n tough times, Israel finds a friend in evangelicals_111003

Posted: 11/07/03

In tough times, Israel finds a friend in evangelicals

By Michele Chabin

Religion News Service

JERUSALEM (RNS)--Times are hard in Jerusalem, with many stores, restaurants and hotels shut down due to the ongoing Palestinian uprising, but you wouldn't have known it from the rapturous smiles on the faces of the thousands of evangelical Christians who thronged to the holy city in October to support Israel.

image_pdfimage_print

Posted: 11/07/03

In tough times, Israel finds a friend in evangelicals

By Michele Chabin

Religion News Service

JERUSALEM (RNS)–Times are hard in Jerusalem, with many stores, restaurants and hotels shut down due to the ongoing Palestinian uprising, but you wouldn't have known it from the rapturous smiles on the faces of the thousands of evangelical Christians who thronged to the holy city in October to support Israel.

During an exuberant opening ceremony for the weeklong Feast of Tabernacles conference organized by the International Christian Embassy, more than 3,000 pilgrims from dozens of countries displayed their love of the Jewish state, its people and its policies.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (right), makes an appearance with Malcolm Hedding (center) and Michael Utterback at the celebration of the Feast of the Tabernacles hosted by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. The event, attended by 3,000 Christian pilgrims to Israel, highlighted the growing support for Israel among evangelical Christians.

The Jerusalem Convention Center shook with applause and sounds of praise when organizers paid homage to 50 Israeli bus drivers, some sporting ties for the occasion, who “day after day put themselves at risk.”

Like their passengers, who ride the buses despite the threat of attack, the drivers were described as “a symbol of so many in Israel who will not sit down for terror.”

The pilgrims accorded Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the keynote speaker, a thunderous standing ovation when he made his way to the stage, the kind of reception he rarely, if ever, receives from his fellow Israelis.

“Thank you for coming here,” Sharon said. “Your presence here sends a strong message to the world, and your friendship is important to us, very important.”

Realizing he was among friends, Sharon seemed to let down his guard for a moment of uncharacteristic candor.

“Everyone, myself also, I have worries,” the prime minister admitted. “We are facing so many problems here. I believe I need to see you more often. You need to come more often.”

When the applause died down, Sharon added, “I want to thank you for your solidarity and your belief in the Jewish state.”

Evangelical support for Israel and Jewish rights to the Holy Land is grounded in the belief that God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham, as well as on the assumption that the Second Coming of the Messiah will not take place until the Jewish ingathering to Zion is complete.

Putting money where their belief is, over the years evangelicals from around the world have donated more than $100 million to Israeli causes.

Today, their money helps fund food and clothing for needy families, the transport and absorption of new immigrants, and even ambulances and bullet-proof vests for civilians and soldiers. Some support Jewish settlements based on the belief that the territory Israel captured in various wars is part of the biblical Land of Israel.

The evangelical community's unswerving support for Israel stands in stark contrast to the position taken by most Catholic and Orthodox Christians. The latter raise funds and lobby on behalf of Holy Land Christians, who are for the most part Arab and Palestinian.

Every year, tens of thousands of evangelicals show their solidarity by visiting Israel and pumping money into the local economy. Others make a point of selling Israeli-made products at religious events back home, in part to counteract the impact of anti-Israel boycotts.

Yechiel Eckstein, a rabbi and founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, says evangelical Christians are an important pro-Israel force in American politics.

“Since around 1980, they have been coming out with statements on behalf of Israel, when there were issues of America selling arms to Saudi Arabia. They consistently take Israel's side on settlements,” Eckstein said.

On Oct. 26, Eckstein's group sponsored its second annual Day of Prayer and Solidarity with Israel in evangelical congregations across the United States.

At a time when Israel faces not only a bloody ground war with the Palestinians but uphill battles at the United Nations and other arenas, Israeli politicians do not take this solidarity for granted, Eckstein stressed. “There's a greater realization and appreciation that in many respects evangelical Christians constitute a strategic ally for Israel and the Jewish people.”

Virtually all Israeli leaders make it a point to break bread with evangelical leaders, journalists and tour operators during their trips abroad.

American Jewish leaders also maintain close ties with their evangelical counterparts both on Capitol Hill and through inter-religious events aimed at building bridges.

Yet ties between the two communities were not always so close, Eckstein said.

Until the 1980s, the rabbi explained, the traditionally liberal Jewish community “saw evangelicals as people trying to impose their Christian agenda on America. There was the perception that Catholics and Protestants were closer to Jews on domestic issues, even though they were not supportive of Israel. (Jews) were afraid of people like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.”

But since the current intifada began three years ago, he said, “Israel's survival has been made the litmus test by which to judge a relationship.”

David Parsons, information director at the International Christian Embassy, said his community's support for Israel and its policies are based not only on spiritual concerns but on practical ones as well.

Parsons is highly critical of the Palestinians' handling of religious sites and insists only Israel can ensure free access to shrines and churches.

“Yasser Arafat has preached a lot of radical Islamic thinking that denies the Jewish and Christian connections to the Temple Mount,” Parsons said, referring to the disputed Jerusalem shrine Jews and Muslims both call holy. “His police yanked nuns and priests from the White Russian Monastery in Hebron.”

In contrast to the assertions of many local Arab Christians and Muslims, who say Israeli military closures of the West Bank and Gaza prevent them from reaching their holy places, Parsons praised Israel's record as a guardian of the holy sites, the best “of any sovereign in the Holy Land through the centuries.”

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.


We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.

Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.

More from Baptist Standard