In this Part 2, here are more observations about some factors that are probably contributing to the developments within the American-Israeli alliance:
The Christian evangelicals in the US
Because the amount of Jewish people in the US is fairly small, only about 8 million, Israel has traditionally sought support from a much bigger group: Christian evangelicals. According to Professor Mordechai Inbari, there are about 80 million evangelical Christians, or Christian Zionists, in the US and between 50% to 70% of them support Israel (1).
Why do Christian evangelicals or Christian Zionists support Israel? MSNBC columnist Sarah Posner wrote at the end of October, last year (2):
For many “Christians Zionists,” and particularly for popular evangelists with significant clout within the Republican Party, their support for Israel is rooted in its role in the supposed end times: Jesus’ return to Earth, a bloody final battle at Armageddon, and Jesus ruling the world from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In this scenario, war is not something to be avoided, but something inevitable, desired by God, and celebratory.
Christian Zionists are anticipating, and hoping for a war to end all wars, and a resulting Christian world that they claim will vanquish evil and bring peace. Only those who accept Jesus as their savior will benefit from these events that Christian Zionists claim the Bible predicts will happen. Nonbelievers — including Jews and Muslims — will not survive them.
According to a poll published by Pew Research Center in 2013, 82% of White evangelical Protestants said that Israel was given to the Jewish people by God. However, only 40% of Jewish people said so. (3)
For the Christian Zionists, the successive and increasingly far-right governments of Prime Minister Netanyahu have been just a positive development and the Zionist settlers’ ever-increasing control of the occupied West Bank, which they call by its biblical names Judea and Samaria, is “a fulfillment of God’s plan” that Jewish people return to Israel – that is one sequence of biblical prophecies that culminates in the Second Coming of Christ (2).
Quite soon after the war between Hamas and Israel started, 90 prominent pastors and other predominantly religious leaders issued “An Evangelical Statement in Support for Israel” where they stated that Israel has a “right and duty to defend itself against further attack” (2).
According to a poll published by Pew Research Center at the end of March this year, White evangelicals are the biggest supporters of Israel after Jewish Americans. Most Jewish Americans (62%) and White evangelical Protestants (61%) saw Israel’s response to Hamas’ attack on the 7th of October 2023 as at least somewhat acceptable – roughly four-in-ten in each group said that Israel’s conduct of the war is completely acceptable. Most American Jews (75%) and White evangelical Protestants (65%) said that Israel has valid reasons for fighting but Hamas does not. Large majorities of Jewish Americans (89%) and White evangelical Protestants (84%) said that they have a favorable view of the Israeli people. White evangelical Protestants were most likely to express favorable views of the Israeli government (71%). 54% of Jewish adults said they have a favorable view of the Israeli government, while 44% had an unfavorable view. (4)
During his recent controversial visit to the US, Prime Minister Netanyahu met a large group of Christian evangelical leaders who expressed their strong support for Israel and Netanyahu. Mike Evans, chairman of the Friends of Zion in Jerusalem and long-time friend of Netanyahu, said that Christian evangelicals “are the bedrock foundation of support for the entire State of Israel.” Evans also said that Netanyahu “is the leader of the evangelical movement of the world. He has more support among the evangelicals globally than even Donald Trump. There’s no person on the planet that is more respected by evangelicals than Benjamin Netanyahu, and part of it is because he understands us and he’s been an advocate of close relations with us from the very beginning.” (5)
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins explained why large part of pro-Israel Christians vote Republicans and support former president Donald Trump in the presidential election, this year. He said, “As evangelicals, we vote for candidates who are most closely aligned with biblical principles and the truths that we live by. And obviously we’ve seen a clear division in the two parties in this country. And the last administration, President Trump, was the one who was most clearly aligned.” (5)
In spite of his criminal convictions, former president Trump has still strong support among White evangelicals. According to various estimates, roughly 80% of White evangelicals voted for Trump in the presidential elections in 2016 and 2020. According to survey published by Pew Research Center at the end of April this year, 81% of White evangelical Protestant voters, 61% of White Catholics and 57% of White Protestants who are not evangelical supported Trump. (6, 7, 8)
