The
International Christian Embassy, JerusalemThe Most Influential & Controversial Christian Zionism Agency
The
International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem
The Most Influential & Controversial
Christian Zionism Agency
Adapted
and published in
Speaking the Truth about Zionism and Israel
edited
by Michael Prior (London, Melisende, 2004)
1.
The Historical Origins of the ICEJ
1.1 The Objectives
of the ICEJ
1.2 The Priorities and
Activities of the ICEJ
1.3 Key Individuals
Associated with the ICEJ
1.4 Relationship
with other Christian Zionist Organisations
2. The Theology of the ICEJ
2.1 Dispensational Roots
2.2
Literalist Hermeneutic
2.3 Annual
Feast of Tabernacles Celebration
2.4
Reinterpretation of Christian Mission
2.5
Eschatology: Signs of the Times
3.
The Politics of the ICEJ
3.1 Unconditional Support for the
State of Israel
3.2 The Territorial
Extent of Eretz Israel
3.3 The Jewish
Settlements in the Occupied Territories
3.4
Jerusalem the Eternal Undivided Capital of Israel
3.5
The Rebuilding of the Jewish Temple
3.6
Attitudes toward the Arab States and Palestinians
3.7
Criticism of Palestinian Autonomy
3.8
The Emigration of Soviet Jews to Israel
3.9
Economic and Financial Assistance for Israel
3.10
The Lobbying of the United States Government on Behalf of Israel
3.11 Coverage of the Jerusalem Tunnel Incident
4. A Critical Summary of the Distinctive
Christian Zionism of the ICEJ
Chapter 7: The International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem
The Most Influential & Controversial Christian Zionism Agency
1. The Historical Origins of the ICEJ
Of all the Christian Zionist organisations,
the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) is probably the most influential
and controversial. The founding of the International Christian Embassy in 1980
in West Jerusalem near the home of the Israeli Prime Minister, represented the
coming of age of Christian Zionism as a high profile, politically astute, international
movement. Ironically, it had originally been the home of the family of Dr Edward
Said, the distinguished Palestinian-American Anglican academic, before being confiscated
in 1948 when it was given to the Jewish philosopher, Martin Buber, then the Chilean
embassy before becoming the home of the ICEJ. This itself is a paradigm of the
impact Christian Zionists such as the ICEJ have had upon the indigenous Palestinian
people and Christian community, in particular.
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem was formally
opened in 1980 by the Jerusalem based committee of the thousand pilgrims who came
to the first international Feast of Tabernacles celebration.1
The timing was actually precipitated by the
co-ordinated withdrawal of the last few Latin American embassies based in Jerusalem
in protest at Israel's continued occupation of East Jerusalem now 'legitimised'
by the passing of the Jerusalem Bill by the Knesset in 1980, in which the Jews
declared Jerusalem their undivided, eternal capital.
Thirteen embassies moved to Tel Aviv, stating that Israel had violated international
law by this decision, and they would not grant legitimacy to such an illegal action.
When Chile moved to Tel Aviv, Israel turned the building on Brenner Street over
to the International Christian Embassy.2
The ICEJ placed a somewhat different emphasis on these events.
In 1980 Israel declared Jerusalem to be her eternal, undivided
capital. In reply, bringing the pressure of an oil boycott to bear, the Arab nations
caused 13 countries to remove their embassies from Jerusalem and go down to Tel
Aviv. The inspiration to establish a Christian Embassy was given at the time when
Israel was celebrating the great annual Feast of Succot. Thereafter each year
a Christian Celebration has been held at Succot, pledging loyalty to her charter,
"Comfort, Comfort My people." (Isaiah 40:1)3
Their later promotional material elaborates further,
When the vision of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem
was first given it was expressed in the following concerns; to care for the Jewish
people, especially for the newborn State of Israel which includes standing up
for the Jews when they are attacked or discriminated against, and for Israel to
live in peace and security.... to care that the world wide body of Christ will
be rightly related to Israel in comfort, love and prayer for her well-being, to
care for the nations whose destinies will be increasingly linked to the way in
which they relate to Israel, the care and preparation for the coming of the Lord.4
In 1985 the ICEJ organised the first International Christian
Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, in the same hall used by Theodor Herzl
to launch the Zionist movement in 1897.5
In 1993, the ICEJ had an international staff of 50 representing 12 different nationalities,
together with a further 250 volunteers who assisted with annual events such as
the Feast of Tabernacles Celebration. ICEJ 'ambassadors' also served in over 100
countries world-wide through a network of branches, national directors
and regional boards working under the authority of its Jerusalem Executive.6
By 1997 the ICEJ claimed to have representatives in 80 countries.The ICEJ draws
its support almost exclusively from charismatic and evangelical fundamentalist
Christians since, based on their literal interpretation of the Bible, these Christians
are said to "...have very warm feelings toward Israel."7
The ICEJ is strongest in the USA, Canada and South Africa, and also in Sweden,
Germany and Singapore as well as other European, Asian and Central American countries,
experiencing "a tremendous move of the Holy Spirit."8
1.1 The Objectives of the ICEJ
From its foundation the 'charter' of the ICEJ has been to 'comfort' Israel. This
has been defined in terms of encouraging and facilitating the 'restoration' of
the Jews to Eretz Israel although the geographical extent of 'greater' Israel
is not always made clear.
The embassy believes
that God wants us to stimulate, encourage, and inspire Christians amongst the
many nations concerning their role and task in the restoration of Israel. The
Bible says that the destiny of nations, Christians, and even that of the church
is linked to the way in which these groups respond to this restoration.9
In 1993, the ICEJ declared itself to have nine objectives, many
of which were overtly political as well as Zionist, but based, they claimed, on
biblical grounds.
1.2 The Priorities
and Activities of the ICEJ
The main priorities of the ICEJ
since its inception in 1980 have been to 'bring comfort' to Israel through the
encouragement of Soviet and Eastern European Jews to emigrate to Israel; a social
assistance programme for integrating Jewish immigrants into Israeli life; the
sponsoring of an annual Christian Zionist Feast of Tabernacles Celebration in
Jerusalem; and Diplomatic Banquets and Receptions through which church leaders
and government officials around the world are lobbied on behalf of the State of
Israel.
A significant part of the ministry of the ICEJ also involves fund-raising from Western donors sympathetic to their mission. The ICEJ claims,
The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, North America, Europe and other parts of the world is established as a non-profit organisation. As a result, financial accountability is based on current laws of the land and as such records are open to public scrutiny.12
While the Jerusalem Post claimed in 1985 that the ICEJ's monthly budget was in the region of $80,000, Don Wagner notes, "...the ICEJ sources of income are veiled in secrecy"13
The ICEJ's social assistance programme includes funding the families of needy Israeli policemen; remedial Hebrew courses for Jewish immigrants and educational material for Jewish schools; help with setting up a children's club in a new synagogue, and an ambulance for a Jewish settlement.14 Internationally, the ICEJ also admits to working closely with Israeli Embassies, Consulates as well as the Jewish Agency in channelling support and funds to Israel.15
1.3 Key Individuals Associated with the ICEJ
Two notable individuals associated with the founding
of the ICEJ are Jan Willem van der Hoeven, their spokesman and Johann Luckhoff,
their Director.
