By Paul Antonopoulos – CSS Project Director; MENA and Latin America Research Fellow
The Christian Evangelical Assault on Palestine Based in a Claimed Literal Interpretation of the Bible, Absent Genuine Religious Content
resident of the United States, Donald Trump formerly allowed the relocation of the U.S Embassy in occupied Palestine to be relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, sparking unrest across the entire Muslim world, despite the warnings given to him by his own national security team. The opening prayer at the new Embassy was delivered by Evangelical Reverend Robert Jeffress with the closing prayer given by Evangelical Reverend John C. Hagee on May 14, 2018, the 70th anniversary of the creation of the Zionist entity commonly known as Israel. It was unsurprising to see Evangelical pastors playing such a key role at this event as 81% of Evangelical Christians voted for Trump.
Who are the Evangelicals? Evangelicalism is a puritanical sect of Christianity that take a literal interpretation of the Christian scriptures, comparable to the Wahhabis of Sunni Islam, and devoid of any spirituality. In addition to their domestic efforts to roll back liberal ideals and defend neo-liberalism in the USA, they also take a radical foreign policy that always attempts to justify US interventionism, including in Palestine. This puritanical interpretation of Christianity has seen it galvanize and create a strong network of megachurches, schools and universities, and create a behemoth media presence on radio, television and new mass media such as apps and social media.
Analysts were left confused why Trump would cause such a great provocation by recognizing Jerusalem as “Israel’s eternal capital.” The answer is quite a straightforward one.
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