The relationship between Christian Europe and Judaism has varied and been complex over the centuries. It has often been marked by strong hostility, with Jews not only being regarded as having rejected Jesus as the true Messiah, but also often accused of being responsible for his crucifixion through the Jewish party and the sect of the Pharisees.

The Jewish diaspora was also generally viewed with great suspicion and was often forced to live in special quarters or areas so that the authorities could control them. Financial activities such as money lending and gold trading also led to them being associated with usury, which was greatly despised in traditional Christian society.

During the Middle Ages, relations between Christians and Jews deteriorated further in many places. In a number of European countries, Jewish residents were expelled, among other things on charges of causing disease outbreaks, poisoning wells, or ritually murdering Christian children. In several cases, there were also outright pogroms in which Jews were physically driven out or executed.

The Pope demanded separation, Luther advocated expulsion

Over the centuries, Jews continued to be regarded as an undesirable group in many places. In 1555, for example, Pope Paul IV declared that they must live separately from Christians, wear symbols that clearly showed which group they belonged to, and were even forbidden from selling anything other than food and second-hand clothes.

In his now highly controversial work The Jews and Their Lies, the founder of Protestantism, Martin Luther, went even further, claiming that the Jews were a godless people “who seek to destroy the foundation of our faith” and who, from childhood, are taught to harbor a “poisonous hatred of the goyim” (non-Jews).

Luther therefore advocated either expelling the Jews or forcing them into labor, while burning down their synagogues and schools.

The contrast in attitude toward the Jewish diaspora between Martin Luther and Paul IV is particularly striking when compared to modern evangelical Christian Zionists, who have their strongest foothold in the US but are also reflected in Nordic Pentecostal movements.

Scofield and the Jews as the chosen people

During the 19th century, a new Christian movement began to emerge in the US and Britain, inspired by biblical prophecies about the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, which was also linked to the return of Jesus to Earth. Some evangelical groups soon began to regard the re-establishment of Israel as a necessary and divine plan.

Similar ideas had been put forward before, but now they would have a broad impact. In 1909, the American theologian and preacher Cyrus Ingerson Scofield wrote a study and reference Bible, the so-called Scofield Bible, which soon became widely read in the United States. It focused heavily on proclaiming that every good Christian must also support Israel and the Jewish people – and that anti-Semitism was to be considered a particularly grave sin.

“A man or nation that lifts a voice or hand against Israel invites the wrath of God“, is one of the statements made in the writings, where biblical texts are interpreted very literally. It is repeatedly emphasized that the return of the Jews to Jerusalem is a central part of God’s plan for the salvation of mankind.

It is also proclaimed that Israel will play a decisive role in the apocalyptic events of the end times, which, according to evangelicals, will precede Jesus’ return to earth, and that God’s prophecies in the Old Testament are about the Jews – not about Christians.

As a rule, the book is interpreted as saying that it is the moral and spiritual duty of every Christian to support Israel at all costs. According to this interpretation, if this is not done, the biblical prophecies will not be fulfilled and Christians themselves will not receive God’s salvation and blessing.

“God has promised to bless those who bless the Jews. I believe, as an Evangelical Christian, that the Jewish return to their current homeland in the twentieth century was, and is, a fulfillment of biblical prophecy”, explains prominent evangelical leader Richard Land, for example, explaining his conviction.

The influence of the Scofield Bible on evangelical movements has contributed to what is often described as almost unconditional support for Israel – something that has attracted renewed attention in the wake of international criticism of Israel for its hardline policy in Gaza, which has included accusations of genocide and led to calls for the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be brought before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Evangelical Christians are a big deal in the US, making up over 25% of the population, and they’ve been seen as pretty influential in politics for a long time.

AIPAC finances evangelical candidates

As early as the first half of the 20th century, Christian Zionists supported Jewish immigration to Palestine and the establishment of the State of Israel, and their support has continued ever since. Today, Israel is considered an important “alliance partner” – not only for geopolitical reasons, but also for theological ones. These voices are considered by most analysts to be crucial in pushing through the extensive US support for Israel.

The US has also long had an influential Jewish diaspora with a lobby that, for obvious reasons, has appreciated the support of evangelicals. In many cases, large sums of money have been donated to finance the election campaigns of Christian supporters of Israel and to ensure that the US legislative assemblies are dominated by allies of Israel.

