Right-wing Christian Zionists see 'threat to God's plan' in Israeli protests
Israeli demonstrators take part in an anti-government protest in Tel Aviv. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
U.S.-based advocates of Christian Zionism have begun to attack liberal Jews over their resistance to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reports Religion Dispatches, a non-profit online magazine covering religion, politics and culture.

“Israeli society has erupted into some of the largest sustained protests in its history,” the report states. “The world has watched for months as hundreds of thousands of Israelis demonstrate to prevent Israel’s slide into outright authoritarianism.

“As the protests have grown, however, a number of Israel’s Christian allies have grown frantic at the discord while calling on their followers to pray for the unity of the Israeli people. Some of these Christian Zionist leaders even blame “liberal” Israeli protesters—and their supposed foreign “deep-state” funders—for widening rifts that threaten the security of the Jewish State which, they believe, plays an integral role in God’s plan.”

Religion Dispatches cited an email sent on March 27, 2023 by Capitol Hill Prayer Partners, a far-right group based in Washington D.C.

“Israel as a nation has never been in as much danger as she is right now!” the email stated. And it “names ‘external forces from the Deep State/globalists [who] have used their sway to funnel monies to the liberals in Israel, to fund these protests,’” the report noted.

Writer Aiden Orly offered this observation:

“In addition to being an antisemitic trope, the idea that a group of liberal elite power players is orchestrating mass protests against authoritarian power grabs—or in favor of LGBTQ rights, racial equality or other progressive causes around the world—has become a main far-right talking point according to expert Ben Lorber, my colleague at Political Research Associates.

“Many far-right pundits have attributed blame to these same forces for, among other things, inciting the Arab Spring in 2011 and orchestrating the supposed theft of the 2020 election from Trump.”

And he offers this conclusion:

“While they’re frequently omitted from the discussion, Christian Zionists are the largest, and most far-right base of support for Israel in the world, as well as the backbone of U.S. support for Israel, according to former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer. It can be difficult to parse out their professed “love” for Jewish people from an underlying agenda that reinforces Israeli apartheid and marshals Jews to carry it out. All in Jesus’ name. Amen.”