Even if you don’t follow news from the Middle East, surely you’ve heard that last weekend, an Israeli soldier in Lebanon took a sledgehammer to the face of a life-size statue of Jesus. A collective gasp arose from Christians around the world. It was an embarrassing moment for Israel, to say the least, since especially in the US, Christians’ financial support is a significant source of revenue to the state.
After the Israeli military gave the sledgehammer-wielder – and his videographer – a slap on the wrist, there still remained some need for damage control. And so, Netanyahu pulled the following publicity stunt (quote from Jerusalem Post):
Netanyahu meets Christians serving in IDF amid controversy over treatment of Lebanese Christians
“I’m here in the Prime Minister’s Office with an extraordinary group of young men and women,” said the prime minister in an English language video (it’s easy to tell that his intended audience was Americans). These are Christian soldiers, men and women, in the Israeli Defense Forces. They fill all the important positions in our incredible military, and they do incredible work.
“This is completely contrary to what is presented outside. It’s not only that Israel fights for the rights of Christians around the Middle East, but that Israel has Christian soldiers who fight for the defense of Israel and for our Christian brethren throughout the area, throughout the region, and beyond,” he added.
He also explained how he was “impressed by the personal stories, their commitment, their sacrifice, their achievements,” and pointed out that Israel is the one country in the Middle East where the Christian community is thriving, growing, and expanding.
That sounds really nice, really reassuring. Israel is nurturing Christianity in the Holy Land! And look, Netanyahu is so proud of his Christian soldiers!
There’s just one problem: everything about this is misleading. Oh, there are Christians serving in the IDF all right. But there’s a backstory that Netanyahu has failed to mention.
For one thing, why are there Christians in Israel to begin with? When Israel created itself in 1948, all of the Palestinians were supposed to be driven out, including Christian Palestinians – but some managed to escape this ethnic cleansing. That’s why Israel has Christians.
Why do Christians choose to serve in the Israeli military? Not necessarily because they love Israel. Military veterans in Israel receive all kinds of financial benefits, training, and paths to a well-paying career. It makes fiscal sense for those Christians who can stomach the job – committing genocide and such.
Perhaps most importantly, during Netanyahu’s little photo op with his token Christians, he lied about his own country.
In reality, the Christian community in the region that Israel rules (including inside Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the illegally-annexed Palestinian East Jerusalem) is not by any stretch of the imagination “thriving, growing, and expanding.” Israel does not actually “fight for the rights of Christians.”
What Israel does do – for those interested in facts, not fiction – is impose severe and unnecessary restrictions on worship at multiple Christian (and Muslim) religious sites. For example, blocking worshipers, and even top Christian leaders, from attending historic churches on high holy days; allowing the humiliation of clergy, arresting Christians who are victims of hate crimes; and painting anti-Christian graffiti on churches; and bombing and killing Palestinian Christians in Gaza.
With Christian support for Israel at an all-time low, Israeli leaders should take a moment to reflect. Could it be the policies of apartheid, ethnic cleansing, occupation, rape, and genocide that are turning Christians off? Perhaps the statue was just the last straw.
But Israel is not big on introspection. Instead, the low approval ratings drove Israel to spend money (probably ours). Israeli propagandists have spent millions targeting Western Christians in major campaigns with an eye to turning them into influencers (some of them paid) for Israel (apparently, controlling the narrative is preferable to actually ending genocide). Israel even funded a Bible study series. Netanyahu himself insulted Jesus, just a few weeks before his photo op with his little band of Christian soldiers.
When the Israeli government and pro-Israel organizations, billionaires, and leaders pour massive effort and huge sums into propaganda; when they assemble media conglomerates and thought leaders to control the narrative, and affix the “antisemite” label to advocates of Palestinian rights – all in an attempt to renovate Israel’s reputation – they are misdirecting their effort.
When Israel ends its genocide and ethnic cleansing, dismantles its apartheid, and adopts equal rights for all, when it ends its 77-year war against Palestinian existence – then it might expect to enjoy support again.
Until then, we as Christians must not turn a blind eye to the suffering of our brothers and sisters in faith – both Christian and Muslim – in the Holy Land. We must do due diligence – fact check everything about Israel (you can get the truth here). We need to shout from the rooftops what Israel is really up to.
I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter. I write about the Palestine-Israel issue regularly, and other issues relevant to progressives or those considering becoming progressive. If you would like to comment on this post, please pop over to my Facebook page. All of my posts are there and open to constructive comment. I welcome your thoughts.
…That said, I have been away from Patheos for quite a while – covering a genocide for If Americans Knew is a full-time job, and I haven’t had time for my Patheos column. I’m back now, and my intention is to post a couple of times a week going forward.
Featured image: Lisa Forkner via Unsplash
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