ZGram - 10/31/2001 - "Israeli Extremists and Christian Fundamentalists: The Alliance"

[Ingrid Rimland]

Copyright (c) 2001 - Ingrid A. Rimland

ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny

October 31, 2001

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

In light of recent developments, a timely piece, even though it was written
more than a dozen years ago:

[START]

Israeli Extremists and Christian Fundamentalists: The Alliance

By Grace Halsell

December 1988

At the time I began my research for my book Prophecy and   Politics, I
discovered the average American I met in   Washington, DC, and New York was
not interested in TV   evangelists and their link to Israel. Neither were
book   editors. I went to 25 top editors in New York with my book   idea on
religion and politics. Michael Korda of Simon and   Schuster was typical.
"Jerry Falwell? Pat Robertson? Who is   interested in those crazies?"

  By the time my book came out those "crazies" were on the   front page of
every American newspaper and on every news   channel. Of course, I didn't
give them this instant fame,   which extended throughout the world. Two of
them earned it   themselves by being in the middle of scandals.

  The press told us that Jim Bakker had committed adultery and   that Jimmy
Swaggart regularly visited a prostitute. A fellow   marine said Pat
Robertson never had to dodge bullets in   Korea because he had used his
father's influence as a   senator to escape front line duty. But almost
everyone   ignored the biggest scandal of all: the peculiar mixture of
prophecy and politics professed by these and other Christian   Zionists.


  The Christian Zionists Message

    What is the message of the Christian Zionist? Simply stated   it is
this: Every act taken by Israel is orchestrated by   God, and should be
condoned, supported, and even praised by   the rest of us.

  "Never mind what Israel does," say the Christian Zionists.   "God wants
this to happen." This includes the invasion of   Lebanon, which killed or
injured an estimated 100,000   Lebanese and Palestinians, most of them
civilians; the   bombing of sovereign nations such as Iraq; the deliberate,
methodical brutalizing of the Palestinians-breaking bones,   shooting
children, and demolishing homes; and the expulsion   of Palestinian
Christians and Muslims from a land they have   occupied for over 2,000
years.

  My premise in Prophecy and Politics is that Christian   Zionism is a
dangerous and growing segment of Christianity,   which was popularized by
the 19th-century American Cyrus   Scofield when he wrote into a Bible his
interpretation of   events in history. These events all centered around
Israel-past, present, and future. His Scofield Bible is   today the most
popular of the reference Bibles.

  Scofield said that Christ cannot return to earth until   certain events
occur: The Jews must return to Palestine,   gain control of Jerusalem and
rebuild a temple, and then we   all must engage in the final, great battle
called   Armageddon. Estimates vary, but most students of Armageddon
theology agree that as a result of these relatively recent
interpretations of Biblical scripture, 10 to 40 million   Americans believe
Palestine is God's chosen land for the   Jews.

  Has the power of the Christian Zionists diminished?

    I do not think so. Rather, we are seeing how the Christian   Zionists,
motivated by religious beliefs, are working hand   in glove with
politically motivated, militant Jewish   Zionists around the world. It is
the Christian support of   Zionism that emboldens Zionists to believe they
can dictate   to relatively weak and dependent countries such as Austria,
whom they may choose as their president.  (...)

  It is the Christian support of Zionism that enables the   militant
Israelis to take over Palestinian homes surrounding   the Al-Aqsa mosque in
pursuit of their well-documented plan   to destroy Jerusalem's most holy
Islamic site, sacred to a   billion Muslims around the world - one-fifth of
humanity.

  Christian Zionists and the Iran-Contra Scandal

  Remarkably,it was this Christian cult of Israel that brought   us the
Iran contra scandal, perhaps the most   self-destructive act in the history
of the United States.   Marine Col. Oliver North, the perpetrator of this
misguided   series of actions, is a Christian Zionist. A born-again
charismatic figure, he endeared himself to the militant   Israeli Zionists
who plotted Iran-contra. "He is more   Israeli," said one Jewish general,
"than we Israelis." This   is often the case. In his zealotry, the
Christian Zionist   can become more Zionist, more militant, than the Jewish
Zionist.

  In the Iran-contra hearings, Sen. James McClure (R-ID)   explained to
North that the US had a stated policy of   neutrality in the Iran-Iraq war.
That policy differed   radically from Israel's policy of selling arms to
Iran. Yes,   agreed North, the two policies were not the same. The
question, to which McClure's efforts yielded no response,   then becomes:
Why would the US forego its American policy to   pursue Israeli policy?


  The answer, unfortunately, lies in the belief system of   Christian
Zionists: They believe that what Israel wants is   what God wants.
Therefore, it is perfectly acceptable to   give the green light to whatever
it is Israel wants and then   conceal this from the American people.
Anything, including   lies, theft, even murder, is justified as long as
Israel   wants it.

 Another perfect example of a Christian Zionist is Sen.   Daniel Inouye
(D-HI). Throughout the hearings on the   Iran-contra scandal, the Hawaiian
kept the focus on the   contras and steered determinedly clear of any
criticism of   Israel. If, in answer to questions, witnesses sought to
explain the seminal and continuing role of Israel, Inouye   abruptly broke
off the line of questioning that had led the   hearings to this unwanted
destination.

  Despite the political problems created by its lay   practitioners and the
scandals that rocked some of its TV   ministries, this belief system-this
cult of Israel-has not   been diminished.

  Indeed, I hold that Christian Zionism threatens not just the   lives of
Palestinians and other Arabs, but the very   existence of the United
States. Because of the cult of   Israel, we have become a nation that does
not have its own   Middle East policy, but the policy the government of
Israel   tells us to have.

  Despite the terrifying aspects of the alliance of militant   Christians
with militant Jewish Zionists, I find some   encouraging developments. In
my visits to colleges, clubs,   and churches around the country, I have
found strong support   for the message and warning in Prophecy and
Politics. It has   come not only from liberal congregations, but from
across   the whole spectrum of Christianity, including those   Christians
who call themselves fundamentalists. These   supporters see Christ as the
bearer to humanity of God's   message of peace, brotherhood, love, and
reconciliation.   These Christians do not endorse either the cult of Israel
or   its killIngs and beatings of Palestinians.

  I have found many such Christians in my frequent visits to   my home
state of Texas. There and all over this   slowly-awakening land of ours, I
have found a small but   increasing number of ministers and lay people who
are deeply   alarmed by the cult of Israel and willing to stand up and
speak out about it.

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 Grace Halsell's book,Prophecy and Politics. The Secret   Alliance Between
Israel and the US Christian Right Is   available through the AET Book Club
Catalog to readers of   the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

  (This article was adapted by author Grace Halsell from her   speech at
the North American Regional Non-Governmental   Symposium on the Question of
Palestine held in June 1988 at   the United Nations headquarters in New
York.)

  http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/1288/8812031.htm

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Thought for the Day:

"Nothing is worse than the cruelty of the good."

(Sent to the Zundelsite)