Rev. Malcolm Hedding
Fundamental mistakes
Evangelist Christians are not thirsting for Armageddon; they're genuine supporters of Israel
The opinion column by Yossi Paritzky entitled "Fundamental alliances," in which he concludes from a recent visit to the "Bible Belt" that "fundamentalist Christians" have allied with Israel's right and Iran's ayatollahs to bring on the apocalypse, makes for one very absurd journal entry on travels through the American South.
As an “insider” to the Christian Zionist movement, I think that I have a better grasp of these issues than does this one-time visitor to the southern US.
In short, the writer’s views are as radical and as dangerous as the erroneous conclusions that he draws. He demonstrates how a “little of the truth” stretched to an extreme can be very damaging. Israelis are victims of such blatant distortions and scare tactics all the time and thus one would expect better of a former Knesset member.
Paritzky's Opinion
Yossi Paritzky
US-Israel alliance currently based on pact between fundamentalists on both sides
Firstly, the Evangelical Christian movement in the USA is not homogenous. That is, it is diverse and while it is held together by adherence to the essential doctrines of the Christian faith, it in no way adheres to a uniform eschatological worldview.
For instance, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem that represents millions of Evangelicals worldwide including scores of American Christians, does not base its support for Israel on "shaky" prophetic schemes or end-time scenarios, but rather on solemn promises that God made to Abraham some four thousand years ago which remain at the core of Jewish identity.
This means that we believe that Jews have a divine right to live on the land of Canaan in peace and security. At the same time, we do not adhere to the “Greater Israel” thesis.
Israel is not a theocracy but a democracy, and therefore Israelis will sort out issues of sovereignty with their neighbors through their democratic process. Millions of Christian evangelicals support Israel’s right to exist in peace and security and will defend this right wherever the Jewish State draws its borders. But we do not meddle in Israel’s internal political affairs.
No Armageddon included
Secondly, the notion that these “believing the same thing” Evangelicals actually decide American policy through the Bush presidency is ridiculous. America’s foreign policy is largely dictated by the US State Department and time and time again both President Bush and his Secretary of State have called for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Paritzky can’t have it both ways. He cannot claim that Evangelicals have an expansionist position on the issue of Eretz Yisrael that constantly calls for war and longs for it; while also controlling a Bush Administration that pursues a vastly different position. In other words, if Evangelicals are so influential, why does the Bush policy contradict them?
Thirdly, to equate Israel’s real evangelical Christian friends with the radicals in Tehran is shameful. The charitable and hasbara efforts that Christian organizations undertake on behalf of Israel have been enormous and are all based on unconditional support.
These Christians are not thirsting for Armageddon and they do not claim to have watertight knowledge of the timing of end-time events. To portray them as such is a total misrepresentation of the truth and does them a great disservice.
Before straying into the complexities of evangelical Christian groups and belief systems, Mr. Paritzky should first travel a lot more and do his homework.
Rev. Malcolm Hedding is Executive Director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem
