The war in Gaza continues and hopes for a cease-fire have, so far, ended in disappointment.  The war was started by Hamas with the killing of 1200 people in Israel on October 7, 2023.  Today, the death toll for Palestinians in Gaza is estimated to be about 44000, with a high probability that many dead remain uncounted.  The majority of the dead are women and children.

Beginning on October 1, Israel also expanded its campaign to Lebanon where about 3800 people have been killed.

In June 2024, a United Nations report stated that Israel and Hamas were responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza:

“Israeli authorities are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the military operations and attacks in Gaza since 7 October 2023, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, said in a new report today. The Commission also found that Palestinian armed groups are responsible for war crimes committed in Israel.”

The report urged both sides to end their criminal operations in the area:

“’Israel must immediately stop its military operations and attacks in Gaza, including the assault on Rafah, which has cost the lives of hundreds of civilians and again displaced hundreds of thousands of people to unsafe locations without basic services and humanitarian assistance,’ Pillay said. ‘Hamas and Palestinian armed groups must immediately cease rocket attacks and release all hostages. The taking of hostages constitutes a war crime.’”

However, given the obvious fact that the Israeli actions have caused a lot more damage than the comparatively weaker actions of Hamas, the report appropriately emphasized Israel’s responsibility in the carnage:

“In relation to Israeli military operations and attacks in Gaza, the Commission found that Israeli authorities are responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, murder or willful killing, intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, forcible transfer, sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment, arbitrary detention and outrages upon personal dignity.

The Commission found that the crimes against humanity of extermination, gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys, murder, forcible transfer, and torture and inhuman and cruel treatment were also committed.

The immense numbers of civilian casualties in Gaza and widespread destruction of civilian objects and infrastructure were the inevitable result of a strategy undertaken with intent to cause maximum damage, disregarding the principles of distinction, proportionality and adequate precautions. The intentional use of heavy weapons with large destructive capacity in densely populated areas constitutes an intentional and direct attack on the civilian population.”

On October 10, 2024, the UN released another report providing an update with a focus on the destruction, by Israeli forces, of the Palestinian health care system:

“Israel has perpetrated a concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system as part of a broader assault on Gaza, committing war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination with relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel said in a new report today.”

More specifically, Israel was accused of the following crimes:

“The report found that Israeli security forces have deliberately killed, detained and tortured medical personnel and targeted medical vehicles while tightening their siege on Gaza and restricting permits to leave the territory for medical treatment. These actions constitute the war crimes of willful killing and mistreatment and of the destruction of protected civilian property and the crime against humanity of extermination.

Attacks on medical facilities in Gaza, particularly those devoted to pediatric and neonatal care, have led to incalculable suffering of child patients, including newborns, the report said. In continuing these attacks, Israel has violated children’s right to life, denied children access to basic healthcare, and deliberately inflicted conditions of life resulting in the destruction of generations of Palestinian children and, potentially, the Palestinian people as a group.”

Netanyahu’s publicly stated objective is the destruction of Hamas, and the loss of Palestinian lives is mere collateral damage that is rather inconsequential to him.  In fact, there is reason to believe that he does not care about Palestinian lives at all.  He and other right-wingers want to take as much of the land as they can and cleanse it of any non-Jewish elements.

It has been surprising to many that the Biden administration has remained a steady supporter of Israel in this conflict, emphasizing that Israel has a right to defend itself while demanding that Israel take appropriate precautions to limit civilian casualties, facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid and negotiate for the release of hostages.  Even though Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has been ignoring those demands, the U.S. has continued to provide military aid to Israel.  The outcome of that dynamic has been very disappointing: The Biden administration’s hope to achieve a ceasefire and resume negotiations for a two-state solution has not led to any tangible results.  Ironically, on the Lebanese side, Biden has apparently succeeded in securing a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.  In Gaza, there is no indication that a cease-fire will be achieved between Israel and Hamas before he leaves office.