Jan Willem van der Hoeven was very influential in the founding of the ICEJ before he was sacked in 1999 from being their chief spokesman, apparently for being too extreme.16 He was born in 1940 in Holland and before joining the ICEJ was Warden of the Garden Tomb between 1968-1975.17
1.4 Relationship with other Christian Zionist
Organisations
In North America, the ICEJ works
closely with the political lobbying body, Christian Israel Public Action Campaign
(CIPAC) which is affiliated to ICEJ.18
In the United Kingdom, ICEJ has worked in partnership with the Good News Travels Bus Company to transport Jewish people within the former Soviet Union to regional centres with airports for flights to Israel.19
Although it is not mentioned in their promotional literature, since the mid-1980's, the ICEJ has also closely associated with the politically subversive Voice of Hope radio station in Southern Lebanon.
The Voice of Hope was formerly owned by Christian fundamentalist entrepreneur George Ortis, Sr., a supporter of renegade Lebanese army major Saad Haddad, whom Israel assisted with a militia and financial support in the Israeli-controlled sector of south Lebanon. The Voice of Hope station broadcasts to northern Israel and Lebanon frequent messages from Haddad, American Christian country-and-western music, and fundamentalist Christian radio programs.20
It is significant that many of the staff working for the ICEJ worship on Sundays at Christ Church, an Anglican church, near the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem, which is also the headquarters of the Church's Ministry Among Jewish People (CMJ) in Israel. Ray Lockhart, the then vicar of Christ Church, when invited to comment on the work of ICEJ, refused to express any criticism of it.21
2. The Theology of the ICEJ
ICEJ
is a self appointed and self regulated 'embassy'. Throughout their literature
the assumption made, however, is that they,
...represent Christians from all over the world who love Israel and the people
of Israel... and ...represent Israel and what the Bible says about its
destiny to the Christian world.22
At the Third International Christian Zionist Congress held in
Jerusalem 25-29 February, 1996, under the auspices of the ICEJ, some 1,500 delegates
from over 40 countries unanimously affirmed a proclamation and affirmation of
Christian Zionism based on the following tenets,
God the Father, Almighty, chose the ancient nation and people of Israel, the
descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to reveal His plan of redemption for
the world. They remain elect of God, and without the Jewish nation His redemptive
purposes for the world will not be completed...
The modern
ingathering of the Jewish People to Eretz Israel and the rebirth of the nation
of Israel are in fulfilment of biblical prophecies, as written in both Old and
New Testaments.
Christian believers are instructed by
Scripture to acknowledge the Hebraic roots of their faith and to actively assist
and participate in the plan of God for the ingathering of the Jewish People and
the restoration of the nation of Israel in our day.
The
Lord in His zealous love for Israel and the Jewish People blesses and curses peoples
and judges nations based upon their treatment of the Chosen People of Israel...
According to God's distribution of nations, the Land of Israel has been given
to the Jewish People by God as an everlasting possession by an eternal covenant.
The Jewish People have the absolute right to possess and dwell in the Land, including
Judea, Samaria, Gaza and the Golan.23
2.1 Dispensational Roots
Those who founded the ICEJ in 1980 were drawn from Western evangelical, fundamentalist
and charismatic circles. According to Don Wagner, virtually the entire ICEJ leadership
are also dispensationalists, who, like Darby, Scofield and Lindsey, believe that
the restoration of the Jews to Israel and the contemporary State of Israel is
the fulfilment of biblical prophecy.24
Johann Luckoff, the director of ICEJ wrote,
The return to Zion from exile a second time (Isa. 11:11) is a living testimony
to God's faithfulness and his enduring covenant with the Jewish people.25
In applying this passage from Isaiah literally
to contemporary events rather than to those of Isaiah's generation, Luckoff is
implicitly condoning the steps specified for achieving this 'return' and also
the lands which they may occupy, mentioned just a few verses later in Isaiah 11.
In that day the Lord will reach out his
hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria,
from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from
Hamath and from the islands of the sea... They will swoop down on the slopes of
Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east. They
will lay hands on Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
(Isaiah 11:11,14)
In 1996, in rebutting criticism
of their theological position, the ICEJ repudiated those who refused to acknowledge
the central place of Israel within God's continuing purposes,
While Gentile believers have been grafted into that household
of faith which is of Abraham (the commonwealth of Israel), replacement theology
within the Christian faith, which does not recognize the ongoing biblical purposes
for Israel and the Jewish People, is doctrinal error.26
2.2 Literalist Hermeneutic
The
ICEJ's theological position is essentially literalist and traditional dispensational,
emphasising in contemporary events the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy concerning
Israel. There appears little recognition, however, of the way in which the New
Testament writers regard these promises as fulfilled, annulled and universalised
in and through Jesus Christ. So for example, the promotional booklet of the ICEJ
published in 1993 contains 30 biblical references, 25 of which are taken from
the Old Testament and only five from the New Testament.27
Repeatedly they insist their position on Israel is synonymous with 'the' biblical
position. They appear unwilling to acknowledge that Christians have historically
reached a diversity of other conclusions based on the same passages. In response
to criticism from Kathy Kern of the Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT) in Hebron,
about the way in which the ICEJ 'blesses' Israel, their representative, Patrick
Goodenough insisted,
We are not a bunch of lunatics spreading a gospel of hatred against Arabs and we certainly do not justify human rights abuses against them. We simply believe the Bible. And that Bible, which we understand has not been revoked, makes it quite clear that God has given this land as an eternal inheritance to the Jewish people.28
The ICEJ also explicitly distinguishes the Church from Israel,
speaking of "the former and latter rains", and, "His
beloved people, both Jew and Gentile"29.
Whereas the New Testament emphasises that Jesus Christ has made the two one30,
so that in Christ there is now neither Jew nor Gentile31,
the ICEJ insist on maintaining a distinction and superior status for those of
Jewish ethnic descent, who remain, even apparently, apart from faith in Jesus
Christ, the chosen people, "His Jewish sons and daughters."32
In no uncertain terms God has made known
His intention to regather the scattered Jewish people and to plant them in the
land with His "whole heart and soul" (Jeremiah 32:41). We believe that
in the present massive wave of Soviet Jewish immigration to Israel (almost 400,000
since September 1989), the world is witnessing one of the most startling prophetic
fulfillments of our time - one that should deeply touch the heart of every Bible-believing
Christian and provoke him to action. Since its inception in 1980 the vision for
the release of Soviet Jewry has been a vital aspect of the work of the ICEJ. Along
with a growing number of Christians internationally, we have seen the Soviet Jewry
issue as pivotal in God's unfolding plan for Israel and the nations... Moreover,
it helped organise demonstrations at various Soviet Embassies to declare the Word
of the Lord to "Give up!" His people (Isaiah 43:6), and sought to inform
and challenge Christians to actively participate in the ongoing struggle...
