Prisca Afantchao is the Written Communications Organizer intern for On Earth Peace and is active in movements for Palestine Justice.  She reflects here on her thoughts and learnings after attending a recent webinar hosted by FOSNA (Friends of Sabeel North America).

On October 5, I attended a webinar hosted by Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), The Origins of the Israel Lobby & Christian Zionism. Dr. Ilan Pappé, an Israeli historian, was the guest host and spoke about the content of his book “Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic.” 

Before reflecting. I will first define Christian Zionism. Christian Zionism is a political and theological ideology that misuses Christian texts to support the modern nation-state of Israel, believing it has a cosmic purpose in bringing about the “End Times” and the return of Jesus… (FOSNA).

There is a vast array of motivations, both political and religious that keep the Israel Lobby going. Conservative Evangelical support is based in a pursuit of fulfilling an apocalyptic destiny. The idea is that the “return” of the Jewish people to the Holy Land will speed up the Second Coming. The fervent support for the lobby and the nation-state of Israel is based on that personal, religious goal. The political and economic manifestation of this theology has origins in the rhetoric of people like Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury, who was one of the first major politicians to argue for Jewish settlement of Palestine. Additionally, an anti-semitic motivation has always been part of the establishment of Israel. For example, Lord Balfour and Lord Rothchild of England, wanted to see Jews get out of Europe and saw Zionism as a way to fulfill their wish. Politically, even to this day, many people support Israel because it is a foothold for American interests in the Middle East, which are actively anti-muslim and anti-arab. 

The ideological weapon of Islamophobia is a major part of the Zionist project. This is not only rooted in a lack of knowledge of Islam. There is an attitude that the millennium of Islamic and Arab civilization in the region does not matter and there is nothing of value lost in its destruction. Ultimately, Muslims and Arabs (although Zionists rarely differentiate between these groups), are seen as the enemy and an obstacle between Zionists and their goal of maintaining a settler colony and apartheid state. 

According to Pappé, the Zionist necessity of displacement and replacement is an unfinished project that Israel is continuing to carry out and needs the Israel Lobby to justify. One topic covered during the webinar was why other settler colonial projects like Canada and Australia don’t have lobbies to justify what they did. Their projects are old enough for their legitimacy to be generally unquestioned on the institutional, international level. Pappé argued that the longevity of the settler colonial projects in these countries also explains why the indigenous peoples are not as able to threaten the systems as occupied Palestinians are. 

Concerning Christ, Christian Zionism is not Christlike and does not respect the notion of Christ’s kingdom as transcendent of nation-state borders. The obsession with the nation-state and, of course, the use of unspeakable violence against Palestinian and Lebanese people, goes against the teachings of Jesus Christ.  Committing war crimes, stealing homes, arresting children, and committing ethnic cleansing is not aligned with Christian teachings of peace and justice. This is why we must challenge Christian Zionism.

Here are some tips on how to challenge Christian Zionism

• Talk to your church community about the violence of Christian Zionism
  • Start conversations with people you disagree with
  • Think about hosting a teach-in using this outline by FOSNA
• Join a Christian organization that is supportive of Palestine Justice
  • Christians for Palestine
  • Mennonite Action
  • Friends of Sabeel North America
• Center Palestinian experiences, rather than Israeli arguments
  • Ask people if they are aware of the apartheid
  • Tell people about the arbitrary arrests of Palestinian children
  • Bring up the land grabs and Israeli settlements (which are illegal under international law)

Read this comprehensive Christian Zionism Toolkit curated by FOSNA for more!