AIPAC, together with the ADL, is perhaps the best-known Jewish lobby organization in the US, and after the last election, it declared with satisfaction that almost all of “its” candidates had won their respective elections – while also managing to “stop” a number of Israel-critical challengers.

NEW:

Lindsey Graham said that he prefers to help Israel instead to the hurricane victims in South Carolina:

“I’ve been going all over South Carolina, like most people I haven’t slept much. But look what’s going on in Israel. We have to help our friends to keep the war over… pic.twitter.com/wH8gWEBLDC

— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) October 4, 2024

Both during Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, Christian Zionist influence on American politics intensified – but also during Donald Trump’s first term, when the disputed city of Jerusalem was recognised as the capital of Israel and the US embassy was moved there.

Apocalyptic motives

Christian Zionists are mainly found within the Republican Party, where some examples of prominent evangelical-oriented leaders include Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence, Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

James Lankford, John Thune, Tim Scott, Joni Ernst, and Josh Hawley are some other names belonging to the same movement and representing the same party. Its dominance has contributed to the Republicans pursuing an even more pro-Israel line than their competitors in the Democratic Party – although they too profess to see Israel as an indispensable ally.

Analysts often point out that Christian Zionists’ support for Israel is more ideological than pragmatic, and that they are driven by apocalyptic motives rather than strategic considerations. The movement has also long been accused of exacerbating conflicts in the Middle East, where it has tended to advocate escalation rather than peace talks with regional power Iran.

Here, too, the view is often based on biblical interpretations, where the conflicts in the Middle East are viewed through an apocalyptic lens. Reference is made above all to the Book of Revelation and its prophecies of a “final battle” in which Israel is surrounded by hostile nations that are ultimately defeated. Sometimes Iran, for example, is identified as part of the armies of “Gog and Magog” that will attack Israel – but also be destroyed by fire from the sky.

In a similar vein, Israel’s expulsion of Palestinians is generally seen as part of God’s will, as the Jews are the chosen people who have the right to reclaim the territory promised to them and partially occupied thousands of years ago.

When it comes to US foreign and security policy, evangelicals stand almost exclusively on Israel’s side, and in international forums there is also an agreement to always stand behind their allies and block any attempts at sanctions or condemnation from, for example, the UN.

Family of threatened chief prosecutor

There are many examples of the Christian right’s unconditional support for Israel. When it was first reported that the International Criminal Court was considering issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 12 Republican senators – including Ted Cruz and incoming Secretary of State Marco Rubio – responded by declaring that such an order would have direct consequences for the court’s chief prosecutor, his employees, and their family members.

“Target Israel and we will target you”, they threatened, promising “strong sanctions” against the court’s employees and associates, as well as to “bar you and your families from the United States”.

“You have been warned”, the Republicans declared, adding that the US would withdraw all support for the ICC if the court took action against Israel.

Similarly, prominent evangelicals have repeatedly claimed that the UN and its various bodies are “anti-Israel” or even “anti-Semitic” when Israeli crimes have been condemned, and senators such as Ted Cruz have declared that the US must leave the organization entirely if Israel is expelled.

Although there are a few dissenting voices, there is also much to suggest that the US under Donald Trump’s administration will pursue a more pro-Israel policy than has been the case under the Biden administration.

“No one is safe from their wrath”

Critics argue that it is very difficult in practice for US politicians to advocate a line where the US puts its own national interests ahead of Israel’s, given the strong influence of the pro-Israel lobby, which devotes considerable resources to fighting candidates who are not perceived as sufficiently loyal to Israel.

– No one is safe from their wrath, explains left-wing figure Connor Farrell.

To ensure that politicians truly promote Israel’s interests on all issues, it has emerged, for example, that all Republican members of Congress have a personal lobbyist from AIPAC with whom they are in close contact and who influences how they vote on various issues. However, this is something that politicians generally prefer not to tell voters, according to libertarian Congressman Thomas Massie.

“Every representative has an AIPAC handler”

— Congressman Thomas Massie pic.twitter.com/GqlcjObt3T

— ADAM (@AdameMedia) January 15, 2025

–It doesn’t benefit anybody. Why would they want to tell their constituents that they’ve basically got a buddy system with somebody who’s representing a foreign country? It doesn’t benefit the congressman for people to know that. So they’re not going to tell you that, says Massie.