As the US Elections Approach, the “Zionist Lobby” Is No Longer Just Jewish

Despite the endless support that Christian Zionists (read: Zionist Messiahs) provide to "Israel", many Jews view them with some suspicion, for several reasons, including: the history of "anti-Semitism" by Christians, and the existence of what is known as replacement theology, which states that "the church has replaced Israel in God's plan!" Those who adhere to this belief do not believe that the Jews are still "God's chosen people", or that "God still has specific plans for the future of the people of Israel"! Knowing that Christian Zionists reject this belief. Many Jews are particularly concerned about the desire of some Christians from evangelical churches to hasten the return of Christ to earth by hastening the conversion of Jews to Christianity. This even prompted the American Jewish historian (Naomi Cohen) to say that: "If it were not for the needs of Israel, most Jews would immediately reject any negotiations with the new Christian right."

The positions of Christian Zionists - although they generally agree with the positions of the extreme Israeli right - contradict on some issues what some American Jewish organizations see as beneficial to the Hebrew state. For example, the Christian Zionist movement opposes any withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories or any dismantling or evacuation of any Israeli "settlement"/colony, and they categorically reject adopting the two-state solution. This contradicts the opinion of moderate pro-Israel organizations that see the establishment of a Palestinian state as a solution to end the state of war in the region. All this did not prevent many Jewish organizations from welcoming the alliance between themselves and Christian Zionists, to the point that AIPAC established a special office for this purpose to communicate and coordinate with the evangelical movement. Influential American Jewish figures have also emphasized on more than one occasion the importance of this alliance for Israel's interests, including Nathan Perlmutter, a former president of the Anti-Defamation League, who stated that: "Jews can fully adapt to the priorities of the Christian right regarding domestic policy - in the United States of America - despite the contradiction with the views of the Jews of the left, because none of these issues is as important as Israel." Here, it must be noted that not all evangelical churches support this trend in the United States. There is the “National Council of Churches of Christ,” which includes (34) Protestant sects that reject theological Zionism. This is in addition to the opposition of the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Since the events of October 7, 2023, the United States has provided unconditional support to Israel, exceeding the historical support committed by all previous American presidents, both Republican and Democratic. President Joe Biden stated: “You don’t have to be Jewish to be a Zionist, and I am a Zionist, and that is a fact for which I do not apologize.” Senator Lindsey Graham also stated: “We are in a religious war,” which led to controversy in global political circles, following his statements in the wake of the events of October 7, 2023, in which he asked Israel to “level them to the ground” in order to defend itself. As for US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, he stated: “I did not come to Israel as Secretary of State of the United States only; I came as a Jew.” He added: “The message I carry to Israel is: You may be strong enough to defend yourself, but as long as America is around, you will never have to. We will always be with you.” Before that, Biden reiterated that: “The United States and the State of Israel are inseparable partners,” and that the United States “will continue to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and its people.”

We can understand the motives of the United States in taking these positions by returning to the religious references, which are a very important factor in this context, in addition - of course - to individual and partisan political interests, which is the support of right-wing Christian groups "Evangelical Protestants" in the United States. This is to accelerate Israel's complete control over all the lands of Palestine to accelerate the second coming of Christ and the construction of the alleged temple in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Based on this religious thought, religious extremists from the "settler"/colonial herds call for the relentless killing of Palestinian civilians during wartime, declaring that: "They must attack them with all cruelty, do not show them mercy or compassion. You must only protect our citizens and soldiers." This is based on the alleged "superiority of the Jewish race" in the face of other races, especially the Arabs, who have no value to them. While the "Gush Emunim" and "Yeshuvat Cohenim" groups direct their attention towards building the "Temple", evangelical Christians in America take money out of their pockets to finance activities that lead to "rebuilding the Temple"!!! It is known that the Israeli occupation authorities prefer to rely on external political support from evangelical Christians who have great influence in many countries of the world, and they support Israel based on their religious feelings, without raising unwanted questions, unlike the Jews. In addition, the number of Christian Zionists is several times the number of the Jewish population in the world. Zionism still finds its most trustworthy followers in the Protestant environment in which it originated; therefore, the "Zionist lobby" in the United States and other countries is no longer solely Jewish, as the role of Jews in it is gradually diminishing. And there is more to come!