{"id":46209,"date":"2019-11-19T08:51:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T12:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/?p=46209"},"modified":"2019-11-19T09:00:28","modified_gmt":"2019-11-19T13:00:28","slug":"trumps-israel-policy-looks-suspiciously-evangelical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/11\/trumps-israel-policy-looks-suspiciously-evangelical.html","title":{"rendered":"Trump’s Israel Policy Looks Suspiciously Evangelical"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u201cSo about this: You know which religious groups seemed pretty exited about today\u2019s West Bank settlements decision? Evangelical Christians,\u201d Religious News Service reporter Jack Jenkins wrote on twitter yesterday<\/a>. \u201cYou know who didn\u2019t? Several major American Jewish groups, mainline Christian groups, and Muslim groups. This is a recurring pattern.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, the Trump administration appears to be basing its Israel policy on not on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or even on what is best for Israel, but rather on pleasing evangelical Christians.<\/p>\n

Just what changed?<\/a><\/p>\n

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday the Trump administration\u2019s latest pro-Israel change in U.S. policy, saying the State Department is rescinding a 1978 department legal opinion that viewed settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as inconsistent with international law.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to the Jerusalem Post<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Pompeo\u2019s remarks, The Jerusalem Post has learned, came after a year-long review conducted by the State Department\u2019s legal office. The team met with international law experts as well as officials from different governments to hear their opinions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Color me skeptical, for two reasons.<\/p>\n

The Trump Administration doesn\u2019t exactly have a track record of being truthful. For example, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney claimed last month that the search committee selected Trump\u2019 Doral report as the location for next year\u2019s G-7 meeting through it\u2019s regular search process, only for it to later come out that Trump had it added<\/a> after the original list, which had not included Doral, was whittled down to two.<\/p>\n

Maybe the State Department did conduct a year-long review that included meeting with international law experts and officials from all relevant governments and agencies. Or maybe it didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Consider, also, who Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called immediately after announcing the change in policy<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Mike Evans, founder of The Jerusalem Prayer Team and a member of Trump\u2019s informal group of evangelical Christian advisers,<\/a> praised the move. In an interview with Religion News Service, Evans said Pompeo called him shortly after the press conference while en route to meet President Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told (Pompeo) it was a tremendous answer to prayer from evangelicals,\u201d he said, asking the secretary of state to express gratitude to the president.<\/p>\n

Evans said in a separate statement that the announcement was on par with the administration\u2019s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel\u2019s capital. He told RNS it reminded him of a passage from the Biblical book of Genesis in which God refers to Israel by saying, \u201cI will bless those who bless you, but I will curse those who curse you.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n