Thursday, January 18, 2007
One asks if christianZionists and Jews are really 'Friends?'
From Challenging Christian Zionism blog:
Friends?
Israeli-American journalist and former Israeli communications director , Zev Chafets, has just written a book (A Match Made in Heaven) detailing the reasons why the evangelical-Israeli alliance is a good one. The evangelicals in question are actually not evangelicals per se, but rather the fundamentalist right wing of the evangelical camp - people like John Hagee and Pat Robertson and other in your face radio and TV evangelist types. These, claim Chafets, are Israel's best friends.
His argument, highlighted in a recent online Times article is that the "unconditional love and approval" of fundamentalist American Christians is what Israel needs more than anything else in a time of heightened tensions with neighboring states. The reticence of some in the Jewish community to embrace such support given a questionable theology which posits massive Jewish slaughter in a bloody End Times scenario among other less savory beliefs is unfounded according to Chafets. Such beliefs can easily be ignored in the face of unconditional support. They are "red herrings".
What needs to be questioned is whether or not "unconditional support" defines true friendship. It certainly doesn't define normal friendships. True friends challenge each other's behavior when such behavior is destructive. Apartheid era South African politicians sought "unconditional support" for their racist policies. They wanted friends who endorsed their prejudice. But their true friends turned out to be those who resisted, forcing them to face up to the moral bankruptcy of their policies. Fundamentalist Christians support the more extreme expansionist policies of the Israeli government. They applaud the Wall even as it divides communities and brutalizes relationships. They call for the theft of more Palestinian land for settlements. They encourage the very policies which add fuel to the flames of Palestinian resentment. A friend who says "do what you like" to an alcoholic on a binge is no friend at all. Fundamentalist Christians who say "do what you like" to Israel are no friends either.
Israel certainly needs friends as do their Palestinian neighbors. But what they need are not those who give them a blank check but those who will help them find a way out of the morass, challenging what needs challenging, supporting what needs supporting. What they need are friends who will seek their best interests. . .
From Challenging Christian Zionism blog:
Friends?
Israeli-American journalist and former Israeli communications director , Zev Chafets, has just written a book (A Match Made in Heaven) detailing the reasons why the evangelical-Israeli alliance is a good one. The evangelicals in question are actually not evangelicals per se, but rather the fundamentalist right wing of the evangelical camp - people like John Hagee and Pat Robertson and other in your face radio and TV evangelist types. These, claim Chafets, are Israel's best friends.
His argument, highlighted in a recent online Times article is that the "unconditional love and approval" of fundamentalist American Christians is what Israel needs more than anything else in a time of heightened tensions with neighboring states. The reticence of some in the Jewish community to embrace such support given a questionable theology which posits massive Jewish slaughter in a bloody End Times scenario among other less savory beliefs is unfounded according to Chafets. Such beliefs can easily be ignored in the face of unconditional support. They are "red herrings".
What needs to be questioned is whether or not "unconditional support" defines true friendship. It certainly doesn't define normal friendships. True friends challenge each other's behavior when such behavior is destructive. Apartheid era South African politicians sought "unconditional support" for their racist policies. They wanted friends who endorsed their prejudice. But their true friends turned out to be those who resisted, forcing them to face up to the moral bankruptcy of their policies. Fundamentalist Christians support the more extreme expansionist policies of the Israeli government. They applaud the Wall even as it divides communities and brutalizes relationships. They call for the theft of more Palestinian land for settlements. They encourage the very policies which add fuel to the flames of Palestinian resentment. A friend who says "do what you like" to an alcoholic on a binge is no friend at all. Fundamentalist Christians who say "do what you like" to Israel are no friends either.
Israel certainly needs friends as do their Palestinian neighbors. But what they need are not those who give them a blank check but those who will help them find a way out of the morass, challenging what needs challenging, supporting what needs supporting. What they need are friends who will seek their best interests. . .
# posted by Philistini : 9:17 PM
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