Will Christians Urge UK Leaders to Seek U.S. Support by Rejecting Paris/UN Anti-Israel Moves?

In a recent Facebook post, conservative Christian leader Gary Bauer provided some advice to UK leaders who want support from the U.S.: support Israel at the upcoming Paris and UN meetings.

UK interest in developing a positive relationship with the Trump administration has been growing. According to a January 6 report, UK officials confirmed that Prime Minister Theresa May is planning to meet with President-elect Donald Trump this coming spring. On January 8, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson met with advisors to Trump. A January 14 UK poll found 49 percent of voters support the PM in pursuing a “close relationships with Donald Trump because it is in Britain’s best interests.”

Bauer suggested that the UK reject future anti-Israel proclamations or votes at the January 15 Paris Middle East conference. On December 23, the UK supported UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which declared Israeli settlements illegal and called for a return to the 1967 borders.

There is considerable speculation that the outcome of the January 15 Paris meeting is intended to serve as the basis for additional UN Security Council (UNSC) actions later this week. These actions could include a UNSC resolution, a UNSC presidential statement, or a UNSC press statement attempting to impose some of the parameters of a final agreement on Israel regarding a future Palestinian state.

Since it is unlikely that the Obama administration would come to Israel’s aid by vetoing a UN resolution or refusing to agree to a presidential or press statement, it falls to Theresa May to defend Israel from the UN gang instead.

Whether or not the estimated fifty million conservative Christians in the U.S. would follow Bauer’s lead and ask the UK to reject such actions against Israel remains to be seen. But here are some reasons why Christians may want to defend Israel in its time of need:

1. Moving the Holy City out of Israel. Many Christians see a deep historical connection between the Old City (Church of the Holy Sepulchre) and Israel. Is the hidden purpose of recent and future UNSC resolutions to symbolically decapitate both Israel and Christianity by moving the Holy City out of Israel? If implemented, Christians who make pilgrimages in the future would have to travel through the Palestinian territories or a future Palestinian state.

2. Ethnic cleansing of Jews in a new Palestinian state.  Christians have seen the ethnic cleansing of their fellow believers and other religious minorities like the Yazidis across the Middle East. Proposals for a new Palestinian state repeatedly indicate that Jews would not be welcome. By contrast, in Israel, there are almost 2 million Palestinian Arabs.  Christians, including Christians in the U.S., obviously do not approve of the ethnic cleansing of any group. And of course American liberals should object to the ethnic cleansing of Jews in a new Palestinian state. Nazi Germany’s practice of creating a Judenfrei (“free of Jews”) and Judenrein (“clean of Jews”) state is about to re-occur — this time in the guise of “Palestine.”

Synagogue in German-occupied Bydgoszcz. The inscription reads: “This city is free of Jews”
(Archive via Wikimedia Commons)

3. Groups piling on Israel through the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. Christians often root for the underdog and when it comes to BDS, Israel is the underdog. The recent (and potentially new) UN resolution provides a foundation for more Jew hatred and delegitimization of Israel. On December 23, the UN General Assembly approved funding for the creation of a database of companies which support, directly or indirectly, the Jewish communities of Judea, Samaria, and Eastern Jerusalem. The database is intended to be used by BDS groups, since it effectively creates a blacklist of companies to target. Christians would not be alone in acting against UN-driven BDS. Michigan just became the 16th state in the U.S. to officially outlaw BDS. And on January 5, 2017, the academic group Modern Language Association voted down a BDS resolution

4. Encouraging war crime charges and the arrest of Israelis. These international moves pose a real threat to Israeli government officials (and others who directly or indirectly support settlements) of being arrested and charged with “war crimes” if they travel to any of the 120 countries that are members of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Want to send the UK PM a message to support Israel? Contact her here. Want to spread the word? Use #keepholycity