Now that the doors have actually opened, God has given the ICEJ and Christians
in general unprecedented opportunities to become directly involved in the outworking
of His promises. It is an amazing fact that God, through His prophets, long ago
ordained that He would use Gentiles to bring back His Jewish sons and daughters.33
2.3 Annual Feast of Tabernacles Celebration
The ICEJ has gained significant status within right-wing Jewish
political circles for its sponsorship of an annual Feast of Tabernacles celebration
at which the Prime Minister of Israel is invited to address Christian Zionists
from around the world. Every Prime Minister since 1980 has attended and addressed
the celebration. ICEJ claim that this event, attended by up to five thousand pilgrims
from over 70 nations, is the largest single annual tourist event in Israel.34
They believe it to be a "prophetic foreshadowing" of the celebration
to be held during the Millennium after the Messiah returns. With reference to
the Jewish festivals of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, and in fulfilment
of Zechariah 14:16, the ICEJ claim,
God
commanded the people of Israel to keep three Feasts. Two of these have been fulfilled,
and only one still awaits its final fulfilment... The final fulfilment of this
Feast will take place when, during His reign, all nations will be commanded to
come up to Jerusalem to worship the King each year and to celebrate the Feast
of Tabernacles... The fact that we are already coming to celebrate this Feast
gives it an international flavour, and a prophetic foreshadowing of that Feast
of the Messiah that will be celebrated each year as the summit event of His earthly
reign.35
The ICEJ's preoccupation with a pre-Christian emphasis on
Judaism is no where more clearly evident than in the explanation for this Celebration.
The annual Celebration has become one of the world's finest
models of Davidic worship. It has grown to an event of eight evenings of worship
using music, dance, drama and the spoken word in Jerusalem's largest hall, a praise
march through the streets, and a host of concerts and musical offerings... At
the Feast, pilgrims and local people-Jews, Arabs, and the Prime Minister himself-join
together in singing and rejoicing over the God of Israel, who is bringing back
"His sons from afar, and his daughters from the ends of the earth."
(Isaiah 43:6,7)... Israel's needs and her central position in God's plan for these
endtimes are presented in musical settings.36
2.4 Reinterpretation of Christian Mission
The ICEJ consistently reinterprets the Christian faith and New Testament dispensationally,
convinced that Old Testament prophecies, the Jewish people and the State of Israel
remain central to God's present and future purposes. They define "biblical
responsibility toward the Jewish people"37
in terms of supporting Jews and encouraging them to make aliya and settle the
land God promised to Abraham, including the Occupied Territories. In relation
to support for Ethiopian Jews, for example, this is seen in terms of the hope
that "...their long exile will be at an end-their reunion will be complete."38
So, where Christians have traditionally understood Jesus to be referring to his
own disciples, the ICEJ narrows and Zionises such promises as in Matthew 25:40.
To begin or assist projects in Israel,
including economic ventures, for the well being of all who live here "Inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it
unto Me" (Matthew 25:40)
The term
"International Outreach," though normally used by Christians to describe
world-wide evangelisation through the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
has also been invested by the ICEJ with new meaning. Based on Old Testament prophecies
in Jeremiah and Isaiah, spoken to Jews in exile in Babylon, ICEJ suggest that
the promise of salvation still awaits fulfilment in the 'return' of Jews to Zion.
The biblical mandate concerning the proclamation
and the restoration of Israel is clear. It must be worldwide. "Here the word
of the Lord, O nations, and declare in the coastlands afar off, and say, 'He who
scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.'"
(Jeremiah 31:10) "Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the
earth, Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Lo, your salvation comes;'" (Isaiah
62:11a) In the same sense that the first apostles were commissioned by the Lord
to be his witnesses from Jerusalem to the uttermost parts of the earth, we also
feel compelled to proclaim the word of Israel's restoration, and the Christian's
response to it, to every country and in every place where there are believers.39
The comparison of the 'restoration' ministry of the ICEJ
with that of the apostolic commission to preach the gospel is without precedent.
There is no evidence in Jesus' teachings
that Israel will be reconstituted as a state to serve as God's primary vehicle
in the latter days. Jesus in fact rejects this teaching in Acts 1:6-8. Not only
does Jesus reject the futurist pro-Zionist state scenario, but he challenges true
disciples with the task of taking the gospel into the entire world, including
Jerusalem and the most difficult places. That mission has not changed, despite
the revision of Christianity by the ICEJ...40
The ICEJ has reinterpreted the purposes of God for the Jewish
people in terms of "comforting Israel". In this regard the ICEJ has
consistently and repeatedly compromised the biblical mandate to proclaim the gospel
to all people, including the Jews, yet continues to insist on designating itself
as an evangelical organisation.
2.5 Eschatology:
Signs of the Times
Although not stated as explicitly or
graphically as by some Christian Zionist authors, the ICEJ essentially holds to
a traditional premillennial dispensationalist eschatology. Their eschatology is
however more hopeful for the Jewish people than that of most premillennial dispensationalists.
The immigration of Soviet Jews to Israel and the Occupied Territories,
for example, is seen as evidence that these are indeed the Last Days and a necessary
precursor before the 'spiritual restoration' of the Jews occurs, before, during,
or after the return of the Messiah. Now is the time to act and speak on behalf
of Soviet Jewry. Jeremiah prophesied (Jer. 14:14-15) that the greatest exodus
of all will come from the north and other lands; it will be of such magnitude
that memories of the deliverance from Egypt will be eclipsed. It is my belief
that the spiritual restoration of Israel prophesied by Ezekiel for the latter
days cannot happen until this promise is fulfilled.41
Before the return of the Messiah, the ICEJ, through their
spokesman, Jan Willem van der Hoeven, believe, like other premillennial dispensationalists,
that there will be a final Battle of Armageddon, not so much of nations fighting
against one another, but rather against Israel.
Nations will increasingly shut Israel out of their councils until they
finally find themselves coming up against her at Armageddon (Zech. 14:2-3). Disaster
will surely strike every nation that turns against Zion (Isa. 60:12)... Repeatedly
the Bible states that the betrayal of Israel will be a major reason for the wrath
of God being heaped upon the nations in the latter days.42
In keeping with other contemporary dispensationalists, van
der Hoeven has also speculated that the power of America and the Western nations
are in decline, and that the Antichrist is alive today and will probably appear
from within the European Community during the 1990's.43
The ICEJ have, however, disassociated themselves from the apocalyptic dispensational
speculations of some Christian Zionism such as Hal Lindsey and Grant Jeffries.
Their understanding of the future of Israel,
...does NOT include the distasteful belief that "once all the Jews in the
world emigrate to Israel, two-thirds of them will die in Armegeddon (sic) and
one-third convert to Christianity." There are some who call themselves Christian
who subscribe to that teaching. We do not and have sought to refute it where possible.44
It is not clear therefore how the ICEJ views the impact
of Armageddon on the Jewish people or State of Israel. The ICEJ represents, at
least on the surface, a more optimistic, though non-evangelistic form of dispensational
Christian Zionism. They claim that one day peace will reign on earth and that
their objective is,
To be a channel of fulfilment
of God's promise that one day Israel and her Arab neighbours will live in peace
under the blessing of God, in the middle of the earth "In that day shall
Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst
of the land: Whom the Lord of Hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people,
and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance" (Isaiah 19:24-25)45
How this peace will be achieved and maintained and on what basis
Jews will live on earth during any Millennium is not answered in the ICEJ literature.
