on the teachings of Scofield.” (http://www.americanfreepress.net/End_of_Times)
It is this fascination with end-time scenarios that has made TV evangelicals and Christian columnist and writers like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Billy Graham, Jack Impe, Tim LaHaye, Hal Lindsey and Cal Thomas endorse the brutal Israeli occupation of Palestine and staunchly believe and corral good Christians into believing that everything Israeli leader Ariel Sharon says and does is a commandment directed by God himself. That of course and their basic Christian Zionist hatred of Islam, especially Ishmael, Abraham’s first-born son. This is Hal Lindsey who attributes Armageddon and the destruction of most of the world’s population to the influence of Ishmael and Islam:
“All this destruction will be caused by the ancient hatred between Ishmael and Isaac — the smoldering flames of hatred that have existed for 4,000 years - the jealousy of Ishmael toward Isaac — the fact that Ishmael and his descendants have never been willing to accept the blessings that God gave them — they have never been satisfied. They wanted Isaac’s blessing — it is what is going to touch off the war that will destroy the World. Israel’s long-predicted invasion sweeps into Israel with the pent-up-fury of four thousand years of hatred that started with Ishmael and was later enshrined by his descendants in the Muslim region.”
The Zionist Christians would have us believe that God himself is a so-called “jealous” God who favors only the descendants of Isaac and who is willing to smite and destroy at random any nation that opposes them. What kind of God are these militant Christians Zionists worshipping? It is sheer heresy to even associate Christianity with such an atheistic and sacrilegious movement like Zionism. If you’re one of those who are waiting for the Zionist to convert just got to the Jewish Ring site (http://home.vicnet.au) where you will find that all “Jews for Jesus,” “Messianic,” and “missionary” groups are explicitly BANNED from joining (the capitals not mine). Yes, the Zionists are waiting for the Second Coming of Christ, but certainly not to convert!
So what has Christian Zionism got to do with American democracy, politics and the Arab-Israeli conflict? Everything! Consider the following. Why would democratic America support a 55-year old occupation, known for its brutality and ruthlessness? Why on earth would democratic America call its $11 billion artillery system “Crusader”? Is there something in the name perhaps that drives congressmen to such heights of support for Crusader? Imagine, if you can, that the Arabs had called one of their missiles, or even their hand-grenades Al-Qaeda or OBL? How long do you think before the US Congress beats the drums of war, rolls out its arsenal and prepares its infamous bombing campaigns? Yes, Christian Zionism, a legacy of the Crusades, has everything to do with America’s war on Palestinians.
It is evident that Christian Zionists and their overzealous supporters in the US senate are determined to force their unconditional love of Israel on the Arabs and the rest of the world. The biased pro-Israel Senate vote on May 2 proves that American congressman have become more extremist and racist than the Zionist themselves.
To quote Gideon Samet in the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz: “When it comes to terror and the Arabs, the United States has become more Israeli than the Israelis — raining abuse and demonizing the Palestinians.” Isn’t it time Zionist Americans in leading government positions behaved in a more morally responsible manner? Haven’t they heard how many Israeli soldiers have refused to serve in the occupied territories as the only honorable option. How many have signed “Courage to Refuse,” the mission statement of the “Refusenik” soldiers who are desperately trying “to save their country from complete moral collapse.” (go to www.seruv.org.il to read their statement).
How many prominent Jewish politicians, writers, journalists, and academics have denounced the atrocities of the Israeli government and its treatment of Palestinians. This is Gerald Kaufmann, the prominent British MP: “It is time to remind Sharon that the star of David belongs to all Jews, not to his repulsive government. His actions are staining the star of David with blood.” Liz Spikol, a Jewish American journalist for Philadelphia Weekly writes: “But now Israel has crossed a line, and I — and many, many American Jews like me — will not be able to cross it with them.” This is Tanya Reinhart, a professor of linguistics at Tel Aviv University and a signer of the European petition for the academic boycott of Israel:
“What Israel is doing now exceeds the crimes of South Africa’s white regime. It has started to take the form of systematic ethnic cleansing, which South Africa never attempted. After fifty-two years of occupation, it is completely clear that the only two choices the Israeli political system has generated for the Palestinians are Apartheid or ethnic cleansing (‘transfer’)”.
Just read the words of the Torah leaders, learned rabbis and pious laymen of Neturei Karta, Jews United Against Zionism, who have condemned the “central heresy” and “atheistic philosophy” of Zionism and rejected its policy of aggression against the Palestinian people. This is an excerpt from a speech by Rabbi Dovid Weiss at Time Square in Manhattan, June 1, 2001:
“The justice of the current situation lies entirely with the Palestinians people. They have been disposed. Political control over the land and of course, including all of Jerusalem and Al-Aksa rightfully belongs to the Palestinian people.
