Beware the 'Christian Embassy'

I had a fascinating afternoon at the Travel Center today when I met a gentleman there from the 'International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem' (ICEJ). This is a notorious organisation that has published such statements as " . . . . God in His sovereignty calls and elects certain vessels for His eternal purposes." This 'vessel' in this case is the Jewish People as presently embodied in the state of Israel.

The Christian Embassy promotes the idea that God is a divine real estate agent that has granted the Jewish People (I guess that means me too), the Land of Canaan in perpetuity, quoting on their website such juicy titbits from the Old testament as, "To deliver the Land of Canaan to Abraham's natural descendants as an "everlasting possession" (Genesis 17:8)".

The ICEJ uses biblical references liberally on their website to deny any Palestinian aspirations for a state of their own, and adds their own little twist: They give this 'warning' (their word) in their 'theological monograph' entitled: 'Swords into Plowshares - Christian Zionism and the Battle for Armageddon' : " . . . If they (gentile nations) persist in permanently dividing the land and thereby disinheriting the Jewish People, they will incur the wrath and displeasure of God." I got the impression from my conversation today that the gentleman might be thinking of himself as a humble tool of God's displeasure. Gave me the creeps.

The monograph claims that accusations that the ICEJ's policies are aimed at hastening Armageddon are false, and that they are only awaiting the biblically prophesied "Messianic Kingdom on Earth". However what they do not state is that those same prophesies tell us that Armageddon and the final judgment must come first.  At the conclusion of the introduction the document states, "Thus we have an interest in the fate of the entire world in heart and mind when we defend Israel's restoration to her land".  The fate of the world, of course, leads through Armageddon to the Messianic Kingdom. You can find the entire document at this link.

The organization also sponsors Jews to emigrate to Israel. According to their website they have helped over 100,000 people emigrate to Israel from Russia and the Americas.

The ICEJ does some charitable work in Israel too, and liaises with a network of semi-underground messianic church groups throughout the country. The vast majority of Israelis do not like the messianic groups and 'Jews for Jesus' types. Although proselytizing is technically illegal in Israel, the folks today gave me the impression that they are definitely seeking converts. Personally I abhor the persecution of Jewish converts to Christianity in Israel and would like all these Jewish/Christian groups to be able to practice their religion in dignity and freedom. However like most folks in the Middle East, I do not like missionaries. Religion in this region is rooted in family and community and to convince someone to change their religion often fractures these relationships, dividing families, and disrupting community life.

The ICEJ claims that biblical prophesy requires all the Jews to return to the Holy Land in order to create the conditions for their messiah to return. Of course according the Book of Revelations, any of us who do not become Christian at that time will be consumed in the fires of Armageddon and everlasting damnation etc etc. (read the Christian Book of Revelations for all the gory details).

The gentleman I met today and his lady companion spoke of the great love of Jesus Christ as they tried to minister to myself and the Muslim cafe owner who finally retired to the back room in disgust. This great love they speak of is tempered by their adherence to the extreme violence of their 'End of Days' scenarios which are 'lovingly' detailed in the Christian Book of Revelations and referred to on the ICEJ website.

These people are sincere, and dangerous. Their misguided faith in the 'word' of their bible is rigid in it's support for the settlements in the West Bank and other Israeli efforts to thwart any chance of a just peace. The ICEJ is well funded and dedicated. They need to be opposed on a political and theological level and I encourage any readers who are believing Christians to counter the theocratic ideology of the ICEJ within your own communities.

A more rigorous analysis of the Christian Embassy in Jerusalem can be found here.

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Letter from a friend

This email was received from Gaye Paterson (USA) who kindly gave permission to share her thoughts with you.

Dear Fred,

You are a very special person taking on this adventure. Sadly I see the politics of Israel getting more and more right wing and now this dangerous proposal of the "Loyalty Oath". I loved your "alternative" tour, one that didn't include religious paraphernalia of kissing relics and talking to walls - no elderly herds in brightly coloured caps with Holyland Tours taped across their heads piling in and out of buses or lining up for the toilet.

I meet up with Annie at Notre Dame. Annie is Jewish from NY and despite her uncle's reservations, she was brave enough to make up her own mind and for this I praised her and encouraged her - I also gave her a list of excellent Israeli films to watch and suggested with books she start with Joe Sacco. I was about her age when I first came here crossing the river Jordan from Amman in 1979. Off course then you didn't need a tour - just get on any of the local buses and go to Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jenin. Perhaps it was this first visit that set me on a mission to try and promote understanding and dispel some of the racious myths.

So here I am in 2010 taking the Palestinian route to Bethlehem, through the cattle like carral, along the colourful -MASSIVE wall, past acres of choped down olive trees, past huge settlements arriving in Bethlehem amidst bus load after bus load of "good Christians" who will never see a skinny Palestinian child or the bullet holes on their school or smell the fruit from the market and see that really these people and good human beings.

The English photographer whom we met at the refugee camp is doing wonderful photography projects with children as a volunteer. That really takes guts as it's so sad and so frustrating being in a helpless situation trying to make a difference.

The photographer told us a story - one Friday around noon when the camp was quite as most were at the mosque and children were inside, a soldier from the watch tower shot a 12 year old boy right through the bedroom window, right through his stomach. He did live and his father a lawyer filed a complaint. Some weeks later when the boy was home from hospital, 40 soldiers entered their house early in the morning, waking everyone and smashing and slashing everything to bits. Then they went upstairs to his grandfathers house and smashed all that to bits - the contents of every cubpoard, the fridge, every peice of furniture and bedding. Then they went downstairs and did the same to his uncles house.

I know this is not an isolated incident. A voiceless democracy. Here in Tel Aviv our friend Noham is saying - we just want security!! Do they not realise that security and humiliation don't go together?

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Settlers Give Tours Too

Settler organizations in the Occupied West Bank have been promoting their own type of alternative tours to Israelis. Their intent is to generate support for the settlements and thwart any progress towards a two-state solution to the ongoing conflict.

This video reflects their determination to 'mainstream' settlement support by bringing ordinary Israelis out to see their communities and present themselves as the modern Zionist pioneers. These types of tours were part of the motivation for the establishment of Green Olive Tours in 2007.

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