Frank Bruni, "Christians Loving Jews": Thank Goodness for a Little Love in the World

In a nonjudgmental New York Times op-ed entitled "Christians Loving Jews," Frank Bruni examines the depth of support of America's evangelical Christian community for Israel, as evidenced by their leaders' turnout for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech to Congress. Explaining this support, Bruni writes:

"Some evangelical Christians’ interest in Israel reflects an interpretation of the Bible’s prophetic passages that’s known as premillennial dispensationalism. It maintains that the End of Days can play out as God intends only if Jews govern Israel and have reconstructed a temple on the Temple Mount, where there’s now a mosque.

But just a subset of evangelicals subscribe to that. Others are motivated by their belief, rooted in scripture, that God always intended Israel for Jews and that honoring that and keeping Israel safe is a way of honoring God. God’s blessing of America, they feel, cannot be divorced from America’s backing of Israel.

. . . .

The attacks of 9/11 and the spreading threat of Islamic extremists have further strengthened American evangelicals’ sense of kinship with Jews in Israel, whom they see as crucial partners in fighting butchers who have recently singled out Christians for slaughter."

Bruni compares the support for Israel of evangelical Christians with that of American Jews:

"JEWS in the Democratic Party are more divided on the actions that conservative Israeli leaders like Netanyahu have taken in defense of Israel than evangelical Christians in the Republican Party are."

However, Netanyahu is not as conservative as Bruni thinks. As reported last week by The Times of Israel in article entitled "New document said to reveal PM’s concessions to Palestinians," we learned that a draft document has emerged indicating that Netanyahu was willing to make meaningful compromises to reach peace with the Palestinians:

"According to the document, Netanyahu agreed to negotiate a peace deal on the basis of the 1967 borders, with land swaps; to acknowledge Palestinian aspirations in East Jerusalem; to evacuate settlers from the West Bank; and to allow those who so choose to remain under Palestinian rule."

These are dark days for Israel when France must force Obama to stiffen his demands before reaching a nuclear deal with Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei, providing Iran with the ability to manufacture an arsenal of atomic weapons without any constraints after the passing of 10 years.

Israel is deeply indebted to America's evangelical Christian community for its continued survival.