A changing of the political guard both in the U.S. and Israel is challenging the power and influence that evangelical Zionists had exercised during the administrations of President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reports Colum Lynch in Foreign Policy magazine (July 19). Some observers have noted that during the past four years evangelical Christians eclipsed the American Jewish community as Israel’s most important political ally in the U.S., even helping to pave the way for Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. But the Democratic transition in the U.S., and the election of a coalitional government of Israeli centrists and Arab Israelis friendlier to supporting a Palestinian state, represent a serious setback to evangelical Zionists.
Lynch adds that this turnaround comes as a younger generation of American evangelicals views Israel more critically than their elders. Yet while evangelicals have felt the loss of influence with the election of Joe Biden, their “relations with Trump Republican politicians remain as strong as ever. They will also remain a powerful ally for any future government in Israel,” Lynch writes. This continuing influence could be seen during Israel’s recent offensive in Gaza, as evangelicals came to the country’s defense and such prominent evangelical Zionists as John Hagee blasted the international community for allegedly holding to a double standard in criticizing Israel’s actions while remaining silent on Palestinian rocket attacks.
(Foreign Policy, https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/07/19/christian-zionists-israel-trump-netanyahuevangelicals/)
Sukkot, March 2011 (source: Avital PInnick | Flickr).