Religious rhetoric and operations
Prime Minister Netanyahu has used religious references in various situations. For example, on the 28th of October 2023, after Israel started full-scale invasion of Gaza, Netanyahu referred to Deuteronomy in his statement to Israelis when he said, “‘Remember what Amalek did to you’ (Deuteronomy 25:17). We remember and we fight.” (9) On the 3rd of November 2023, Netanyahu wrote in his letter to Israeli soldiers, “The current fight against the murderers of Hamas is another chapter in the generations-long story of our national resilience. ’Remember what Amalek did to you.’ We will always remember the horrific scenes of the massacre on Shabbat Simchat Torah, Oct. 7, 2023.” (10)
The South African legal team used Netanyahu’s comments as examples of Israeli incitement to genocide against Palestinians during the first hearing session before the International Court of Justice in South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel (11). According to website The Bible Says, the reference to Amalek in Deuteronomy 25:17-19 means that “Moses urged the Israelites to remember to wipe out the Amalekites when they are settled in the Promised Land.” Rabbi Jill Jacobs, the head of T’ruah, a rabbinical human rights organization, said that rabbis generally agree that Amalek no longer exists. However, it is still common for Israeli extremists to view Palestinians as modern-day Amalekites. (12, 13)
Also Republicans have used religion and religious references in their rhetoric and political operations. When Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke at an emergency meeting of Christians United For Israel after Iran’s missile attack on Israel in April, he said, “We have to make certain that the entire world understands that Israel is not alone and God is going to bless the nation that blesses Israel. We understand that that’s our role. It’s also our biblical admonition. This is something that’s an article of faith for us. It also happens to be great foreign policy.” (14)
Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace wrote on X in May that the war between Hamas and Israel is “Biblical warfare.” She stated, “Israel doesn’t occupy the land, they own it. The promised land is theirs.” (15)
During Trump’s presidency in 2019, the then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that it was possible that Trump is new “Queen Esther” who has been sent to protect the Jewish people from the threat of Iran (16).
Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon and his associate Benjamin Harnwell, former British Conservative European Parliament staffer, have wanted to establish an “Academy for the Judeo-Christian West”, a “gladiator school” for right-wing wannabe politicians, to an old monastery near Rome in Italy. Harnwell was initially sued by Italy’s state prosecutor, which alleged that he had obtained the lease for the monastery fraudulently and also failed to pay 200,000 Euros in rent. After five-year legal battle, Harnwell was acquitted of charges in March. (17, 18) It remains to be seen whether Bannon and Harnwell will start their “gladiator school” in Italy.
This spring, there have been a lot of news about five pure red heifers which were brought a couple of years ago – with the help of Christian organization Boneh Israel – from Texas to Israel for a possible use in sacrificial purification rituals. Messianic and ultranationalist Jews as well as Christian evangelicals want to build a new, third temple to Temple Mount – known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary). It is the third holiest site in Islam and the very important Al-Aqsa Mosque is there. Messianic Jews believe that the building of the third temple would fulfil biblical prophecy to bring an era of peace with the temple as “a house of prayer for all nations.” Christian evangelicals believe that the temple would be an important step towards the Second Coming of Jesus and an apocalyptic last battle with the Antichrist. (19, 20, 21)
The war between Hamas and Israel has added a new aspect to the idea of the third temple. Some Jewish Israelis believe that the Israeli soldiers are fighting for the Temple Mount and for the building of the third temple. (21) During the spring, there were some suggestions that a red heifer would be sacrified during Passover at the end of April, which alarmed Christian leaders. Ashes of the sacrified heifer would be needed in a ritual to purify priests, before the new, third temple could be built there. On the 8th of April, 38 religious figures from Jerusalem and around the world signed a declaration where they condemned the plans to sacrify the heifer. They denounced it as an “invitation to regional, or even global war,” which “will transform the Israeli-Palestinian situation from a political conflict into a religious conflict without a terrestrial solution.” (22)
Middle East Eye reported on Wednesday that some religious Jewish Israelis have already been practicing the ritual of the red heifer in Jerusalem (23).
