Frank Bruni’s column in today’s New York Times is titled “Christians Loving Jews,” and argues that Benjamin Netanyahu was invited by the Republicans to speak on Capitol Hill last week because of the influence of Christian Zionists. House Speaker John Boehner “catered to the evangelical Christians who are an integral part of the [Republican] party’s base, especially for lawmakers from the reddest states or districts.”
Three things not in Bruni’s column:
1. Palestinians. The flip side of the Republicans loving Israel and opposing the division of land is that Palestinians are demonized or ignored. Bruni also ignores them, except for one passing reference to the occupied territories. Not important, I guess. But Bruni would never do this if talking about the Christian Right’s support for apartheid South Africa.
The rule here: Never point to the connection between fervent unquestioning support for Israel and contempt for Palestinians.
2 . Evangelicals who are at least somewhat critical of Israel, like Jim Wallis at Sojourners. They favor a two state solution.
3 . All the liberal Democrats who fawned over Israel even if they were upset by Netanyahu’s dissing of Obama. A subject best avoided.
And why is the column titled “Christians loving Jews”? In other words, the NYT is letting a columnist say that love for the far right Likudist position on Israel is the same thing as loving Jews. Interesting that you can say something blatantly anti-Semitic in the NYT and get away with it, so long as it is pro Israel.
RE: “Frank Bruni’s column in today’s New York Times is titled ‘Christians Loving Jews’, and argues that Benjamin Netanyahu was invited by the Republicans to speak on Capitol Hill last week because of the influence of Christian Zionists.” ~ Donald Johnson
SO, U.S. FOREIGN POLICY IS BEING INFLUENCED B Y THIS:
John Hagee Says Obama’s Treatment Of Netanyahu Will Cause God To Destroy America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx_jeBTtiv8
P.S. ALSO SEE – “John Hagee: Ebola is God’s punishment for Obama ‘dividing Jerusalem'”, By Joshua Fechter, MySanAntonio.com, October 16, 2014
LINK – http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/John-Hagee-Ebola-is-God-s-punishment-for-Obama-5827110.php
I understand, I really, really do understand about Zionists loving Israel, including Christian Zionists, sure, why not? Love is wonderful as we all know.
But does that mean that you have to go along with everything a particular demented (says himself that he’s been seeing non-existent Iranian devils for 20 years) right-wing political leader says about a matter of fact, or about a matter of international diplomacy? Or about the correctness of the occupation (or of the settlements project)?
Of course, if you are ideologically mandated to approve the settlements (maybe you think that God said * * *), that’s one thing. I guess that covers quite a few Christian Zionists. And therefore covers the Republicans who woo them.
I mean, if God said it in the Old Testament, then you’ve got to believe it, right? Like not eating pork? (You know, like Jews and Muslims.) And, if you occasionally read the New Testament, like turning the other cheek and giving away your wealth?
But why does any OTHER Zionist necessarily go along with all the occupation-is-good, settlements-are-good, N’u is infallible crap?
Point 2 could be made much more strongly: there seem to be widespread stirrings of change among evangelicals about Palestine, going way beyond longtime progressives like Jim Wallis. See “Are Evangelicals Abandoning Israel?” by prominent theologian Gary M. Burge in the October, 2014 issue of Washington Report on the Middle East. An excerpt:
As with the encouraging changes in public opinion about Israel and Palestine in other sectors of the population, the problem is that the Zionist grip on the US government doesn’t depend primarily on the opinions of any part of the public, but on the wealth and power of the Zionist mafia and the influence of their supporters (explicit or just tacit) in the media, the thinktanks, etc. Changes in opinion about the situation are a very welcome first step, and heaven knows the Zionists are fighting hard to reverse them, but to actually change policy, people are going to have to take the next step and confront the power of the lobby.
Bruni has scrabbled himself to the position of a forgetabble Op-Ed columnist in the NYT. He know the ground rules.
The whole “Pastor Hagee” equation is out of date. It was never relevant, but the time when this claptrap could fly by unnoticed is over.
Bruni would never touch the issue of Jewish donations to political parties, and if the price is permanent racial Apartheid; so be it. Again, would never happen in the South African case but the MSM has a very strong supporting stance for Jewish Apartheid rather than the white Christian one.
Bruni, as a man who prefers prestige and money over opposition to Apartheid, is more than happy to oblige.
What will the Christian Zionists say about this?
“Israeli lawmaker Michael Ben Ari ripped up a copy of the New Testament and threw it in the garbage.”
“He did not commit this act in just any old place; he did it in the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. Mr. Ben-Ari is a member of HaIhud HaLeumim (National Union) a religious Jewish right wing party close to the Occupy Movement. ”
http://www.wucnews.com/2015/03/israeli-mp-publicly-tears-christian-new.html?m=1