opinion
Why Christian Zionism Is More
Important Than We Think
By Irit Tratt
I n the days preceding his election victory, Israel’s
incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
was interviewed by Christians United for Israel
founder and chairman, Pastor John Hagee. The
comfortable rapport between the two men was
evident throughout their talk. Hagee heaped
“God’s prayers” on the Israeli leader “for all the
rest of his life.”
This display of mutual admiration reflects the
years Netanyahu has spent cultivating connec-
tions between Israel and the U.S. evangelical
community. For example, Netanyahu spoke at
CUFI’s 2017 annual conference and told the
Christian crowd that they are “Israel’s best friends
in the world.” Netanyahu’s address to attendees
at the Christian Media Summit in Jerusalem this
week indicates that a Likud-led government will
remain wedded to safeguarding Israel’s relations
with evangelicals.

That Netanyahu would take time away from
a hectic campaign to speak to Hagee suggests
an awareness of the fractious response Israel’s
new coalition would soon receive from American
Jewish groups.

For example, following the electoral success
of the Religious Zionist Party, led by Bezalel
Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the American
Jewish Committee released a statement express-
ing “serious concerns” over previous declara-
tions by RZP members, which conflict with the
AJC’s prioritization of “pluralism” and “inclusion.”
Indeed, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir’s incendiary com-
ments targeting the LGBTQ and non-Orthodox
communities understandably disconcerted the
American Jewish establishment.

Both lawmakers have since tempered their rhet-
oric, with Ben-Gvir disavowing his former associ-
ation with the far-right Kahanist movement. Still,
the Democratic Majority for Israel maintained
that it was “deeply troubled” by an “extrem-
ist party” gaining a “foothold in the Knesset.”
Unsurprisingly, the Union for Reform Judaism’s
chosen language touched on how Likud partner-
ing with the RZP would potentially “jeopardize”
Israel’s democracy.

Yet it was the former head of the Anti-
Defamation League, Abe Foxman, who issued
the most direct condemnation. Speaking to The
Jerusalem Post last month, Foxman said that he
would cease supporting Israel if the incoming
16 DECEMBER 22, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
government alters the definition of who qualifies
as a Jew under the country’s Law of Return.

Such reactions from American Jewish leaders
underscore the growing dissonance between U.S.

Jewry and Israel’s political class. As a result of this,
the Jewish state must reframe its relationship
with the U.S. to one that emphasizes boosting
ties with reliable evangelical allies as it carefully
navigates its struggles with Diaspora Jews.

In his book “The Arc of a Covenant,” Walter
Russell Mead notes that American Jews have
often refrained from pushing the U.S. government
to adopt favorable policies toward Israel. Instead,
they have tended to encourage the U.S. to mod-
erate its pro-Israel positions. Historically, writes
Mead, it was not leading Jewish families like the
Rothschilds and the Warburgs who strongly advo-
stances on issues critical to Israel’s security,
notably Iran’s quest to acquire nuclear weapons.

Instead, their legislative agenda is dominated by
noble yet consensus-driven topics such as the war
in Ukraine and combating antisemitism.

For their part, organizations like CUFI and the
Christian Coalition of America have made lobbying
against the revival of the flawed 2015 Iran nuclear
deal a cornerstone of their political efforts.

While in office, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
and Vice President Mike Pence repeatedly pointed
to the inextricable link between their Christian
faith and their affinity for the Jewish people.

Lawmakers like Kevin McCarthy are even experi-
encing pushback from several Jewish institutions
after vowing to remove far-left “Squad” member
Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs
Evangelicals remain the most ardent custodians of
the U.S.-Israel bond. By contrast, American Jewish
organizations’ public disapproval of Israel’s
unwillingness to placate their pluralistic demands
is indicative of an establishment more concerned
with defending progressive ideologies.

cated the creation of a Jewish state but influential
Christians like J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller.

To date, U.S. Jewry and evangelicals have
retained robust differences in their approaches to
the U.S.-Israel relationship. While more than half
of U.S. Christians backed former President Donald
Trump’s 2017 relocation of the U.S. embassy to
Jerusalem, only 16% of American Jews did so,
according to an AJC poll.

Given that Christians comprise more than 60%
of the U.S. population, it makes both demographic
and political sense for Israel to nurture its alliance
with evangelicals. Israeli tourism figures released
before the pandemic show that Christians consti-
tute more than half of Israel’s foreign visitors. And
with Israel’s Ministry of Tourism introducing initia-
tives to lure Christians to the Holy Land — even
as Jewish missions like Birthright face financial
setbacks — this figure will likely increase.

Politically, Jewish groups have softened their
Committee should he become majority leader.

Despite some troubling trends among their
youth, evangelicals remain the most ardent
custodians of the U.S.-Israel bond. By contrast,
American Jewish organizations’ public disapproval
of Israel’s unwillingness to placate their pluralistic
demands is indicative of an establishment more
concerned with defending progressive ideologies
than protecting Jewish interests.

Israel must not get bogged down in nourishing
such liberal orthodoxies. Moments devoted to
fending off such criticism is time spent away from
focusing on domestic and international threats.

The divisive comments made by American
Jewish leaders portend a reality that requires
Israel to reorient its connection toward evangel-
icals as it seeks to convince Jewish organizations
of its centrality and value to the Jewish people. JE
Irit Tratt is a writer who resides in New York.