[NYTr] "Amen" for Israel, say Christian Zionists

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Reuters - Oct 2, 2007
http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL0219167620071002

"Amen" for Israel, say Christian Zionists

Shiloh, West Bank  - With a skullcap bearing the Star of David and a
fervent belief that God gave the Holy Land to the Jews, Paul McCaleb
could be mistaken for a Jewish settler.

The 73-year-old from Tennessee is actually a born-again Christian, part
of a growing group of devout Protestants, many from the United States,
who are supporting Israel with their votes and their wallets.

"Coming here just does something inside of me," McCaleb said at Shiloh,
a holy Jewish site in the occupied West Bank where the Bible says the
Ark of the Covenant once rested. "This land belongs to God, and God
gave it to the Jews."

McCaleb and some 7,000 mostly evangelical Christians from across the
world flocked to the Holy Land this week to celebrate the Jewish
festival of Sukkoth and to show support for Israel.

During the event, busloads of pilgrims travelled in bullet-proof buses
to Jewish sites in the West Bank -- which some Jews call Judea and
Samaria -- and to Jewish settlements, which are deemed illegal under
international law.

Some pilgrims toured army bases and donated gifts to Israeli soldiers
while others gave money to buy mobile bomb shelters for communities
near the border with the Gaza Strip, which are often targeted by
rockets from Palestinian militants in the enclave.

Shouting "Amen" and "Hallelujah" as settlers acting as tour guides
vowed to hold onto "the land of their forefathers" in the West Bank,
the pilgrims said it was their duty as Christians to support Israel
against a broader Muslim threat.

"We are here to support the Jewish people and to bless them," said Scott
Fritz from California. "The idea of giving land back to the
Palestinians is completely wrong."

"DANGEROUS MISSIONARIES"

A group called the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem organises
the annual festival, which culminates with a march through the holy
city on Tuesday.

This year some Orthodox rabbis urged Jews to stay away from the marching
pilgrims for fear the Christians -- many of whom believe Jesus is the
only hope for salvation -- would try to "exterminate" the Jewish people
by converting them.

The ICEJ concedes it "cannot offer hope outside of Jesus", but argues
Christians and Jews share the same spiritual roots and says it wants to
help erase the legacy of anti-Semitism.

"There is no dark agenda," David Parsons, ICEJ media director said.
"Christians are realising that God still loves the Jews and their
return to Israel is of great biblical significance."

Some Christians, particularly evangelical Protestants, believe the
return of Jews to Israel paves the way for Christ's return and the end
of the world, and represents the fulfilment of God's promises to
biblical patriarchs.

Christian Zionists form a growing part of the pro-Israel lobby in the
United States, the Jewish state's main ally.

Groups such as the Chicago and Jerusalem-based International Fellowship
of Christians and Jews raise millions of dollars each year to support
projects in Israel and to lobby Washington.

During the trip to Shiloh, representatives of the Jewish settler
movement urged pilgrims -- some of whom wore "Praise the Lord" baseball
caps -- to lobby governments against peace talks that may lead to a
Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.

"Governments come and go but anyone who tries to give away God's land
will fall," settler Yehudit Tayar told one of the buses, prompting
cheers from the pilgrims.

"RACIAL EXCLUSIVITY?"

Not all Christians back Israel. The Vatican's envoy in the Holy Land and
bishops from three other churches last year accused the Christian
Zionist movement of promoting "racial exclusivity and perpetual war".

While pilgrims in Israel this week were keen to visit Jewish towns and
settlements, few appeared to venture into Palestinian towns, or meet
many Arabs during their stay.

"We dare not go into the Palestinian areas and anyway they are not open
to us," said Elizabeth Lee, a Pentecostal Christian from Malaysia who
has been to Israel 40 times.

Many pilgrims saw the Israeli conflict with the Palestinians as an
extension of U.S. President George W. Bush's "War on terror", and
talked about a clash between good and evil.

Mark Burns is an ardent Israel supporter who runs Christian radio
stations in Illinois and brings groups every year to the Holy Land to
donate blood and money.

"Christians who read the Hebrew scriptures know God made a promise with
Israel," he said. "People who are clueless about the Old Testament can
be persuaded to support the other side."

But as the bus rumbled past an Israeli checkpoint and through the West
Bank barrier that Israel says it needs to stop suicide bombers,
Australian Denise Vince was not so sure.

"I don't know much about politics but I do get the sense I'm only
hearing one side of the story."