The implication may be drawn, however, that since they disavow evangelism among
Jews before Messiah returns, the ICEJ hold to a two covenant theology, one for
the Jews based on unconditional and eternal promises made to Abraham and the Law,
and the other primarily for Gentiles based on faith in Jesus Christ. The theology
of the ICEJ is therefore consistent with traditional dispensationalism which has
elevated a restored Israel to a superior role and position over the Church in
the future purposes of God and in which the latter is, as Darby taught, merely
a parenthesis to the former. Wagner offers this astute assessment of the theology
of the ICEJ.
If the church is deemphasized
and a modern secular/ethnic government assumes total authority, the Christian
message is clearly undermined. The gospel of Jesus becomes secondary. The task
of doing justice and proclaiming salvation in Jesus Christ is lost. The future
survival of all nations, their prosperity and destiny, are made conditional on
the degree to which they support the political state of Israel.46
Whereas the traditional understanding of the Christian mandate
is based on the conviction that Jesus Christ has reconciled both Jew and Gentile
to God and "...made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing
wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments..."
(Ephesians 2:14-15), the ministry of the ICEJ appears in some senses to have
rebuilt that wall, has encouraged the reintroduction of pre-Christian distinctions
and offered a favoured status for Jewish people based on race rather than on faith.
3. The Politics of the ICEJ
The ICEJ
claim that their support for the State of Israel is not primarily a political
but a spiritual act, and
...part of the
warfare to help protect the Lord's people and to help preserve them for that time
when the Lord will fulfill his promises (Ezek. 37; Zech. 12; Joel 3)47
The ICEJ's ministry is, nevertheless, highly politicised in
several significant ways.
3.1 Unconditional
Support for the State of Israel
The ICEJ has, from its very
inception, carefully courted the favour of the Israeli right-wing Likud political
establishment and lobbied foreign governments on behalf of Israel through their
Diplomatic Banquets.
The ICEJ sponsors
banquets and receptions in different countries through which Israel's ambassador
and embassy can be introduced to the local Christian leaders and believers...
The Israeli embassy and local Jewish communities have been very encouraged by
these events. Another important purpose of these receptions is to speak prophetically
to politicians and the leaders of the historical churches regarding the nations'
and the Church's stand towards the Jewish people. The invitation cards are written
so that they have a message in them concerning the restoration of Israel and recognising
the Jewish roots of our faith. Even if the invited leader did not attend, a seed
was planted by the invitation itself... The programme usually consists of a few
short speeches, a presentation to the Israeli Ambassador and his wife, a response
from him and some beautiful classical worship and Israeli music... Some of the
countries in which receptions were held recently are: the Philippines, France,
Spain, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Switzerland, New Zealand, Honduras, Canada
and USA.48
They proudly record the following
testimonials of Jewish political leaders.
On September
30th, 1980, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem was opened in the presence
of the world-renowned Mayor of the Holy City, Teddy Kollek. He commented, "This
has been one of the most moving ceremonies I have ever attended in my life...
The establishment of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem was welcomed
by Israelis from all walks of life."49
Allow me to tell you how much I, and Israel, appreciate your
[presence] here in Jerusalem, especially during these difficult days. Israel has
experienced through her existence many difficulties. Therefore, whenever we see
people that care, that are involved, and who show this by deeds, and b y words
- we appreciate this. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin50
We thank you all for being here, for coming here faithfully
every year. Your faith gives us strength. We know that you are many but we know
that you are representing many, many more. Mayor Teddy Kollek51
You have given life and relevance to Zechariah's prophecy that
in time to come that nations shall come up from year to year to keep the Feast
of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. I cannot conclude without adding my appreciation
for the Zionist Resolutions of your Basel Congress. Thank you all for coming.
President Chaim Herzog.52
Your sympathy, solidarity and belief in the future of Israel
- this to us is tremendous. We consider you part of the fulfilment of the prophetic
vision expressed by Zechariah in Chapter 14. Your presence here will always remain
a golden page in the book of eternity in heaven. May the Lord bless you out of
Zion. (Former) Chief Rabbi Shlomo Green.53
Your decision to establish your Embassy in Jerusalem at a time
when we were being abandoned because of our faith was an act of courage and a
symbol of the closeness between us. Your gestures and acts gave us the feeling
that we were not alone. The Late Prime Minister Menachem Begin.54
In 1988, the Israeli President, Chaim Herzog
addressed the Second International Christian Zionist Congress, held in Jerusalem.
When the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem was founded,
I do not think that even its devoted leaders expected a mass movement of such
dimensions to emerge in the course of a few years. Your understanding of the spiritual
roots of Zionism and of the special nature of Jerusalem, are unfortunately far
from universally held in other circles and movements. That you are joining us
in celebrating the fortieth anniversary of Israel's establishment is indeed a
logical outcome of your attachment to Scripture and to the people who have lived
by Scripture throughout the centuries. Nothing illustrates this more clearly than
the symbolic events of your movement: the Congress, born like Zionism in Basel,
now reconvened in Jerusalem, and the annual pilgrimage to the Feast of Tabernacles,
as foreseen by the Prophet Zechariah...55
Donald Wagner attended the opening session
of the Second International Christian Zionist Congress in 1988, at which the Israeli
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir also spoke.
Shamir's speech was devoid of spiritual content and seemed insensitive to a
Christian audience. The Christian Zionists, however, absolutely loved him, even
when he chided Christians about their lack of loyalty to Jews. Shamir's remarks
concentrated on the Palestinian Intifada, which he characterized as a "force
of evil" that was "endeavouring to undermine the stability of the country
and safety of its citizens." He added, "What is happening in Judea and
Samaria and Gaza is a continuation of the Arab's war against the Jewish people.
We have not returned to 'Eretz Israel' to be frightened by rocks and stones and
firebombs. He we are and here we will stay forever."56
Immediately, the crowd was on its feet cheering, applauding, and yelling, "Praise
the Lord," with hands waving above heads. I was fascinated by the scene:
a militant secular Zionist politician, still wanted by the British as a terrorist
until his election in 1983, receiving the affirmation a great Christian evangelist
might be accorded at a revival. Shamir concluded his speech in fifteen to eighteen
minutes, then left the stage, praising the ICEJ as "true friends of Israel."57
In 1991 the ICEJ received the Speaker of the
Knesset's Quality of Life Award, donating the prize toward housing for recently
arrived Soviet Jews. The citation included,
The Foundation recommends to award the prize to the International Christian
Embassy for its continuous and energetic activity in education and information
in Israel and abroad to strengthen the ties between Jews and Christians, for its
activity to bring understanding between Jews and Arabs in Israel and for its activity
to deepen Jewish and Zionist awareness amongst Christians around the world and
for encouraging immigration to Israel.58
With such impressive endorsements, especially
from the Israeli political Right, ICEJ has increasingly become the semi-official
voice of a broad coalition of Christian Zionist organisations, frequently cultivated,
exploited and quoted by the Israeli Government whenever a sympathetic Christian
view point was needed to enhance their own policies, and rebut Western political
or indigenous Christian criticism. When questioned about the tension the government
of Israel must face when working with such Christian organisations, Daniel Rossing,
the Director of Israeli Religious Affairs admitted,
We need support from whereever we can find it, but we keep these people on
a very short leash.59
Wagner observes,
Likud was also smart enough
to know that the evangelical and fundamentalist communities represented Israel's
largest potential block of political and economic support in the West60
Yitzhak Shamir, for example, acknowledged,
The Christian Embassy in Jerusalem and your pilgrimage to
this city carry a message which cannot be overlooked or discounted by governments
or statesmen on all five continents. It is a message of truth, a message of conscience,
a message of plurality, of decency, and of human brotherhood. (Former) Prime Minister
Yitzhak Shamir.61
In an amplification of the resolutions passed at the ICEJ
Third International Christian Zionist Congress, held in February 1996, the following
declarations reveal their explicit religio-political agenda.
