Palestinian Christians in the Shadow of Christian Zionism

By Rev. Alex Awad
2010

(Administrative note: The following is the text of a presentation exploring the effects of Christian Zionism on Palestinian Christians from a 2010 conference titled, Christ at the Checkpoint.  Dr. David Duke addressed the very related issue to Zionist Christians in his video, The Insanity of Christian Zionism.  In his video, he described Jewish Zionists’ hatred of Christ.  The following presentation by Rev. Alex Awad speaks to the tragic ignorance Christian Zionists have about Christ’s followers who still live in the land of his birth, and have for 2,000 years.  –Admin)

The focus of my presentation is Palestinian Christians in the Shadow of Christian Zionism. I will reflect on my personal experiences to demonstrate the impact of Christian Zionism on Palestinian Christians and on the Church of the Holy Land. To highlight the significance of this theme, I want to give three illustrations:

1. John Hagee, a well-known Evangelical leader from the United States said recently, and I quote:
“The United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God’s plan for both Israel and the West…a biblically prophesied end-time confrontation with Iran, which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation, and Second Coming of Christ.” (John
Hagee).

2. “One Sunday afternoon in July 2000, many members and pastors of local Evangelical congregations from the Palestinian territories and Arab East Jerusalem had gathered at the Bethlehem Hotel in Bethlehem in order to celebrate the formation of a new council. An American woman who was present at the meeting approached one of the pastors and asked permission to say a few words to the assembly. The pastor, desiring to show courtesy to the unknown guest, asked the emcee, likewise a Palestinian pastor, if the lady
could say her few words.