References:
(1) “During Gaza war, evangelicals have become Israel’s best friend” Religion News Service RNS 28.2.2024
https://religionnews.com/2024/02/28/during-gaza-war-evangelicals-have-become-israels-best-friend/
(2) “The dispiriting truth about why many evangelical Christians support Israel” MSNBC 22.10.2023
(3) “More white evangelicals than American Jews say God gave Israel to the Jewish people” Pew Research Center 3.10.2013
(4) “Majority in U.S. Say Israel Has Valid Reasons for Fighting; Fewer Say the Same About Hamas” Pew Research Center 21.3.2024
(5) “Netanyahu meets evangelical leaders ahead of Congress address” Jewish News Syndicate 24.7.2024
https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-meets-evangelical-leaders-ahead-of-congress-address/
(6) “Jesus is their savior, Trump is their candidate. Ex-president’s backers say he shares faith, values” AP News 18.5.2024
(7) “Why evangelicals won’t abandon Trump after his conviction” The Hill 12.6.2024
(8) “Voters’ views of Trump and Biden differ sharply by religion” Pew Research Center 30.4.2024
(9) “Statement by PM Netanyahu” Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel 28.10.2023
https://www.gov.il/en/pages/statement-by-pm-netanyahu-28-oct-2023
(10) “Netanyahu writes to IDF soldiers ahead of Shabbat” Jewish News Syndicate 3.11.2023
https://www.jns.org/letter-from-netanyahu-to-idf-soldiers-fighting-hamas/
(11) “South Africa reminds ICJ of Netanyahu’s Amalek rhetoric to invoke genocide against Palestinians” Anadolu Agency 11.1.2024
(12) “Deuteronomy 25:17-19 meaning” The Bible Says
https://thebiblesays.com/en/commentary/deu+25:17
(13) “The Dangerous History Behind Netanyahu’s Amalek Rhetoric” Mother Jones 3.11.2023
(14) “Speaker Johnson says it’s U.S.’s ‘biblical admonition’ to help Israel” Fox News 15.4.2024
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/speaker-johnson-says-us-biblical-admonition-help-israel
(15) “Mace on Gaza war: ‘The promised land’ is Israel’s; ‘Biblical warfare, plain and simple’” The Hill 11.5.2024
https://thehill.com/policy/international/4658384-mace-on-gaza-biblical-warfare/
(16) “Pompeo says ‘it’s possible’ Trump was sent to save the Jewish people” Politico 22.3.2019
(17) “Steve Bannon’s man in Italy wins fight over right-wing ‘gladiator school’” Politico 7.3.2024
https://www.politico.eu/article/steve-bannon-rome-right-wing-gladiator-school-populist-nationalists/
(18) “Steve Bannon’s Right-Wing ‘Gladiator’ School Could Go Ahead Following Legal Win in Italy” Artnet 5.4.2024
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/steve-bannon-right-wing-school-italy-2463523
(19) “What does the Bible say about the importance of the red heifer, the Third Temple and the coming of the Messiah?” All Israel News 20.9.2022
(20) “What do Texan red heifers have to do with Al-Aqsa and a Jewish temple?” Al Jazeera 9.4.2024
(21) “Holy War: Red Cows, Gaza and the End of the World” Newsweek 5.4.2024
(22) “In Jerusalem, the ‘red heifer’ worries religious and political leaders” La Croix International 25.4.2024
(23) “Israelis practise red heifer ritual in front of Al-Aqsa Mosque” Middle East Eye 7.8.2024
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-practise-red-heifer-ritual-al-aqsa
IDIS Observer 