Further, we are persuaded by the clear unction of our God
to express the sense of this Congress on the following concerns before us this
day,
Because of the sovereign purposes of God for the City,
Jerusalem must remain undivided, under Israeli sovereignty, open to all peoples,
the capitol of Israel only, and all nations should so concur and place their embassies
here.
As a faith bound to love and forgiveness we are appreciative
of the attempts by the Government of Israel to work tirelessly for peace. However,
the truths of God are sovereign and it is written that the Land which He promised
to His People is not to be partitioned... It would be further error for the nations
to recognize a Palestinian state in any part of Eretz Israel.
To the extent the Palestinian Covenant or any successor instrument calls for the
elimination of Israel or denies the right of Israel to exist within secure borders
in Eretz Israel, it should be abolished.
The Golan is part of
biblical Israel and is a vital strategic asset necessary for the security and
defense of the entire country...
The Islamic claim to Jerusalem,
including its exclusive claim to the Temple Mount, is in direct contradiction
to the clear biblical and historical significance of the city and its holiest
site, and this claim is of later religio-political origin rather than arising
from any Qur'anic text or early Muslim tradition...
While Gentile
believers have been grafted into that household of faith which is of Abraham (the
commonwealth of Israel), replacement theology within the Christian faith, which
does not recognize the ongoing biblical purposes for Israel and the Jewish People,
is doctrinal error.
Regarding Aliyah, we remain concerned for
the fate of imperilled Jewish People in diverse places, and seek to encourage
and assist in the continuing process of Return of the Exiles to Eretz Israel.
To this end we commit to work with Israel and to encourage the Diaspora to fulfil
the vision and goal of gathering to Israel the greater majority of all Jewish
People from throughout the world.62
The ICEJ consistently endorses and defends right wing members
of Likud and the smaller religious parties who are resolute in their commitment
to confiscate, annexe and build further settlements in the Occupied Territories
including Gaza and the Golan Heights.
ICEJ
provides a contemporary Christian adoption and advocacy of the more militant Likud
brand of political Zionism.63
Ironically, when criticised for uncritically supporting the policies of the, then,
Likud government, the ICEJ's denial reveals the extent of their refusal to countenance
political compromise or the negotiation of land for peace with the Palestinians.
We do not "throw unequivocal support behind Israeli
government policy". We disagreed strongly, for example, with the decision
by the current government to withdraw its troops from most of Hebron, the first
Jewish city in history... Our support for Israel and the Jewish people is based
not on Likud policy or Labour policy - but on our understanding of God's Word.64
The ICEJ appear to have disapproved of Netanyahu for failing
to comply with the 'biblical' stand of his more Zionist right-wing coalition religious
parties.
3.2 The Territorial Extent of Eretz
Israel
Central to the ICEJ's theological position is the
conviction that Eretz Israel belongs exclusively to the Jewish people by divine
mandate.
The fourth resolution of the 'Declaration
of the First International Christian Zionist Leadership Conference' held under
the auspices of the ICEJ in August 1985, was entitled, 'All Nations Should
Recognize Judea and Samaria as Belonging to Israel.' Its position on the Occupied
Territories is indistinguishable from that of the Likud Party.
The Congress declares that Judea and Samaria (inaccurately
termed 'the West Bank') are, and by biblical right as well as international law
and practice ought to be, a part of Israel.65
This claim is untrue. No other country in the world recognises
Israel's claim to the Occupied Territories in international law. On the basis
of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, the international community through the
United Nations has repeatedly condemned Israel's continued occupation of territory
gained by war, for example in resolutions 242 and 338. The ICEJ uses biblical
terms to invest this illegal occupation with an air of legitimacy, and thereby
justify God's apparent favour toward on ethnic group at the expense of all others.
The Third International Christian Zionist Congress held in February 1996 reaffirmed
a Proclamation which included the following amplification of these Zionist claim,
According to God's distribution of nations, the Land of Israel
has been given to the Jewish People by God as an everlasting possession by an
eternal covenant. The Jewish People have the absolute right to possess and dwell
in the Land, including Judea, Samaria, Gaza and the Golan.66
3.3 The Jewish Settlements
in the Occupied Territories
In 1985 nine members of staff
resigned from the ICEJ because the leadership were increasingly identified with
the Likud party. The Rev. Audeh Rantisi, then Principal of the Evangelical Boys
Home in Ramallah claimed it was precipitated by a decision on the part of the
ICEJ to fund a Jewish settlement in the Occupied Territories. He went on to say,
Christians have no embassy. Our message is
that of reconciliation between ourselves and our sisters and brothers and with
God. All efforts not geared for these principles will ultimately fail.67
Describing as 'madness' the hand-over
of much of Hebron to the Palestinian Authority, Jan Willem van der Hoeven,
however, insisted, The Jews have the divine right to live wherever they
choose in their own land.68
On the threatened negotiations with Syria over the Golan Heights, van der
Hoeven supported the claims of Jewish settlers there that,
The Golan is part of biblical Israel and is a vital strategic asset necessary
for the security and defense of the entire country...69
In their support for the confiscation, occupation and
settlement of the West Bank, the ICEJ has, in the words of Don Wagner, reduced
God, "...to a cosmic real estate agent who will allow one people to suffer
and be removed from their cities and farms..." reducing, "...eternal
truths to material terms. This truncated gospel of reductionism is inconsistent
with the message of Jesus..."70
3.4 Jerusalem the Eternal Undivided
Capital of Israel
The ICEJ, like other Zionists, regard Jerusalem
as the undivided eternal capital of Israel, and central to God's future purposes
for the Jews on earth. So, in 1992, the ICEJ sponsored various receptions marking
the 25th anniversary of what they referred to as the "Reunification of
Jerusalem."71
In 1996 this position was reiterated.
Because
of the sovereign purposes of God for the City, Jerusalem must remain undivided,
under Israeli sovereignty, open to all peoples, the capitol of Israel only, and
all nations should so concur and place their embassies here.72
With the final status peace talks
with the Palestinians about to resume, in 1999 the ICEJ launched a world-wide
petition to demonstrate 'Christian' support for Israel's claim over Jerusalem
to be presented to the Israeli government in March 2000 during the next Christian
Zionist Congress, when "...tremendous pressure will be exerted to re-divide
the city." The petition affirmed,
We
the undersigned, support Israel's exclusive claim to sovereignty over united Jerusalem
as the capital of Israel. We commend Israel for its exemplary record in guaranteeing
access to the biblical sites in Jerusalem and throughout Israel, and support the
continuation of Israel in this role.73
3.5 The Rebuilding of the Jewish Temple
The ICEJ have been careful to avoid inflammatory statements concerning the necessity
for the Jewish temple to be rebuilt. However, at the Third International Christian
Zionist Congress in 1996 the following affirmation was endorsed.
