Newsletter:
Vol. 5. Iss. 1
8 October2003
Christian Zionism in the Mainstream
Church
Reconsidering Chrisitian Zionism, Part III
Peter J. Miano
One reasonably wonders which of the two suppositions comes first in Sen. Kerry’s mind. In any case, the senator’s rationale for supporting the State of Israel is remarkably harmonious with that of Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun magazine (see ZH Interviews, Zion’s Herald May/June, 2002). Rabbi Lerner self-identifies as a Zionist, notwithstanding his strong and open rejection of Israel’s policies with respect to the Palestinians. When I asked him on what basis he considers himself to be a Zionist, he said, “Because I believe that the Jewish people deserve a state of their own where they can be secure.” When progressive, mainstream Christians express sentiments similar to self-defined Jewish Zionists, one should identify the Christians as Zionists also. Zionism requires neither a fundamentalist biblical interpretation nor the extreme positions of highly exclusive, maximalist Zionism.
It is important to note that progressive Jewish and Christian Zionists differ from fundamentalist exponents of Zionism in that they reject the highly exclusive claims of fundamentalist Zionists. They generally do not support Israel’s expansionist policies, its militarism or its policies with respect to the occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza. They tend to be politely critical of Israel’s human rights record. Sometimes they endorse the so-called two-state solution. Yet, they are committed to the idea that the Jewish people represent a distinct ethnic group who naturally desire a corresponding nation state and deserve one too, especially in light of the experience of suffering that the Jews have endured throughout history. When progressive Christians espouse similar views, why are they not identified as Zionists?
The simple reason is that no one finds it easy to criticize him/herself. The more difficult reason is that Zionism defined as an ideology of national self-determination is not widely regarded in and of itself as problematic. Even though nationalism of any variety has proven itself to be highly destructive, especially in the 20th century, few critique it. To identify with a particular ethnic group and aspire for national self-determination, i.e., to organize the nation/ethnic group into a political state replete with specific territory has become normative. That Jews would seek to do so is not regarded as the slightest bit unusual.
The vast majority of mainstream Christians wholeheartedly supports Jewish nationalism. The fact that they do not necessarily endorse the elements of Zionism that have been catastrophic for Palestinians and Israelis alike does not mean that they are not Zionist. Plenty of self-defined Zionists reject those elements as well. The critique of mainstream Christian Zionism requires a careful, difficult distinction between the effects of the Zionist enterprise and what are widely perceived as the legitimate nationalist aspirations of the Jewish people. It is mainstream Christians, not just fundamentalist ones, who propose and adopt legislation supporting Israel with massive amounts of aid. Where the financial support of fundamentalist Christian Zionists is measured in millions of dollars, mainstream Christian Zionists in the U.S. Congress provide billions of dollars in aid. Diplomatic support for the State of Israel and its policies does not derive from a minority of fundamentalist Christians who are regarded as members of a fringe group, but rather receives validation from highly credible progressive Christians. The activism of the fundamentalist Christian Zionists requires the support of mainstream Christians in Congress and would be largely ineffective without it.
It is time for mainstream Christians to recognize and critique not just fundamentalist Christian Zionism, but also its much more influential and pernicious mainstream cousin.
