Religious foundations of US foreign policy towards the Palestinian issue

There is no doubt that the international dimension was and still is one of the most important aspects of influence on the Palestinian issue, as the Palestinian issue has been linked since its inception to the interests of the major powers for more than two centuries. Napoleon saw Palestine not only as a holy place, but also as having geopolitical and geoeconomic importance and as a means of achieving his project of obtaining a strategic foothold in the region, blocking Britain's path, and calling for the settlement of Jews in Palestine, while at the same time calling for the establishment of a national homeland for the Jews in Palestine as the legitimate heirs of Palestine. After Napoleon failed to do so, Britain had the upper hand since Sykes-Picot, through the Balfour Declaration in 1917 and the partition resolution of 1947, and ending with the declaration of the establishment of the occupying state on the largest part of the Palestinian lands, until its star (i.e. Britain) faded as a colonial power, with its exit as an influential player from the international stage and its withdrawal to its islands. The United States of America rose as a new superpower since the end of World War II. Before that, the extraordinary Zionist conference was held under the name of the Biltmore Conference in New York in May 1942, due to the inability to hold it in Europe during World War II. In his speech, Ben-Gurion confirmed that Britain was on the path of decline and that the United States was the rising power that would replace it.

The American strategy in various regions of the world, including the Arab region, is based on fundamental pillars that aim to achieve its national interests and implement its foreign policies. The Middle East, especially the Arab world, occupies a pivotal position in this strategy, due to its geopolitical importance and its strategic location within the American hegemony project, which extends to include the Caucasus and Central Asia. Therefore, the United States always relies in its foreign policy towards the Palestinian issue on the constants and variables in that policy, based on a specific mechanism through which it makes American foreign policy, or in other words, how American foreign policy is made and who makes it, and the role of various institutions in that, most notably the presidency, Congress with its two branches, the House of Representatives and the Senate, pressure groups, interests, and research centers... etc., in addition to the role of religion in shaping American foreign policy towards the Palestinian issue.

There are also a number of internal determinants of American foreign policy towards the Palestinian issue, including, for example, the influence of American public opinion and the role of pressure groups, with a special focus on Zionist pressure groups that exercise great influence in shaping US positions towards the issue. This is if we take into account the religious foundations of American foreign policy towards the Palestinian issue, which is perhaps the most important and prominent addition to this policy, which focuses on the religious dimension in foreign policy towards Palestine historically, and thus the extent of its influence on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

I believe that one of the most important reasons for the stability of American foreign policy towards the Palestinian issue is its reliance on religious principles and the spiritual dimensions of successive American administrations. In order to gain a deeper understanding of American foreign policy towards the Palestinian issue, we must go back to the beginnings, especially to the relationship that linked the United States with the Zionist movement since its first conference held in Basel, Switzerland in 1897, in addition to the position of the United States on the establishment of a national homeland for the Jews in Palestine, and the role it played in the establishment of the occupying state, whether in the United Nations (the partition resolution) or through the bilateral relationship between the two parties, and the development of the relationship between the two countries until they reached the strategic alliance between them during the era of President Ronald Reagan.

Nothing is more indicative of this than the powerful influence of the Zionist lobby in the United States, which is based on a political culture based on a close connection between religion and politics, where “Zionism” is portrayed in the American context as an extension of the word “God,” which gives Israel a sacred religious dimension, making it in the eyes of many political and religious movements a (divine) project that must be supported and protected. This deep perception in American political culture translates into foreign policies that are strongly biased toward Israel, where unconditional military, economic, and diplomatic aid is provided as part of an American “moral” commitment to Israel.

By exploiting this overlap between the religious and political dimensions, the Jewish community in the United States has succeeded in playing a pivotal role in influencing American policy, especially through its various institutions that operate in various political, economic, and media fields. Among these institutions, the AIPAC organization occupies a strategic position as the most important arm of the Zionist movement in the United States, as it exercises broad influence over decision-making circles in Congress and the US administration. At the same time, other evangelical groups such as Christians United for Israel (CUFI) work to consolidate popular and political support for Israel, and play a major role in directing US policy towards the Palestinian issue, and in granting “legitimacy” to US policies that support Israel, even if those policies contradict the principles of international law or cause human rights violations against the Palestinians. Any criticism of these policies is portrayed as anti-Semitic or undermining American democratic values, which limits any serious attempts to hold Israel accountable for its practices, exploiting religious narratives to advance their agendas.