The Islamic claim to Jerusalem, including its exclusive claim
to the Temple Mount, is in direct contradiction to the clear biblical and historical
significance of the city and its holiest site, and this claim is of later religio-political
origin rather than arising from any Qur'anic text or early Muslim tradition...74
3.6 Attitude toward the Arabs States and Palestinians
Although the ICEJ claims to have sponsored token humanitarian projects among Arab
Palestinians, they are consistently critical of Islam and Arabs generally and
have been a divisive influence between Jewish Israelis and Palestinian Christians.
A newsletter published in 1987, for example, listed five ways in which the ICEJ
supporters could 'come against the spirit of Islam'75
Israel has been in struggle for survival
since its beginning. Our job is to stand on God's Word against all opposition
and to be vessels of mercy for the Jewish people (Romans 11:31).76
In insisting that Israel has the exclusive right to the
Occupied Territories, the ICEJ implicitly denies the right of the Palestinians
to political autonomy or statehood.
...the
truths of God are sovereign and it is written that the Land which He promised
to His People is not to be partitioned... It would be further error for the nations
to recognize a Palestinian state in any part of Eretz Israel. To the extent the
Palestinian Covenant or any successor instrument calls for the elimination of
Israel or denies the right of Israel to exist within secure borders in Eretz Israel,
it should be abolished.77
Jan Willem van der
Hoeven, the then chief-spokesman for the ICEJ was even more outspoken,
The Palestinians have taken by the sword
everything that doesn't belong to them. Palestinians are under Israeli occupation
because they asked for it... It was not because Israel was so aggressive, but
because they wanted to throw the Israelis into the sea. The Jews are kind enough
to let them live here without killing them.78
Based on an interview with van der Hoeven,
Felix Corley claims, "He has little sympathy for Palestinians, except
for those like his wife who are prepared to accept Israeli rule.""79
Patrick Goodenough, of the ICEJ's Middle East Digest responded
to that critical report published in the Church of England Newspaper, with the
following,
Corley speaks of the local churchmen
who are critical of the ICEJ's 'political interpretations of Scripture'. Point:
many Palestinian clergy have long used the Scripture to back their pro-PLO positions.
They have stood quietly by as Yasser Arafat labelled Jesus 'the first Palestinian
revolutionary' and - as recently as March - while his followers erected three
crosses at a protest site in Jerusalem. We hear no church voices decrying such
blasphemous abuse of the symbols of our faith by the followers of another. I hardly
think these churchmen are in a position to accuse anyone of abusing the Bible
for political ends.80
Although claiming many Palestinians identify with their
perspective on Israel, the ICEJ claim it is not possible to include their perspective
in their radio and television programmes due to intimidation.
Unfortunately it is not possible to include Arab speakers as
their participation in a programme favourable to Israel would endanger their lives.81
The result of the ICEJ's uncritical endorsement of Zionism essentially
demonises the Palestinians and, 'negates Palestinian claims to their land,
livelihood, beliefs and very presence in the land.'82
3.7 Criticism of Palestinian Autonomy
Critical of the Israeli government's decision to allow limited Palestinian autonomy
in Bethlehem, the ICEJ, quoted in the Sunday Times, on Christmas Eve 1995
predicted that the celebrations that night would, '...look more like Arafat's
birthday than that of Jesus.'83
3.8 The Emigration of Soviet
Jews to Israel
The ICEJ has been proactive in encouraging,
coercing and facilitating the immigration of Soviet Jews to Israel/Palestine.
It is based on the theological conviction that it is God's intention to "...bring
back His people...84
to Palestine. Claiming that an estimated 3 million Jews still in the "land
of the north" ICEJ believe, "God has promised an exodus that
would exceed in greatness the Exodus from Egypt."85
During the period 1990-1992 the ICEJ raised several million
dollars to fund special flights to Israel of Soviet Jews. The following description
gives an impression of the early days of this ministry.
On May 28, 1990, in the early hours of the morning, the first Christian sponsored
flight of Soviet Jews arrived at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. As the weary new
immigrants descended from the El Al plane to the crowd of joyful, singing Christians
waiting, many broke into tears. Like electricity the news was spread throughout
the Israeli media later that day. It was like a prophetic moment in time that
touched people across the nation and spread during weeks and months to Christians
worldwide. The branches of the ICEJ have now sponsored more than forty flights
on new immigrants. The airlift project, which is still going on, has led the way
for more cooperation with the Jewish Agency in this tremendous challenge to bring
the Jewish people home86.
Since 1991 the ICEJ have also worked in partnership with the
UK based Good News Travel Bus Company and Jewish Agency to bus Soviet Jews to
several Eastern European cities such as Warsaw from where they could be flown
to Israel. In one year they claim to have assisted 1500 Soviet Jews from the Ukraine
to reach Israel in this way.
In order to
meet this larger challenge, the ICEJ is now building an internal transportation
network in the Ukraine consisting of buses, mini-buses and family cars to transport
Jews from different cities and towns to local airports. Apartments are also being
leased to serve as local offices and temporary hostels for emigrants in transit.87
The ICEJ conceded that by 1992, the number of Soviet immigrants
was declining and therefore a new, more intimidating strategy was devised, to
persuade Jews to leave Russia for Israel. Jeremiah had promised repentant Jews
of his own day they would eventually return to Israel from their Babylonian captivity.
Under the banner 'The "Fishers" Task,' the ICEJ applied Jeremiah
16:16 to their own work.
"But now
I will send for many fishermen," declares the LORD, "and they will catch
them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on
every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks."
Believing that "Many Jews in the former USSR are sitting on the fence concerning Israel." The ICEJ initiated the production of 'educational' material and videos distributed among Jewish communities in the Soviet Union to persuade Jews to leave before it was too late. Using a concert tour and a double-decker bus equipped with a theatre and audio-visual exhibition about Israel, an ICEJ team also toured the Soviet Union between 1990-1992. Reinterpreting Jeremiah 16, the ICEJ claimed,
The
task of the fisher is to encourage them with a 'good report' of the land like
Joshua and Caleb, before God sends the hunters. The biblical fact is that in Israel,
they have a 'future and a hope'...88
The implication is clear, as in pre-war Germany, 'leave
before it is too late.' To consolidate this ministry, the ICEJ also founded
the Raoul Wallenberg Centre in Budapest in Hungary, named after the Swedish diplomat
who saved thousands of Jews from the Nazi holocaust. This became their Eastern
European headquarters co-ordinating efforts to encourage Jews in the former USSR
and Eastern Europe to make aliya and emigrate to Israel. In 1996, at the Third
International Christian Zionist Congress, the following affirmation was endorsed.
Regarding Aliyah, we remain concerned for the fate of imperiled
Jewish People in diverse places, and seek to encourage and assist in the continuing
process of Return of the Exiles to Eretz Israel. To this end we commit to work
with Israel and to encourage the Diaspora to fulfill the vision and goal of gathering
to Israel the greater majority of all Jewish People from throughout the world.89
Controversially, the ICEJ has been
active in encouraging Soviet Jews to move into new settlements in East Jerusalem
and the Occupied Territories, largely oblivious of the fact that they were being
used to displace the indigenous Palestinians, in violation of international law.
