The conference opened with a video that proved my point about conflating the Christian gospel with a political agenda. Words from a Bible verse faded onto the screen: "Jesus said: There would be wars, and rumors of wars." The words cut to images of recent Israeli-Palestinian violence, including a picture of white phosphorous raining down on an urban area during operation Cast Lead (something that is provoking war crimes investigations... see picture below). More words appeared: "Don't let your heart be troubled. Peace I leave with you." The words cut to a fluttering American flag, which then faded into an Israeli flag. Finally the verse concluded: "And look, I come quickly." The video was extremely subtle, but it sent a message that framed the remainder of the conference: Israel and the United States are locked in an existential good-vs-evil struggle with their enemies during the final chapter of human history. This battle is not merely mortal, it is eternal; God is quite literally on Israel's side and anyone who opposes Israel is standing against God.
After the video, Joel Rosenberg, the author who hosted the conference, discussed how people should respond to the grim times we are in. This was actually one of the better sessions of the conference, emphasizing that Christians should respond with trust in God's love and providence, and should live in obedience. This is a coherent, consistent Christian message and it lacked the political trappings that undermined the later sessions. After that, however, the conference turned towards the political agenda that concerns me so much. I'll hit three criticisms.
First, my most striking insight from the conference was the dichotomy in how Christians are to treat Israelis and Arabs. The oft-repeated theme all day was that God wants us to "bless Israel and her neighbors." The very way this is framed suggests a place of primacy for Israelis, which I think Rosenberg would agree is true. The "neighbors" felt tacked on as an afterthought. Sometimes speakers forgot to add it, just saying "Bless Israel", and sometimes they phrased it as, "bless Israel, her neighbors, and her enemies." Christians apparently have different agendas with Israelis and these neighbors. In the case of Israel, we must offer her "unconditional love and unwavering support"--another mantra of the day--particularly in the realm of political and military support. We are not to proselytize, however; Rosenberg stated at one point that the Israelis emphatically do not want us to send missionaries. When it comes to Palestinians and Arabs, however, this equation is reversed: God wants us to witness to them and lead them to Christ, but we are not to support any of their political objectives. During his talk, Lt. Gen. William Boykin (ret), a former Delta Force commander and Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, said, "We must support the Palestinian people. They like the Jews are God's people, and we must support them with humanitarian and economic assistance to ensure that they have a better quality of life and some hope for the future. I did not say we need to trade land for peace." This statement is fundamentally at odds with any peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians in the future. A 2007 poll indicated that 70% of Israeli Jews support a two-state solution. So why should Christian theology lead believers to support the 30% who don't, and deny the legitimacy of all Palestinian interests?
Even the movement's humanitarian aid is heavily titled towards Israel. Rosenberg began the Joshua Fund to "bless Israel and her neighbors", but from what I can see, almost all this aid goes to Israel, with some going to Iraq. The fund also directly contributes to Israel's logistical preparedness for future wars. The fund's website says, "We work closely with allies in Israel to prepare for possible future disasters. We are helping our allies stockpile supplies for the next war as well as 'expand the pipeline'--that is, enhance our allies' ability to receive, store, and distribute humanitarian relief supplies to love their neighbors in a cost effective manner." The verbiage sounds like the aid is neutral, but to the best of my knowledge, during Cast Lead the Joshua Fund operated exclusively in Southern Israel. If Rosenberg's organization wants to choose sides with Israel, that is certainly its prerogative. But it needs to call it what it is; the movement is not "blessing Israel and its neighbors." It is offering Arabs a spiritual concept of Jesus, while offering the state of Israel political, military, economic, and humanitarian assistance. Neither of these represents the full Christian gospel.
Second, I was struck by the absolute and uncritical support Christians are to offer the state of Israel. Speakers frequently invoked the words, "unconditional love and unwavering support" for Israel. This raises two questions for me. First, why are the words "unconditional love" only used in reference to Israel? Is our love for Arabs conditional, or just not worth mentioning? Second, what does this unconditional "support" for Israel entail? If we're talking about Israel's right to exist and defend herself, by all means, let's support her; but Rosenberg has a much broader definition. At one point he mentions that Spain is discussing war crimes trials for Israeli commanders in operation Cast Lead. Rosenberg then asks his audience, "What about you? Will you stand with the Jewish people? Will you stand with the nation of Israel? Will you stand with her and love her and bless her?" He trails off in the face of thunderous applause. Now, let me be absolutely clear, I'm no fan of Spain's self-righteous and one-sided campaign to try Israelis. But when you have Israeli soldiers publicly confessing to possible war crimes, is that the time for American Christians want to stand up to offer them unwavering support? God, no. Christians should be the first to stand up and condemn war crimes on any side of any war. In the United States we hold our soldiers to an extremely high standard for just conduct in war; we investigate possible abuses and punish the perpetrators. Israel itself is conducting investigations and debating the merits of war crimes accusations. Why, then, should American Christians pledge to support these Israelis before the investigations are complete and regardless of the outcome? Should we continue offering unwavering support to Lyndie England because we want to stand by America? Quite the opposite.
