AN activist with americans for a safe israel (photo: alex kane)
Israel may be increasingly isolated globally, but you wouldn't know it from the scene in New York today. A right-wing crowd of thousands rallied earlier today at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza against the ongoing Durban III conference and the Palestinian Authority bid for United Nations recognition of statehood.
The demonstration was organized by a group called the Jerusalem Institute of Justice. But by far the largest contingent of participants came from the evangelical Christian community. The Eagles' Wings, an evangelical Christian group, brought droves of Christian Zionists out to wave the Israeli flag, hold signs to insist that Israel will "stay on the map" and cheer against the division of Jerusalem.
"It's important for the Christian community to stand up for Israel," twenty-year old Rutgers University student Hannah Johnson told me. "We're from the same roots, we both hold a lot of the same ideals and beliefs, and their God's chosen people, so we choose to stand with them."
The rally took aim at the Durban III conference, which marks ten years since the first UN conference against racism in Durban, South Africa. Many hard-line supporters of Israel have advocated against the Durban conferences because of what they see as an unfair focus on Israel.
"The whole Durban conference...is appalling to us, and we don't want our children to be taught [anti-Zionism] and we don't want it spread in the United States via the UN," said Sheree Krause, a Christian Zionist from Virginia, as her and her son passed out free Israeli flags.
It wasn't only Christian evangelicals that came out to the rally, though. Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI), a pro-settler organization whose executive director spoke at a memorial event for the far-right extremist Meir Kahane last year, was also present. One member of Americans for a Safe Israel carried a sign that read "Jews Want Peace, Arabs Want Pieces."
"The whole land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people," said Helen Freedman, the executive director of AFSI.
"The unilateral declaration of independence is very, very dangerous, because what it does is signal to the Arabs that they now have a state...There's no legitimacy to their claim for a state, but the population will get the message that they do have entitlement and the whole situation will really spiral out of control."
And of course, the Israeli government's point man on outreach to Christian Zionists--Likud Party member Danny Danon--was there. Danon recently appeared with Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry at a press conference where Perry blasted President Obama's record on Israel.
At the rally, Danon told Obama to loud cheers to "wake up" and focus on the threat of Iran.
The rally came just after President Obama finished up his remarks at the UN General Assembly for which he was praised by Benjamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman.
Despite that praise, though, the rally served as a reminder that Obama will spend a good portion of his re-election campaign defending his record on Israel, especially against the likes of Perry. But no matter how deferential Obama is to Israeli wishes, winning over the crowd at a rally like this isn't going to happen.
Alex Kane is a New York City-based freelance journalist who blogs on Israel/Palestine at alexbkane.wordpress.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexbkane.
This whole pandering-to-the-Zionists thing is really getting out of hand!
“The unilateral declaration of independence is very, very dangerous, because what it does is signal to the Arabs that they now have a state…There’s no legitimacy to their claim for a state, but the population will get the message that they do have entitlement and the whole situation will really spiral out of control.”
Pretty sure the American colonies declared independence, unilaterally.
“Pretty sure the American colonies declared independence, unilaterally.”
‘and the population got the message that they do have entitlement and the whole situation really spiraled out of control.’ Well, not the whole population. Just the colonists (minus the ones who were imported as slaves)
Palestine’s unilateral declaration of independence as a state was in 1988.
It has been recognized as a state since then by the majority of nations.
This has nothing to do with its application–at least in the legal sense–to the UN for membership.
Pineywoodslim,
Take it easy chief – I was mocking the american for ridiculing the premise of palestinian independence – from a colonizer. American…….Britain….come on, you can do it….
And I was noting that person’s lack of knowledge concerning the application for UN membership.
“Pretty sure the American colonies declared independence, unilaterally.”
And look what happened! Chewing gum! Not a recommendation for UDI.
ROHA- ANTIDOTE ETC
Not sure if you guys got where I was coming from – I was mocking the hypocrisy of AN AMERICAN claiming another people have no right to declare independence from a colonial power – no?
I got your joke.
“We’re from the same roots, we both hold a lot of the same ideals and beliefs, and their God’s chosen people, so we choose to stand with them.”
Like lies, colonialism, murder, theft – and the blessing of the convenient deity. They are virtual twins –
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
“The logic of both Israel and apartheid-era South Africa can be found in their common origins as settler states. In both cases, the settlers CREATED MYTHS, semi-religious or explicitly religious, including that GOD HAD PROVIDED THE LAND for them and that the land was unoccupied upon arrival, a very, very common theme in every settler state, whether it’s the United States, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc. In both cases, the settlers portrayed themselves to be VICTIMS against natives who were described as SEMI-BARBARIC OR INTOLERANT. Given the permanent state of siege, every settler state AGGRESSION came to be DESCRIBED as a DEFENSIVE ACT, an approach also common with the United States. By way of example, for South Africa, incursions into Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe or anywhere else always against alleged TERRORISTS were justified as alleged defensive actions.”
APARTHEID ISRAEL : TWO WALLED CITIES
See, that’s the problem with your idiots! You don’t lock your cages properly.
I saw some people walking from the area with the Israeli flags. I figured they were typical Zionists with a stake in the real estate over there, I never considered they bused in crack pot Christian Zionists for the rally.