During the October 1991 Feast of Tabernacles festivities, representatives
from twelve countries presented checks to Prime Minister Shamir to finance the
settlements. Shamir told them that the arrival of Soviet and Ethiopian Jews confirms
that we are "living in a period of the fulfillment of prophecy and miracles."
90
3.9 Economic and Financial Assistance for Israel
Part of the ICEJ's 'outreach' involves promoting ways of helping Israel economically.
ICEJ, for example, encourages supporters to invest in Israel through purchasing
shares in the International Christian Investment Corporation.
This money, injected into Israel by Christians, wisely invested,
will draw a yearly dividend for the investors. Those who wish to be involved in
the Embassy's economic outreach, the importing of Israeli products, joint ventures,
breaking of the Arab boycott, or opening Israeli shops can write for further information...
By helping Israel economically and financially we are seeing the beginning of
the fulfilment of the prophecy that one day the wealth of the nations will flow
to Israel.91
During the 1980's the ICEJ was also politically active in the
destabilisation of Central America, as a channel for the funding of the United
States backed Contras.
When the ICEJ proudly
established an "embassy" in Honduras and in Guatemala, they worked closely
with the government of Israel in bringing funds into the countries. ICEJ was granted
diplomatic status in both countries and allowed to bring goods and funds into
the country without inspection by customs agents. In September 1988, the investigative
journal Israeli Foreign Affairs noted that the ICEJ "ambassador to Honduras,"
Marta Rodriguez, told journalist Deborah Preusch that ICEJ had brought in vehicles
and other items for the Contras. Other fundamentalist Christian groups that cooperated
with ICEJ, include Gospel Crusade of Bradenton, Florida, whose head, Gerald Derstine,
is a founding member of ICEJ. This project, in close cooperation with the Israeli
government and its embassies in Guatemala and Honduras, operated in total violation
of United States law and policy.92
It is interesting to speculate whether the ICEJ was also
involved in sanctions busting or brokering the close military and economic co-operation
between Israel and South Africa during the apartheid years.
3.10 Lobbying of the United States Government on Behalf of Israel
ICEJ has been particularly active in lobbying the US government and other governments
in co-operation with and on behalf of the government of Israel. During the Second
Christian Zionist Congress, held in April 1988, a member of the Swiss government
and member of Parliament from Bern spoke about the importance of political lobbying.
He urged participants to form a political party in tier own
counties in cooperation with ICEJ and to campaign vigorously in their home countries
for PLO offices to be removed.93
Wagner has traced the impact and extent of the ICEJ's political
lobbying activities in the USA, and gives several examples.
On February 23, 1984, the ICEJ sent Richard A. Hellman to Washington
D.C., to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign relations, arguing
that the U.S. Government should move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In
the course of his testimony, Hellman claimed that the ICEJ was a "spiritual
rather than political" organization. The Israeli lobby AIPAC organized the
pro-Israel testimony and included Rev. Jerry Falwell of the Moral Majority...
In February 1991, at the National Prayer Network for Israel, right wing political
activist Ed McAteer announced the founding of Christian Israel Public Affairs
Committee (CIPAC), modelled after the powerful Israeli lobby AIPAC. Its board
of directors included AIPAC director Tom Dine and Herbert Zweibon, president of
Americans for a Safe Israel, another powerful pro-Israeli lobby organization.
Both groups have for fifteen years espoused a Likud political ideology. The goals
of CIPAC matched those of QAIPAC but added the Christian dispensational rationale.
Its director, Richard Hellman, former aide of U.S. Senator Howard Baker, has been
a long term ICEJ supporter. The major emphasis of CIPAC became supporting $10
billion in U.S. loan guarantees for Israel toward the settlement of Soviet Jews
in Israel and the West Bank. During the fall of 1991 and winter spring of 1992,
CIPAC, like AIPAC, found significant opposition to their lobbying for the loan
guarantees from the Bush administration. The administration linked the loan guarantees
to the illegal construction of settlements in the Occupied Territories, which
it decried as an "obstacle to peace in the Middle East." ICEJ spokesman
Jan Willem van der Hoeven told the Jerusalem Post that the "religious Christian
community finds the Bush administration's policy on the loan guarantees totally
unacceptable." He estimated that eighty percent of America's 40 million Bible
Belt Christians would support the guarantees.94
3.11 Coverage of the Jerusalem Tunnel Incident
In October 1996, Netanyahu the Israeli Prime Minister spoke at the Jerusalem 3000
rally organised by the ICEJ, to support Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem. Following
the provocative opening of an underground tunnel by the Israelis from the Western
Wall underneath the Moslem Quarter, he was cheered when he insisted the tunnel,
'...is open. It will stay open. It will always stay open.'95
The political activities of the ICEJ
on behalf of Israel have been and continue to be both significant and comprehensive.
4. A Critical Summary of the Distinctive Christian Zionism
of ICEJ
The ICEJ's distinctive form of Christian Zionism
is best summarised in their own words in the following way.
To show concern for the Jewish people and the reborn State of Israel, by being
a focus of comfort... To stimulate Christian leaders, churches and organisations
to become effective influences in their countries on behalf of the Jewish people.96
Biblical Christian Zionism includes the following basic tenets:
Belief that the restoration of the modern State of Israel is no political accident,
but rather a visible fulfillment of God's word and promise (Isa. 11:10-12; Jer.
31:10-20).97
Historically, it is significance that the same convictions
which guided the early British Christian Zionists such Thomas Brightman and Henry
Finch, later to become central to the dispensationalism of John Nelson Darby and
Cyrus Scofield's Reference Bible, also under gird the work of the ICEJ today.98
The ICEJ is a self-appointed and self-regulated organisation unaccountable to
the wider Christian community and vehemently opposed by the indigenous Christian
community of the Middle East.
Theologically, the ICEJ has, without precedent, reinterpreted the Christian mandate from proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ 'to the Jew first' into a social gospel serving the expansionist political agenda of the modern state of Israel. The ICEJ's justification of Israel's racist and apartheid policies on biblical grounds is contributing to the undermining of Christian witness among both Jews and Moslems, as well as the destruction of the indigenous Christian presence in the Holy Land.
Many regard this as nothing less than apostasy and, "an
anachronistic return to the Judaizing tendency the early church rejected at the
first ecumenical council, recorded in Acts 15."99
Politically, the ICEJ has repeatedly identified itself uncritically
and unconditionally with the Israeli political Right, defending from international
criticism, Israel's military occupation and settlement expansion programme of
Syria's Golan Heights and the Occupied Territories. The ICEJ has from its inception
remained implacably opposed to the aspirations of the Palestinians for political
autonomy in the pre-1967 borders of the West Bank, a shared Jerusalem, and the
right of return for refugees.
Wagner offers
seven reasons why the ICEJ should be rejected as a Christian organisation.
The following is a summary of his arguments.
1. The ICEJ allows the gospel and lordship of Jesus Christ to become subservient
to the modern political ideology of Zionism.
2. The International
Christian Embassy is guilty of the sin of idolatry by worshipping state power
in Israel and benefiting from its praises.