Third, the conference presented an extremely biased, one-sided narrative of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The lesson on Israeli history presented by pastor Chuck Smith was atrocious. In his telling, Jewish settlers bought up an unpopulated, swampy wasteland on which to build their new homeland. The Arabs selling them this worthless land "laughed all the way to the bank", saying "'Those stupid Jews, they don't know this is worthless land.'" There was zero mention of any existing population, and thus zero rationale for any legitimate Palestinian grievance today. Israelis and Palestinians will debate competing accounts of Israel's creation until the end of history, but no one can deny that this was a tumultuous era when two cultures collided. Many of Israel's own historians would disagree with Smith's candy-coated tale. There is plenty of room to disagree about all the facts, but we at least need to acknowledge there is real controversy here. Turning a blind eye to the most basic historical realities does nobody any favors.
Later, Rosenberg showed a video shot in the Southern Israeli town of Sderot during Operation Cast Lead. It depicted the horrors of life under the Qassam rocket threat from Gaza. Following the video, Rosenberg introduced a woman who worked at a hospital in the town. She discussed the terror of the rockets, the thousands of people in her town afflicted with PTSD, and "a whole generation who will struggle to live a normal life and grow up to have a promising future." The presentation was good in its own right; I'm sympathetic to the distress of these Israelis who live under daily bombardment, and benefited from hearing this woman speak about her firsthand experience. But this is only one side of a tragic, bloody, and complex history. What about the generation of children of Gaza who will struggle to live a normal life or have a promising future? If we want to understand the conflict, we must listen to and understand their perspective as well. If we are going to hear from an Israeli working in an Israeli hospital, maybe we should also hear from someone like Gazan doctor Izeldeen Abuelaish--who speaks fluent Hebrew and is beloved by many Israelis. Dr. Abuelaish could discuss the trauma of rushing into his daughters' bedroom after an errant shell struck, and finding their dismembered bodies among the wreckage. These stories are not particularly useful for understanding the dynamics of a conflict or proscribing policy, but they are extremely important for understanding the human face of war. Unfortunately, the Epicenter conference was not interested in educating the audience about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; its goal was championing a right-wing "greater Israel" agenda that is controversial even within Israel, sketched in absolute good-and-evil language.
In my opinion, the highlight of the conference was the talk by the father of Ami Ortiz. One year ago the 15 year-old Ami, a Messianic Jew, opened a package that showed up on his doorstep in Israel. It exploded. Ami suffered grave injuries that should have killed him. His father, who radiated humility and graciousness, talked about the prayerful road to Ami's recovery and the outpouring of love their family received from the community--local and global, Christian and non-Christian. Ami's father talked about the process of forgiveness and grace. In my view, this was the most genuine display of the Christian gospel all day, but there was a fascinating twist. The bombing is still under investigation, but the perpetrators may be radical Jews, and the family believes some high-profile Israeli leaders and Rabbis are covering up the truth. The family has actually taken the government to court, brought in outside lawyers and organizations, and created a documentary and website to publicize the case. The family's website suggests discrimination against Israeli Christians may be on the rise. None of this was mentioned during the conference. I learned it all on the family's website afterward. After a full-day conference about the existential threats to Israel from its enemies, it's intriguing that this family has a story about domestic terrorism within Israel and possibly violence between Christians and Jews. It's even more intriguing that those dynamics were not discussed. If nothing else, this example should suggest that the absolute good vs. evil narrative of a monolithic Israel against the world is insufficient.
In conclusion I was not impressed by the conference. It had its moments, but I stand by my assertion that the Christian Zionist movement is opposed to the heart of the Christian faith at key points. By elevating God's love for Israel above God's love for humanity in general, by fully embracing a controversial far-right political agenda that is antithetical to any possible peace, and by utterly ignoring the many other people groups in the region, the Christian Zionists undermine the testimony of the Church. I also believe they undermine both the United States' and Israel's interests in the region. True friends of both the US and Israel should urge Christians to adopt a more thoughtful and nuanced approach to the region.
What saddens me most is the opportunity cost. Instead of proclaiming hypothetical End Times scenarios and political and military support for the latest war, what if the Church dedicated itself to promoting a message of grace and reconciliation in the region? What if it listened to and retold the human stories coming out of the Middle East, and collectively developed genuine compassion for the victims of war on all sides? Instead of lobbying for controversial political agendas in Congress, what if the Church invested itself itself in grassroots intercultural and interfaith dialog? Instead of hopping off the tour bus to visit one tourist site after another in Israel, what if Christians visited and spoke with communities in Jewish synagogues, Arab Israeli Christian churches, and Palestinian mosques? How much more educated would they be, and how much more good could they do? The Church will never solve this enduring conflict, but it can be salt and light in a region that desperately needs both.
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