Of course, developments in Palestine are expected to be affected by the change in administration in the United States.  During his campaign, Donald Trump simply declared that Netanyahu must end the war quickly in order to keep Israel’s public image from deteriorating.  This clearly indicates that Palestinian lives do not matter to him.  His statement suggests that he will help Israel deploy the full force of its military capability to annihilate the Palestinians and end the war.  As explained by Nicholas Kristof,

“Note that Trump has consistently been utterly uninterested in Palestinians. It was his administration that moved the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, that closed the Washington office of the Palestine Liberation Organization, that reversed the American position that Israeli settlements were illegal and that avoided even using the term ‘occupied territories’ for Palestinian land.

On the war in Gaza, Trump urged: Let Israel ‘finish the job.’ He said he had a ‘very nice’ phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu recently, and he recounted that he advised the prime minister, ‘You do what you have to do’.”

After his victory in the 2024 presidential election, Trump selected former governor Mike Huckabee as his nominee for ambassador to Israel.  Do Muslim Americans who voted against Kamala Harris because of the Biden administration’s handling of Palestine feel vindicated by Trump’s choice?  Huckabee has referred to himself as an “unapologetic, unrepentant Zionist.”  He has always been against a two-state solution in Palestine and has been a strong supporter of the Netanyahu government.  He refuses to refer to Arabs living in Palestine as Palestinians.  He also believes the West Bank belongs to Israel, and claims that “the title deed was given by God to Abraham and to his heirs.”  He fully supports Israeli settlements in occupied territories and there is little doubt that he will not have the well-being of Palestinians in mind when he advocates for policies affecting the region.

Given that the U.S. has been supporting Ukraine against invading Russian forces, it is fair to ask why American support for Israel remains unshakable even though Israel is obviously, at this point, an aggressor who is guilty of serious human rights violations.  In my previous post, I praised the movement within the Catholic Church that led to its repudiation of antisemitism.  But I stated at the end of the post that my condemnation of antisemitism does not make me an unconditional supporter of Israel even when Israel is doing evil.

In the U.S., support for Israel is so strong that critics of its government’s actions are often accused of antisemitism.  Such accusations may be understandable if those critics fail to denounce the crimes of Hamas.  But the accusers, especially the politically conservative ones, often condemn critics of Israel’s actions simply because they believe it is ungodly or unamerican to interfere with Israel’s legitimate pursuits.  To them, the well-being of the Palestinians does not matter.  Accordingly, they even denounce the Biden administration for trying to put restrictions on Israel’s activities in Gaza.

When Biden visited Israel in October 2023, after the October 7 attack, he told officials that Israel could count on his full support and explained that he is a Zionist.  As reported by Reuters,

“Biden, who is of Irish Catholic descent, has used similar words in the past to profess his affinity for Israel. But the moment, which has not been previously reported, illustrates how Biden’s decades as one of the leading ‘Friends of Israel’ in American politics seem to be guiding him during a defining crisis of his presidency.

It also underscores the challenges he faces balancing unwavering support for Israel with persuading Netanyahu – with whom he has a long history – to avoid worsening the civilian death toll and humanitarian meltdown in Gaza as well as complicating further releases of American hostages.”

Biden is a Chistian Zionist.  That means he is a Christian who supports the establishment of a Jewish state in a territory that is believed by many, often on biblical grounds, to be the historical land of Israel.

But Biden is a Catholic.  As I explained in another post, Christian Zionists who happen to be evangelicals are often moved by beliefs that assume that the establishment of the state of Israel and the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple are necessary steps in God’s plan for end-times.  Therefore, anybody who gets in the way of that agenda is interfering with God’s will.  Palestinian grievances, in particular, are mere noise that should be ignored.  Mike Huckabee is one of those evangelicals.