This is the position of the God fearing Jewish people. They have opposed Zionism from its inception over one hundred years ago. Zionism is an embarrassment to the Torah Jew.” (www.netureikarta.org)
Compare the above statements expressing moral outrage at Zionist atrocities in Palestine with the arrogant and morally offensive statements vented by top US officials. At the Jefferson Memorial on April 23, surrounded by Israeli flags, Sen. John McCain described the moral bond between America and the Zionist state of Israel: “To be proudly pro-American and pro-Israeli is not to hold conflicting loyalties — it is about defending the principles that both countries hold dear. And I stand before you today, proudly pro-American and pro-Israeli.” Sen. Bob Dole’s self-righteous love for Zionist-American alliance is ominous and foreboding:
“American-Israeli friendship is no accident. It is a product of our shared values. We are both democracies. We are both pioneer states. We have both opened our doors to the oppressed. We have both shown a passion for freedom and we have gone to war to protect it.”
Recently, Dick Armey, the Republican leader in the US House of Representatives and a key Bush ally, called for Israel to “grab the entire West Bank” and expel the Palestinian inhabitants. In March, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma took the Senate floor and said the Sept. 11 attacks were punishment by God in response to US policy toward Israel. (May 10, 2002 CounterPunch Special Report, “We are all Members of Likud Now,” by congressional staffer). Asserting that Israel is “entitled” to the West Bank, he also criticized his fellow citizens who counseled the Israelis to use restraint.
This twisted morality on the part of many American senators is an echo of a popular view among Christian Zionists that God will continue to bless America only as long as she remains an ally of Israel. At the Third International Christian Zionist conference held in Jerusalem (Feb. 25-29, 1996), some 1500 delegates from Europe and America affirmed the following bizarre statement:
“The Lord in His Zealous love for Israel and the Jewish people blesses and curses and judges nations based upon their treatment of the chosen people of Israel.”
Unfortunately, many in America, including preachers and congressmen, are reiterating these racist views and thereby fostering in the public mind a climate of suspicion of all Arabs and Muslims and inciting fundamentalist groups committed to grabbing more land, building more settlements, destroying the Dome of the Rock and rebuilding the Jewish Temple. For example, Theodore Temple Beckett, chairman of the Christian Friends of Israel Community Development Foundation has initiated an “adopt-a-settlement” program among American Evangelical Churches. The Jewish town of Ariel has already been adopted by Faith Bible Chapel in Denver. (For References and Critique of Christian Zionism see Dr. Rev. Stephen Sizer, Vicar at Christ Church, Virginia Water at www.virginiawater.co.uk/christchurch/articles)
These are the menacing words of Hal Lindsey, the father of Apocalyptic Christian Zionism, author of over 20 books with sales exceeding 50 million copies, whose weekly radio program Week in Review is aired by several Christian radio stations:
“God said to Abraham, the father of all Jews: “I’ll bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you.” This promise was extended to protect all the descendants (sic) of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I believe that if the US ever turns its back on Israel, we will no longer exist as a nation. Don’t take this lightly, for throughout history the rise and fall of empires can be directly related to how they treated the Jews.”
Speaking of the Oslo and Hebron Accords, Lindsey offers this threatening ultimatum:
“Further land concessions would leave Israel with indefensible borders and no effective conventional deterrent against attack. The world should take note that if it stands by and lets Israel be overrun, the Samson Option is still very much in readiness — does the world really want to force Israel to rely exclusively on nuclear weapons for its defense?”
What kind of insane religion is being preached by these die-hard Israelis who American congressman are vehemently parroting and bending over backward to please? One of their favorite quotes from the Talmud is the following: “Even though God created the non-Jew they are still animals in human form. It is not becoming for a Jew to be served by an animal. Therefore he will be served by animals in human form.” (Midrasch Talpioth, p. 255, Warsaw 1855).
And America is worried about our Muslim religious schools!
Courtesy of American congress, there are now 200 Israeli nuclear warheads aimed at all Arab capitals, engraved with the eerie slogan Masada — Never again. This doesn’t even count Israel’s neutron bombs. What ever happened to Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, “Love your enemies — Do good to them that hurt you.” Whatever happened to Moses’ Commandment: “Thou shalt not kill?” Do American senators seriously believe that the Israeli government and army are ethical, moral and responsible enough not to use their American-made weapons of mass destruction? On the contrary. Let me just cite a paragraph from an interview Sharon did with the Israeli journalist, Amos Os, in 1982:
“Even today I am willing to volunteer to do the dirty work for Israel, to kill as many Arabs as necessary, to deport them, to expel and burn them, to have everyone hate us, to pull the rug from underneath the feet of the Diaspora Jews, so that they will be forced to run to us crying. Even if it means blowing up one or two synagogues here and there, I don’t care. And I don’t mind if after the job is done you put me in front of a Nuremberg Trial and then jail me for life. Hang me if you want, as a war criminal. What you lot don’t understand is that the dirty work of Zionism is not finished yet, far from it. (The Daily Davar. Dec. 17)
Who can stop the Zionists of Israel? Nothing short of a miracle. Having created and nurtured this nuclear monstrosity called Israel, Western leaders have now decided to turn a blind eye, a closed heart and a deaf ear to Israeli barbarism. Medieval Babylonian laws now rule supreme in the US Senate: “Jews are Divine — Hitting a Jew is the same as hitting God. (Sanhedrin 58b) Let us pray that the 12 curses of Moses befall the Israeli government and soon. “And all the people said: Amen.”
— Dr. Afnan Hussein Fatani is professor of stylistics at King Abdul Aziz University. Currently she is a visiting professor at Dar Al-Hekma College, Jeddah.