3. The ICEJ
obscures the call to reconciliation in the Christian gospel, especially as it
applies to Palestinians and Israelis.
4. The ICEJ reduces
the gospel to material and partisan political dimensions while it ignores the
ultimate principles of the Christian message and its immediate kingdom implications.
5. The ICEJ has become a heretical cult by reducing the Christian church to
a mere "parenthesis" and by rejecting the local Christian community.
6. The ICEJ represents anti-mission activity in the Middle East, in relation
to both Islam and Judaism.
7. The ICEJ does not take Jesus
Christ as its alpha and omega but focuses on Zionism in theory and practice.100
Wagner's conclusion is unequivocal.
Thus the ICEJ is a pseudo-Christian movement that attempts to baptize a modern
political ideology with some Scripture and revisionist Christian dispensational
theology. In fact, the ICEJ goes well beyond classical premillennial dispensationalism
in its claims that modern Israel fulfills Scripture and that its actions are beyond
reproach.101
Revised 9 June 1999
11,500 words
This
chapter is incomplete. Please return to the web site in the near future for an
expanded version. I would be grateful for constructive criticisms and additional
leads on the ICEJ.
1 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 4.
2 Donald E. Wagner, Anxious for Armageddon (Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Herald Press, 1995), p. 97.
3 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 6.
4 MECC, What is Western Fundamentalist Christian Zionism? rev. edn. (Limassol, Cyprus, Middle East Council of Churches, 1988), p. 11.
5 Donald E. Wagner, Anxious for Armageddon (Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Herald Press, 1995), p. 97.
6 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 4.
7 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 25.
8 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 25.
9 Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord (Jerusalem, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, 1991), brochure.
10 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 5.
11 Felix Corley, 'Is Radical Zionism an Option for Christians?' Church of England Newspaper, 7 February 1997, p. 7.
12 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 4.
13 Wagner, Anxious., p. 100.
14 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), pp. 19-20.
15 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 23.
16 Based on a conversation with Tom Getman, Director of World Vision, Jerusalem, 30 May 1999.
17 Felix Corley, 'Is Radical Zionism an Option for Christians?' Church of England Newspaper, 7 February 1997, p. 7.
18 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 25.
19 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 24.
20 Wagner, Anxious., p. 103.
21 Interview with Ray Lockhart, vicar of Christ Church, Jerusalem, 1994.
22 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 22.
23 International Christian Zionist Congress Proclamation, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem. 25-29 February 1996.
24 Wagner, Anxious., p. 100.
25 Johann Lukoff, A Christian Response to Israel (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1985).
26 International Christian Zionist Congress Proclamation, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem. 25-29 February 1996.
27 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993).
28 Kathy Kern, 'Blessing Israel? Christian Embassy Responds' Christian Peacemakers Team, Internet:menno.org.cpt.news@MennoLink.org 2 November 1997.
29 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 15.
30 Ephesians 2:14.
31 Galatians 3:28.
32 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 9.
33 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 9.
34 Patrick Goodenough, 'Jerusalem journalist hits back for Zionists' Church of England Newspaper, 4 May 1997, p. 13. Additional material from the unpublished portions of Goodenough's extensive letter to the CEN.
35 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 15.
36 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 14.
37 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 10.
38 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 18.
39 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 22.
40 Wagner, Anxious., p. 112.
41 Jan Willem van der Hoeven, A Christian Response to Israel, Pamphlet quoted in Don Wagner, Anxious for Armageddon (Scottdale, Herald Press, 1995), p. 102
42 van der Hoeven, Christian.,
43 Jan Willem van der Hoeven, Israel and the Nations (Jerusalem, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem, 1988). Audiotape. Quoted in Wagner, Anxious., p. 102.
44 Kathy Kern, 'Blessing Israel? Christian Embassy Responds' Christian Peacemakers Team, Internet:menno.org.cpt.news@MennoLink.org 2 November 1997.2w
45 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 5.
46 Wagner, Anxious., p. 104.
47 Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord (Jerusalem, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, 1991) brochure.
48 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 27.
49 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 6.
50 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 7.
51 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 7.
52 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 7.
53 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 7.
54 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 7.
55 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 8.
56 Yitzhak Shamir, "Keynote Address," West Jerusalem: Second Christian Zionist Congress, April 10, 1988.
57 Wagner, Anxious., p. 99.
58 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 8.
59 Wagner, Anxious., p. 104.
60 Wagner, Anxious., p. 100.
61 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 7.
62 International Christian Zionist Congress Proclamation, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem. 25-29 February 1996.
63 Wagner, Anxious., p. 97.
64 Kathy Kern, 'Blessing Israel? Christian Embassy Responds' Christian Peacemakers Team, Internet:menno.org.cpt.news@MennoLink.org 2 November 1997.
65 Declaration of the First International Christian Zionist Leadership Conference (Jerusalem, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem, 1985)
66 International Christian Zionist Congress Proclamation, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem. 25-29 February 1996.
67 "Resignations Damage Christian Embassy Credibility," Al-Fajr, Jerusalem, March 21, 1985. Quoted in Wagner, Anxious., p. 107.
68 Felix Corley, 'Is Radical Zionism an Option for Christians?' Church of England Newspaper, 7 February 1997, p. 7.
69 International Christian Zionist Congress Proclamation, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem. 25-29 February 1996.
70 Wagner, Anxious., p. 111.
71 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 24.
72 International Christian Zionist Congress Proclamation, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem. 25-29 February 1996.
73 'The Jerusalem Petition, Statement of Support', ICEJ, Jerusalem, 9 April 1999.
74 International Christian Zionist Congress Proclamation, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem. 25-29 February 1996.
75 Newsletter, (Pittsburgh, Pa. Christian Embassy Consulate, 1987), Quoted in Wagner, Anxious., p. 105.
76 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 11.
77 International Christian Zionist Congress Proclamation, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem. 25-29 February 1996.
78 Felix Corley, 'Is Radical Zionism an Option for Christians?' Church of England Newspaper, 7 February 1997, p. 7.
79 Felix Corley, 'Is Radical Zionism an Option for Christians?' Church of England Newspaper, 7 February 1997, p. 7.
80 Patrick Goodenough, 'Jerusalem journalist hits back for Zionists' Church of England Newspaper, 4 May 1997, p. 13.
81 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 29.
82 Wagner, Anxious., p. 106.
83 Andy Goldberg, 'Christmas dissent hits Bethlehem...' Sunday Times, 24th December 1995, p. 14.
84 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 11.
85 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 11.
86 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 9.
87 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 10.
88 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 10.
89 International Christian Zionist Congress Proclamation, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem. 25-29 February 1996.
90 Wagner, Anxious., p. 109.
91 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 28.
92 Wagner, Anxious., p. 109.
93 Wagner, Anxious., p. 108.
94 Wagner, Anxious., p. 108.
95 Patrick Cockburn, Independent. 30 September 1996, p. 9.
96 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Jerusalem, ICEJ, 1993), p. 5.
97 The Second Christian Zionist Congress (Jerusalem, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem, 1988)
98 Wagner, Anxious., p. 101.
99 Wagner, Anxious., p. 104.
100 Wagner, Anxious., pp. 109-113.
101
Wagner, Anxious., p. 113