A Wound Unhealed: Does Christian Zionism Contribute to Palestinian Suffering?

There is among many Christians a sense that the return of Jews to Israel in recent times is a fulfilment of prophecies of the Old Testament. It is also thought that this return is an act of restitution, following the dispersion of the Jews after the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem in AD 70.

The author visited Israel in 1982 with the above views uppermost in mind. After the discovery of and discussion with Palestinian Christians and as a result of reading alternative interpretations of history and the Bible, he began to question his views. He discovered that these views are not as orthodox as he first thought, finding that there are many Christians who dispute this version of events.

The first people to believe in a ‘return’ were evangelical Christians in the 19th century, firstly in Britain and then in the US. Soon after, events in Eastern Europe took a turn for the worse for Jews living there in the form of pogroms. The shameful role played in these events by ‘Christian’ countries is important to recognise. Momentum gathered as Theodor Herzl encouraged fellow Jews to seek a national home in Palestine. Jews began to immigrate to Palestine in large numbers from Russia and Eastern Europe.

This influx of foreigners created tension for the indigenous inhabitants of Palestine. Violence broke out as land and other disputes became common. As the numbers of Jewish immigrants increased, the vision of a ‘homeland’ became a more definite possibility. A parallel administrative structure was developed in anticipation of an actual state.

Lord Balfour issued his ‘declaration’ in 1917, supporting the creation of a ‘national home’ for Jews in Palestine. After WWI and the defeat of the Ottomans, the Allied powers allocated Palestine to Britain as the Mandatory power. Britain had made promises to both Jews and Arabs which it became increasingly clear it would not be able to fulfil. The Arabs of Palestine were expecting the same independence that had been given to the other Ottoman territories. The Jews held on to the ‘Balfour Declaration’, which they believed gave them the right to a national home and eventual statehood. They received support, much of which was secret, from the US, for their aspirations.

Violence escalated as a result of these conflicting expectations until Britain, exhausted by WWII, felt unable to continue to govern such a volatile place. The horrific Holocaust further encouraged many Jews to seek a home in Palestine.

The ‘problem’ was handed to the newly formed United Nations. After a vote which is now known to have followed strong diplomatic pressure from the US on other countries to agree to the ‘partition’ of Palestine, the General Assembly voted accordingly. Without the actual implementation of this vote, the State of Israel was declared unilaterally by the Zionist leaders. War broke out between Arab countries and the Israeli forces, which were victorious when the UN was able to create an armistice in 1949. (This was known as the “Green Line”.)

This left the Palestinians with 22% of the land that had been allocated to them under the UN Partition Plan. Thus began the armed conflict that has bedevilled the area on and off ever since.

After a further victory for the Israelis in the 1967 war, resulting in the occupation of the remainder of Palestine, conservative Christians, mainly in the US, took this victory as a sign of divine providence and protection, and began to give increasing support in various forms to the Israeli regime. The theological emphases of dispensationalism predominated among conservative Christians, giving rise to best-selling books on the ‘end-times’, seeing resurgent Israel as a key component in the count-down to the second coming of Christ.

Palestinians were the victims of the Israeli occupation of their historic homeland, with an ongoing loss of their land and with multiple human rights abuses as the Israeli regime sought to extinguish dissent. During apartheid, South Africa was supported economically and militarily by Israel who were also experiencing increasing international isolation.

The US identified Israel as its strategic ally in the Middle East and it has given ongoing support and has shielded it from all international attempts at censure for its mistreatment of the Palestinians. There have been multiple instance of both the US and Israel disregarding aspects of international law related to the Palestinians, causing them to be labelled ‘rogue states’ by international experts, including UN officials.

The religious aspects of this conflict are explored as many conservative Christians have aligned themselves with Zionism. Many respected evangelical biblical scholars and Christian leaders have seriously challenged the way ‘fulfilment of Scripture’ is seen by this grouping. ‘Kingdom theology/Inaugurated eschatology’ provides a better way of dealing with the issues raised by Christian Zionism.

The theological shortcomings of dispensationalism are highlighted along with its tacit approval of the oppression of the Palestinian people. It appears that Christian Zionism has lost its connection to the gospel and values of Jesus Christ.

A variety of responses is recorded, to what has happened in the last 100 years to both Jews and Palestinians. Survivors, psychologists, political analysts, academics, individuals, church and political groups, and NGOs have contributed in deep and meaningful ways to the often tragic events that have been let loose on innocent people – all seeking a way out of the destructive impasse of the present situation.

The conclusions relating to the involvement of many western Christians in these matters are not positive, with Christian Zionism in the dangerous position of supporting a secular, ideologically oriented Zionism bent on self-preservation and self-promotion at all costs, including the extended oppression and dispossession of the Palestinian people. This support is despite the many instances of the negative consequences for the church in giving its support to secular political movements.

A Postscript written in 2024, 6 months after the Hamas attack adds relevant material giving further evidence of the ethnic cleansing/genocide of Palestinians from Gaza by Israel with supporting information and comment.