The oldest Christian sects and the antiwar American right are on one side. Israel’s government, neoconservatives, and American Christian Zionists are on the other.
In the previous month, over 1,000 U.S. Christian pastors and key figures visited Israel, making it “the largest group of American Christian leaders to visit Israel since its founding.” According to Fox News, this trip was funded by Israel’s government to “offer training and equip attendees to act as informal ambassadors for Israel within their communities.”
These visitors consisted mainly of Christian Zionists—predominantly evangelicals—who interpret the establishment of Israel as fulfillment of biblical prophecy, blending modern politics with ancient religious beliefs. For them, allegiance to Israel is central to their faith. A noted figure among Christian Zionists is Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, who is considered a prominent advocate.
Just last week, leaders representing some of the oldest Christian churches released a statement denouncing “damaging ideologies, such as Christian Zionism,” which they said “mislead the public” and “create confusion,” noting that these ideas have gained traction among certain political figures in Israel and beyond who “aim to promote a political agenda that could jeopardize the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the wider Middle East.”
Certain political figures, indeed.
This declaration, endorsed by the “Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in the Holy Land,” is available on the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate’s official website. The signatories include Roman Catholic Pierbattista Cardinal Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, along with leaders from various Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, non-Latin Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran communities.
The opposition to Christian Zionism extends beyond these Middle Eastern church leaders.
In a recent interview with evangelical influencer Bryce Crawford, Tucker Carlson remarked, “if you think that murdering tens of thousands of children, which the Israeli government has done, is consistent with Christianity, we’re reading a different manuscript. I just don’t see that at all.”
Carlson went on to say, “What gets me going is watching Christian preachers who are paid by the government of Israel take free vacations to Israel where they stock up on talking points and propaganda and then inflict all of that propaganda on their congregations and then use the Bible to justify it.”
“You’re justifying violence,” he asserted. “Yeah, against innocents.”
Carlson echoed similar points during a speech at the Turning Point USA conference last December.
Addressing a large conservative and predominantly Christian youth audience, Carlson said, “But there are people, particularly Christian ministers, I have noticed, who are preaching a political message and pretending that it’s the gospel. So let me just say, and I think my theology is right, I’m hardly a theologian, God is not on any country’s side. Certain countries can decide to be on God’s side. And that is true for people too. Okay? God doesn’t have a partisan affiliation. He doesn’t have a nationality. And if someone is telling you otherwise, that is just not true.”
He stressed that inflicting harm on innocents cannot be justified within Christian beliefs.
“Because killing people who committed no crime is immoral,” Carlson said. “It will always be immoral. And people who do it will be punished for it. And nations that endorse it will be punished for it. That’s a fact.”
“You are witnessing a concerted push to convince you otherwise. Oh, it’s fine. They deserved it,” Carlson continued, examining the moral dimensions of the conflict in Palestine. “Really, did their children deserve it? If a man commits a crime, do we kill his kids? I don’t care if it’s in Minneapolis or Gaza City. No, we don’t.”
Christian Zionists often reject the notion that a genocide is occurring in Gaza, thus prioritizing allegiance to Israel over biblical injunctions against harming the innocent.
“And to see Christian pastors make excuses for that is one of the most—” Carlson paused. “And that’s not a partisan question. That is not a political question. That is the only question that matters. Do we have the right to murder people?”
“And the resounding answer that Christianity provides us is no,” he concluded.
Carlson, as a Christian, clearly voices strong objections to how Christian Zionists appear to justify or overlook the deaths of countless innocents in Gaza, echoing concerns expressed by Jerusalem church leaders in their statement.
He is not alone among American right-wing voices expressing such discontent. Former Republican congressman Matt Gaetz voiced similar complaints during a recent interview with Carlson. Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly has identified herself as a supporter of Israel but pushed back against the idea that criticism of Israel and its policies automatically equates to antisemitism. She has also noted that “everybody under 30 is against Israel.”
Populist figure Steve Bannon drew a distinction between Israel-first advocates and America-first proponents in his fiery address at TPUSA.
He was direct in naming key figures—beginning with the leading pro-Israel voice on the Daily Wire.
“Benji Shapiro sat up here last night and he was all, you know, I’m going to, you know, it’s all about the truth.” Bannon said. “Ben, you can’t handle the truth.”
Bannon elaborated on the Israel-related issues within the American right, including the late Charlie Kirk: “What is ‘Greater Israel’? It’s not about Israel itself. It’s about an expansionist Israel, an imperial Israel that Netanyahu and that crowd have imagined. And the Israel first crowd is Ben Shapiro, Tel Aviv Mark Levin, and many others that want to put that ahead of America’s interests. Charlie Kirk fought that.”
He added, “You know where Charlie Kirk fought it? In the White House. I know, because I was there. When I went back, Charlie Kirk was working with [former Trump White House Personnel Office’s Sergio Gor] to make sure that we didn’t get sucked into a land war, a decapitation of the Iranian elites that would lead to a massive civil war that American troops would get pulled into, because that was Netanyahu’s plan from the beginning.”
Currently, a divide is evident—or deepening—between American “Israel First” Christian Zionists and neoconservatives, and “America First” right-wingers who align with ancient traditional churches that prioritize their own Christians in Jerusalem.
Pro-Israel evangelicals and their neocon allies claim Zionism is an inherent part of the Christian identity, while members of the oldest Christian churches reject this, regarding Zionism as heresy and idolatry.
This division became more apparent on Tuesday when Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles, a Catholic, stated that he does not identify as a Christian Zionist.
“I don’t think the Jews are entitled to the Holy Land because of some religious premise,” Knowles remarked.
Mark Levin—who is Jewish yet appears heavily dedicated to persuading American Christians to embrace theological Zionism—shared Knowles’s video, adding bluntly, “No offense but nobody gives a sh*t. Just saying.”
Knowles’ Catholic and Daily Wire colleague Matt Walsh responded sharply to Levin. Walsh, aged 39, delivered a scathing reply to the experienced radio host.
“It’s pretty clear that a lot of people give a shit what Michael has to say,” Walsh argued. “On the other hand I’m not sure that I’ve ever met anyone under the age of 70 who cares much about what you say, Mark. Probably best to leave these kinds of insults to people who are far more relevant.”
Expect this dispute to become more acrimonious and the divisions to grow, including between the older Zionist faction and the younger America First adherents.
It’s important to recognize that while Israel’s government counts on certain right-wing Christians in the U.S. as allies, a very different group of Middle Eastern Christians continue to live “in the very land where our Lord lived, taught, suffered, and rose from the dead.” They also have conservative Christian American supporters, including arguably the most prominent conservative voice in the United States.
Original article: www.theamericanconservative.com
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