Christian Zionism has a long history that goes back to the rise of Protestantism in Europe.  In the United States, it was reinforced by beliefs in end-times prophecies promoted by fundamentalists that made modern Israel an important element in God’s plan for the end of the age.  In the second half of the 20^th century, these fundamentalists contributed to the rise of the Christian Right, a highly political movement focused on acquiring political power to restore its idea of a Christian America.  The movement spent a great deal of energy in establishing relations with Israeli government officials and funding projects aimed at supporting Israel.  It also started putting pressure on American officials in Israel’s favor, while also inserting itself into government with an agenda favorable to Israel.  It is known for example that President Ronald Reagan had strong beliefs in the end-times doctrines promoted by Christian Zionists.  In her book The Rapture Exposed, Barbara Rossing writes:

“But consider that the political practice of correlating apocalyptic biblical verses with foreign affairs already made front-page news some twenty years ago, in the speculations of President Ronald Reagan. In a conversation with a lobbyist for the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel group, Reagan wondered about biblical prophecy coming to fulfillment in the violent events of the Middle East: ‘You know, I turn back to your ancient prophets in the Old Testament and the signs foretelling Armageddon, and I find myself wondering if—if we’re the generation that’s going to see that come about. I don’t know if you’ve noted any of those prophecies lately, but believe me, they certainly describe the times we’re going through.’”

Former President George W. Bush is a fundamentalist who, before Trump, was God’s chosen leader in the eyes of fundamentalists/evangelicals.  These fundamentalists were Christian Nationalists who believed that America is God’s chosen nation and wanted to use the power of government to impose their values on the whole nation.  They were also Christian Zionists who saw a clear affinity between Israel and the United States, two chosen nations that have a role to play in the divine plan for end-times.

Bush’s involvement in foreign policy was dominated by his war on terror after the 9/11 event, and was driven by the black-and-white notion that America is good, while America’s enemies are evil.  It is clear that he agreed with Christian Zionists who unconditionally supported Israel, as seen in the way he viewed Israeli settlements in occupied territories.  As stated by Rossing who wrote during the Bush administration,

“Yet, despite international protest, Israel continues to expand settlements and to construct its 30-foot high separation wall deep within the West Bank, cutting off Palestinian communities from their land, schools, jobs, and health care. President Bush’s decision to bless Israel’s largest settlements marked a shift in U.S. policy, making a future Palestinian state with territorial contiguity almost impossible to achieve.”

The Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories are one of the major grievances, on the Palestinian side, that have been an obstacle to peace in the region.  One major reason for the unconditional support of Israel by the American government is undoubtedly the influence of Christian Zionist beliefs.  This support takes the form of military assistance in particular, and observers are surprised that the United States is anxious to send more and more military aid even though Israel already has overwhelming military superiority over its enemies.

In the book of Genesis, the patriarch Abraham is told by God to leave his home in Ur of the Chaldeans and go to Canaan, a land he reserved for Abraham’s posterity.  The promise of the land is repeatedly made to Abraham, his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob (Israel).  For example, God says to Abraham:

“All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” (Genesis 13:15-17)

“On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.’”  (Genesis 15:18-21)

Some 400 years later, the Israelites returning to Canaan from their slavery in Egypt retake parts of the land through violent warfare under the leadership of their military leader Joshua.  According to the biblical account, the twelve tribes of Israel are later united as a kingdom under King David.  But shortly after that, ten northern tribes secede to form the northern kingdom of Israel, while the two remaining tribes form the southern kingdom of Judah.  The northern kingdom is ended by an Assyrian invasion in the 8^th century B.C., and many Israelites are deported to foreign lands, while those remaining are mixed with foreigners who moved into the land.

The southern kingdom of Judah survives until early in the 6^th century B.C. when it is conquered by the Babylonians.  The Jews are deported to Babylonia and are allowed to return to Judea some 70 years later to form a province under the authority of the Persians.  After the Persians, the Macedonian Greeks take control of the area and are replaced by the Romans later, and the Jews do not regain self-determination except for a brief period during which they manage to free themselves from Greek occupation.

The Roman occupation leads to the destruction, in 70 A.D., of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, the scattering of the Jews to foreign lands and the end of a Jewish nation in Palestine.  There is therefore an important question to ask: Are the biblical promises about the land still relevant today?  Of course, this question only makes sense to those who accept the authority of the Bible.  Others can simply question the justification behind the taking by force of a land that has been the home of non-Jews for more than a millennium.

