Op-Ed Article or Letter to the Editor – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE .–. April 21, 2006

Contact: Esther Levens 913-648-0022The Unity Coalition for Israel greatly appreciates Pastor John Hagee and other Christian leaders who have formed an active and visible Christian pro-Israel network called Christians United for Israel (CUFI). It is particularly important at this time when other Christian forces are behind a counter movement to discredit the Jews and even question Israel’s right to exist.

A few years ago several Christian members of the Unity Coalition for Israel, an alliance representing more than 200 Christian and Jewish organizations, attended a conference organized to raise support for the Palestinian “refugee” cause. The pro-Israel Christians wanted to learn firsthand what the pro-Palestinian movement was all about – and what they learned was very unsettling. They recounted session after session of historical revisionism and factual distortions designed to de-legitemize the State of Israel, all presented by their seemingly well-meaning co-religionists.

That was our introduction to Palestinian revisionism, as promoted by Sabeel, a virulently anti-Israel movement headquartered in Jerusalem and directed by Naim Ateek, an Anglican clergyman. Other influential groups are involved as well, including Churches for Middle East Peace and the Palestinian Solidarity Movement. These groups are now targeting both mainline and evangelical church denominations, college campuses and media throughout the United States and Canada with a distinctly anti-Israel message.

Most backers of this current highly organized and well-financed attack on Israel’s legitimacy are Christians who believe in replacement theology, or “supersessionism.” The concept is taught in some mainline churches today. It is an anti-Semitic philosophy that was prevalent in Europe before the Protestant Reformation and in many church bodies through World War II, teaching that the Church has replaced the Jews in the eyes of God. Many believe it was influential in setting the stage for the Holocaust.

By contrast, belief in replacement theology is rejected by most of the newer evangelical, Charismatic and Pentecostal churches that are increasingly popular in the Western world. Evangelicals, although not monolithic, believe the Jews remain God’s chosen people and they regard Judaism as the tree into which Christians have been “grafted.” The Catholic Church, in the writings of the late Pope John Paul II, also sees a theological basis for the continuing covenant between God and the Jews.

The pro-Palestinian Christians often accuse evangelical Christians of supporting the Jewish state and the biblical concept of “chosenness” because they are motivated by doctrines relating to “end times” and a “roadmap to Armageddon.” Whereas some evangelical Christians do have “end-time” expectations, the uniting factor among pro-Israel Christians is their confidence in God and His covenant with the Jewish people.
Sabeel and similar anti-Israel organizations ignore the realities of modern history, using manipulation and deception to cast “the poor Palestinian refugees” as underdogs, excusing the violence they have unleashed on Israeli civilians. They campaign for financial divestment from Israel by churches, corporations and universities, and they scheme to find new ways to destabilize Israel and strengthen her enemies – all in the name of “peace.” They fail to acknowledge the global genocidal nature of Jihad, of which the Arab-Israeli conflict is only one battlefront in radical Islam’s war against western civilization and Judeo-Christian values.

Too often throughout history, perception has driven support for causes that were racist, imperialist or otherwise unjust. One need only look back upon the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Holocaust. Today it is happening again, led by those whose agenda dictates elimination of a Jewish state – or even the elimination of Jews themselves.

Unfortunately some Jewish students fall prey to the lies and distortions of Sabeel and organizations of that ilk. They, too, become susceptible to vicious anti-Israel propaganda promoting the destruction of Israel, the United States and western values. By blaming the victims, equating victim with aggressor, they join the followers of history’s most destructive tyrants and advance compelling but fictitious “facts” that accuse Israel of being everything from an apartheid state to the source of worldwide terror.

Unfortunately public opinion is molded less by truth than by emotionally charged false and misleading arguments, and for this reason Israel’s enemies today threaten its very survival. What a tragedy it would be if the Jewish state that has won five defensive wars since 1948 were to lose the battle of public perception in this lethal propaganda war!

For these reasons and more, for their understanding of history and for their dedication to the Jewish state, Christians and Jews alike should appreciate and welcome the support of their new ally, Christians United for Israel (CUFI).

We wish them every success.

Esther Levens,
CEO and Founder
Unity Coalition for Israel
Phone: 913 648 0022
www.israelunitycoalition.org

The Unity Coalition for Israel was founded in 1991 to unite Christians and Jews in support of a safe and secure Israel. For more information on Israel and the Middle East or to subscribe to our free email newsletter contact: voices@israelunitycoalition.org