Moreover, the structure of the American political system, based on lobbying groups and political funding, makes it easy for institutions such as AIPAC to influence foreign policy directions by supporting election campaigns for candidates who adopt pro-Israel positions, in exchange for pressuring those who criticize it, which creates a political environment that avoids proposing any policies that might harm Israeli interests.

In contrast, this intellectual and political system is used to justify American policies towards the Palestinian issue, where Israel is portrayed as the only democracy in the Middle East, while the image of the Palestinian resistance is distorted and linked to terrorism. In this way, American foreign policy becomes a reflection of a religious-political vision that legitimizes the occupation and diminishes the importance of Palestinian rights in international forums.

Accordingly, the relationship between the political and the religious in the American context is not limited to discourse only, but extends to being a tool used to direct foreign policy, which makes any move to change these policies extremely complex due to the deep overlap between faith and political interest.

Religion has played a prominent role in American politics, as religious groups, especially the Christian right with its various spectra of fundamentalists and Protestants, have contributed to directing US foreign policy, especially with regard to the Palestinian issue and Israel. There is a direct influence of religion on American foreign policy, as American foreign policy is based in some of its orientations on religious concepts that intersect with political and strategic interests. Religious groups, especially the Christian right or what is called Christian Zionism, have contributed to establishing specific policies and influencing the formulation of official political discourse, which enhances the religious nature of some political decisions, especially with regard to the Middle East. It promotes the idea of a close alliance with Israel based on biblical religious interpretations that consider the establishment of Israel to be part of a divine plan.

Christian Zionism combined myth and religion to form a launching pad for the colonial West, investing in it to pass its colonial settlement project and ideology in Palestine with weapons, of which capital was the main incubator.

The Christian right promotes the idea that support for Israel is a religious and political obligation, with Israel being a strategic partner for American religious groups that see their support for Israel as the fulfillment of religious prophecies. Christian Zionist leaders have seen the aggression on Gaza as part of God’s greater plan as a prelude to the coming of the Messiah to defeat evil and bring about a millennium of Christian peace.

The most famous Christian Zionist commentator is Hal Lindsey, author of the 1970s bestseller The Late Great Planet Earth, who described the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, as follows: “I see it as a prelude to the war prophesied by Ezekiel, and that this event did not surprise God, and that it is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy, and that God’s plan continues.”

These groups also work continuously to raise funds for Israeli settlements and Jewish organizations that support settlement and expansion policies. American Christian religious institutions also cooperate with their Israeli counterparts to promote the pro-Israel agenda on the international stage. This has been reflected in the significant political, military and economic support provided by the United States to Israel. The Christian right also opposes any American pressure on Israel to make concessions within the framework of the (peace process), and pressures against any policies that might weaken Israel’s position in negotiations with the Palestinians.

Many American presidents are keen to gain the support of religious groups because of their wide electoral influence, which prompts them to adopt policies that are in line with their agendas. This relationship is evident in the statements of American presidents about Israel, as they commit to providing unconditional support for it. There is no better evidence of this than President Donald Trump’s decision in 2018 to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a major demand of the Christian right.

Thus, religion, represented by the influence of religious groups and the Christian right, has played a pivotal role in shaping American foreign policy, as we mentioned earlier, especially with regard to the Palestinian issue and Israel. Through political pressure, media influence, and electoral funding, these groups have strengthened US support for Israel, which has had a direct impact on the positions of successive US administrations towards the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The United States was seen in Protestant thought as part of a comprehensive divine plan, with Puritans and Calvinists playing a role in shaping the religious belief that the Jews were the “chosen people” and had the right to establish “God’s kingdom on earth,” where they exterminated the indigenous population. Concepts of natural rights, American virtue, and divine providence were used to justify foreign policy, as Roosevelt did, who said that “Americanization of the world” was the inevitable destiny of the American nation, and Eisenhower, who described the American role as the implementation of God’s plan for creation. Millions of Protestants support Israel out of religious beliefs that see its political and spiritual survival as a condition for the return of Christ, according to biblical prophecies. The building of the Temple on the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is also necessary to fulfill this prophecy, and these conflicts are seen as a means of accelerating religious events. Thus, American policy in the Middle East cannot be separated from the profound influence of Protestant religious values.