Man, oh man. Their “logic” for supporting Israel is the most infuriating to me.
“We’re from the same roots, we both hold a lot of the same ideals and beliefs, and their God’s chosen people, so we choose to stand with them.”
ugh. This is not my country.
The Talibangelicals are the worst of the worst.
It doesn’t feel like the country I knew either. But the silent leaders of this country have the capitol to tell the political class what to do, and there’s little leftover for morality and sensibility. Add a media class who is part of the heist, and we are left with the current day political mess.
“We’re from the same roots, we both hold a lot of the same ideals and beliefs, and their God’s chosen people , so we choose to stand with them.”
In some of these people’s effort to correct the wrongs of the Holocaust and WWII, they neglect what is happening to Palestinians. Maybe they’ll comprehend what’s happening in the following century.
“Maybe they’ll comprehend what’s happening in the following century”
I doubt it. That kind of ignorance is ingrained in them from generation to generation.
At least the role of Christian Zionism in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is finally on full display. For decades the Christian Zionists have been running a stealth campaign to give political and economic aid to Israel with as little public attention in their role as possible. It has warped the U.S. politically and culturally to go against our own self-interest. It is a sign of desperation that they now feel they must campaign publicly for what they have been trying to do secretly. This also makes them very dangerous.
Finally people can see the true source of the problem. People must begin to look at their absurd, but dangerous, theology. At its heart it is anti-Semitic because it depends on the medieval concept of conversion or extermination of the Jews in a Jewish homeland for the Rapture to happen. This is the only reason they support Israel.
“We’re from the same roots,”
++++ From Africa ? Yes we are, and thats where those common grounds end.
“we both hold a lot of the same ideals and beliefs,”
++++ Say good old western world colonialism and oppression….no…we have lived past that dark era. Wanna still go back to that….nope.
“and their God’s chosen people, so we choose to stand with them.”
++++ Dont know what God was smoking, but hardly.
” “Jews Want Peace, Arabs Want Pieces.”
++++ Well, pieces are left from Jews (zio) peace seeking. And gettin smaller and smaller in path to peace from some strange reason.
“”The whole land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people,” said Helen Freedman, the executive director of AFSI.”
++++ Will this go with the same peace seeking efforts a’la ziogang ?
“”The unilateral declaration of independence is very, very dangerous, because what it does is signal to the Arabs that they now have a state”
++++ OMG yes. What a dangerous idea. Why didnt we see that.
“There’s no legitimacy to their claim for a state,”
++++ In 1947 UN had a little bit different view.
” but the population will get the message that they do have entitlement and the whole situation will really spiral out of control.”
++++ And guess who is spinning that wheel….
“and their God’s chosen people, so we choose to stand with them.”
The moment this transcends private religious belief and starts having any impact whatsoever on the way people are treated over others ‘in real life’ is the moment mass outrage over this is very warranted and necessary. There is no room for acting upon this belief in a secular state and democracy, what so ever.
Then again those folks quite obviously aren’t lovers of equality and democracy anyway. I suggest they petition for an independent state of their own, and turn it into a fundamentalist yeehaw land where Jews > everyone else, regardless of what they do, because God sez so. On second thought, why don’t they just move to Israel and settle for being the unworthy, second-rate peoples to the Master Race, and offer to be utilised as soft shields against the Ebil Mooslim Hoards?
Oh wait, some already did.
Nah, they’re counting on war in the ME to bring on the Rapture… which they believe will vaporize all but themselves, including Jews (except for 1,444 Jews – where on earth did they come up with that number?) and bring them (the Evangelicals) to the heaven on earth they believe they deserve.
Is this the 144,000, mentioned in Revelation chapter 7, where 12,000 are saved from each of the twelve tribes of Israel? Mind you, this aggregate includes a great majority who are Israelites but not Jews.
Revelation 7: 3-8.
and Revelation 14:3-5
“They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. 4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. ”
Ooops! Better hope she can keep a secret, guys.
“These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.”
New Zealand Jews?
I can only wish that one day the Christian mayor of Bethlehem could address these fundies.
>> “It’s important for the Christian community to stand up for Israel,” <<
Not in my name, and especially not in the name of the Christ they reject in making oxymoronic statements like that.
The Christian community stands up for Christ and his "ideals and beliefs". It recognizes and lives by what he said about Israel, Jews, and Jerusalem, and how his scripture applies that. What they are standing for is nothing but a golden calf they have fashioned in their own image.
In this area they are a stench in his nostrils, and disgusting hypocritical frauds just like the Pharisees of his day that soon made sure he wasn't around to bug them any more. They "hold a lot of the same ideals and beliefs" as those religious leaders did.
"Man, oh man. Their “logic” for supporting Israel is the most infuriating to me."
Same here.
"The Talibangelicals are the worst of the worst."
Yeah, I've watched their so-called prophecy experts waxing in lalaland about Israel their miracle fulfilment; some of them are quite unbelievable. They are just what their scripture says, deceiving and being deceived, the blind leading the blind.
This is one radical evangelical who says "No, it's important for the Christian community to stand up against Zionist Israel and Zionist Christians and expose their charade and their idolatry".