From a Christian perspective, the question is in fact irrelevant: An important claim made by the New Testament writers is that Jesus initiated a new age of reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles that should make the old division between them irrelevant.  In Palestine in particular, the vision of reconciliation under one God by the prophets of Israel, becoming a reality with the coming of the Messiah, should have led to peace and coexistence between Jews and Gentiles in the land.  Therefore, one must ask: Why are Christians, today, pushing for separation instead of promoting peace and harmony?  Why do they have no concern for even Palestinian Christians?  The answer is that Christians have manipulated the Bible and come up with end-times doctrines that have nothing to do with the teaching of their Lord and Savior.

But there is more to it.  Christian Zionists are not solely motivated by religious beliefs.  Palestinian scholar Mitri Raheb points out that religious beliefs have often been used as a front to justify the more sinister goals of settler colonialism.  In his book Decolonizing Palestine: The Land, the People, the Bible, he explains the difference between settler colonialism and classical colonialism:

“The permanent settlement of colonists in an occupied land is the main feature that distinguishes settler colonialism from classical or neocolonialism. The settler colonialists establish and enforce state sovereignty and juridical control over the indigenous land, ultimately aiming to eliminate the native people. The natives become extraneous while the settlers are cast as natives through different political mechanisms, ideological constructs, and social narratives. The indigenous land is described as terra nullius, empty or barren land that is just waiting to be discovered, thus becoming the private property of the settlers. The native people are depicted with racist constructs as savage, violent terrorists, while the settlers are portrayed as the civilized and brave pioneers. To defend the settled property from the savage, a police state is created and is granted extraordinary power over the native people, including power over their civil affairs.”

He also explains how the use of the Bible to justify settler colonialism in Palestine is similar to other cases throughout the world:

“The Bible has been used as a tool for colonization since the sixteenth century. The land promise was used repeatedly as the pretext for land confiscation and colonization in North America, Africa, and Australia, to name a few. With the Bible as their weapon, settler colonialists robbed indigenous populations of their land and livelihood, slaughtering, expelling, or confining survivors to small territories called ‘reservations’ in North America, ‘Bantustans’ in South Africa, or ‘Area A’ in Palestine. With the Bible as their weapon, settler colonialists let their might constitute what was right, legitimizing their exploitative conquest and colonization with scriptural language. With the Bible as their weapon, settler colonialists demonized indigenous populations while glorifying colonization as the civilization of the savage. Israel is no exception to this pattern and must be understood within this context of European settler colonization. When we talk today about land theology, we cannot ignore the European history of colonization or shy away from the colonialist reception history of the Bible.”

Raheb reports that Israeli leaders such as David Ben Gurion, who led the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, and Moshe Dayan, who led the Israeli forces in the 1967 war, were part of Israeli leadership that justified the goals of military conquest of the land and ethnic cleansing by referring to the biblical conquest led by Joshua.

But why does Raheb, in the above statement, also blame the Europeans for settler colonization in Palestine?  He summarizes the role played by powerful Christian Zionists in Great Britain who saw the economic potential of Syria and Palestine for products such as cotton, silk and olive oil.  In the 19^th century, observing that the Ottoman empire’s grip on the region was fading, they initiated a project whose objective was to create a Jewish settlement in Palestine under the protection of British forces.  In this manner, they hoped to control the colonization of the region and reap the economic benefits associated with it while demonstrating their concern for European Jews who had, for centuries, suffered from European antisemitism.

As a result of this project, the first Jewish colony in Palestine was established in 1860 outside of the Old City of Jerusalem.  Then after World War I, Britain lobbied for a mandate on Palestine which was granted on April 25, 1920 by the League of Nations.  As Raheb explains,

“While all other mandates were to ‘prepare the natives for independence,’ the British Mandate over Palestine was to prepare Palestine for a Jewish settler colonial project on a land where 95 percent of the population were Arab Palestinians.”

The colonization of Palestine was therefore a joint project between Jewish settlers and their European sponsors.  Today, American Christian Zionists are probably the strongest supporters of the settlements.

But again, from a Christian perspective, there has to be something terribly wrong about a reading of the Bible that promotes the dehumanization of some populations and the abuse of human rights associated with settler colonialism.  There is no doubt that Jesus is watching with great disappointment those who use his name to promote an agenda that is antithetical to his own.